dudacek

I know this is just more of your usual whining, but it does raise the question of how far away this kid is. Many of you think Matt Savoie is ready now (I doubt it) and Benson was arguably better than Savoie this year, or at least at the same level.

Another big, responsible guy. Very much the theme this year.

Almost perfect for Team Canada in the most recent Hlinka/Gretzky Cup. 2 goals against in 4 games, .976 SV%

Wahlberg, Strbak, McCarthy and Miedema all project as guys who can fill grinder roles in the lower half of the roster if they don't become more. Add the goalie and they are really fleshing out the prospect pool this year.

Are you trolling? Peterka: 1 minor league season, 2 playoff series win, 12 games, 7 goals, 14 points Rosen: 1 minor league season, 2 playoff series win, 14 games, 4 goals, 8 points

It's easy if you pay attention to Adams preferences for compete and upside and believe his mantra of best player available.

And 6’4” 210 at 18 in the 4th. Definitely addressing this concern. Dude’s Marcus Foligno-sized.

Three straight picks with some size. 🤷. Looks like there is some movement to address this concern.

Most predictable pick of the draft

Marchand? Point? Marchesseault? Patty Kane? There’s a pretty long list of 5’10” 185 pound (ish) players who have excelled in the NHL. That includes dead puck era hall-of-farmers lie Sakic, Yzerman and Lafontaine.

Yes, Krebs point a game = struggling Rosen a little over 1/2 a point per game = NHL ready.

Benson? Rosen? As said up-thread, no way I’m trading VO for futures/as a dump right now. If it gets us a D-man, fine.

I know For A Fact! that Kevyn Adams loves Casey Mittelstadt and Peyton Krebs 🙄

I hate the fact we are already trading 22-year-old players. How about we wait until Benson and Kulich and the others are actually better than Mittelstadt and Krebs before we start trading them?

This stuff comes from the mouths of most of the Sabres top prospects. Adams has a type. Put a bunch of players of that type together and you create an atmosphere of constant improvement. And you get the types of jumps we saw last year.

I acknowledge the truth in what you are saying here: we don’t seem to have many Mike Griers or Marcus Folignos in the pipeline and guys like that are needed. However, it would be a mistake to think this means the guys we are collecting can’t battle or play defence. Benson, for example, gets in the dirty areas, and is considered one of the top defensive players in the Western Hockey League. By and large, the high pick forward we have taken are diligent, smart and brave and should become as capable of playing playoff hockey as the Yanni Gourdes and Ondrej Palats. Besides, guys like Foligno and Grier aren’t typically getting taken in the 1st round. You hope the Kozaks and Novikovs can provide some of that.

He’s the guy I zeroed in on, I’m not confident he’s there. I wouldn’t be opposed to a move up. Probably the healthiest way of looking at it.

Just wanted to give myself a Pat on the back here. 😜 He was definitely the most skilled guy left. He is behind Michkov and Bedard. Power, and the fact he’s not a centre, are the reasons why Smith, Carlsson and Fantilli were ranked ahead, not talent. Good call. It’s a perfect fit: age and game. 170 and a shade under 5’10” at the combine. He projects into a Marchand physique. Another good observation. I dont buy the “no room” angst. The Sabres forward prospect pool is crucible where no one is handed anything and the strong should survive. No team sucked because they had a 1st liner on their 3rd line. I think the skeptics just need to watch. To quote our GM “he’s a Sabre” Not withstanding my post two replies up, this makes it easier to move a prospect to get the defender we need. My immediate take: The hardest single thing to get in the draft is top-end skill, particularly combined with top-end compete. As a prospect this player combines the two better than Savoie, better than Kulich, probably even better than Quinn. He needs to get stronger and I bet he will. I think we got lucky.

We going to see a lot of angst tomorrow if the Sabres don’t grab a defenceman with one of their next 2 picks? The way the board has fallen there’s a decent chance there won’t be any “good value” D left while forwards have dropped.

I don't know that there is a significant dropoff between #6 and where the Sabres pick. I'd say there are about 10 players in that range who could have gone top10 last year.

Simashev and Moore seem to be increasingly likely at 13 when you match the descriptions, the mocks and the Sabres needs and values. Increasingly looking like Benson might slip. Not a need, but he seems like a Sabre and he's top 5 talent in some years. It would be hard to pass on him if he's there.

Pens have forwards and no money, Smith one year at $5 million is better than a 3rd. I don't get it

There's been a lot of attention out here to Vancouver taking him at 11.

I mostly agree but: "We're going to really be very aggressive if it makes sense for us to do that" doesn't really fit that description. "Going to be" implies intent. To me, that implies there is something on the table that they want to do and that may be possible to do. Might be the framework of a deal contingent on the draft board falling a certain way, or a seperate deal falling into place or apart.

Why?