LGR4GM

Straight up untrue. Zach Benson and Konsta Helenius are not and never have been finesse players. Jack Quinn is not a finesse player. Also the second bolded is just hilarious nonsense. JJP, Quinn, and Benson are basically the only forwards we have drafted that are on the NHL roster under this current era of drafting. Again, this isn't true. I have explained in detail why it is true so let's invert that. You claim Buffalo only acquires skill guys and only drafts skill guys high. Tell me who they are and why you feel they are finesse players.

A lot, if not all, of my fellow posters believe that I don't think size matters. That isn't true. Size can matter but as I repeat a lot size does not = toughness/grit. I think this video aligns with most of my thoughts on the subject and really betrays why I think a player like Quinn or maybe a better example, Benson, are going to be excellent. First, everyone pay attention the average height of an NHL forward is 6' and for defense it is 6'1" so when I see ppl say the Sabres are small, I know they mean "don't play with physicality" which would be correct. Buffalo's starting 6 defenders will only feature 1 sub 6' player in Clifton. They haven't drafted a notable sub 6'1" defender in the last 3 drafts. The top of that pool is Novikov (6'4"), Komarov (6'3"), Strbak (6'2"), Kleber (6'5") and either Osburne (6'1" who will be 6'2" or 3" when he grows up) or McCarthy (6'2"). This goes with a group of 3 defenders all signed for multiple years that are 6'3" 6'4" and 6'6". But I don't want to talk about defense. The main criticism is leveled at the forwards. They are constantly labeled "small" but again what ppl really mean is "not physical" and what is really important is that size doesn't = toughness/grit. Which brings us to this video and 2 Sabres forwards. First is Jack Quinn, the 6'1" guy who has for right or wrong been labeled injury prone. He has average size and is approaching average weight, so what makes him IMPO effective and to a degree gritty? Jack Quinn is very very smart, he anticipates plays and also manipulates defenders to gain time and time = space. In the video they talk about Bedard cutting the hands of Hedman and Quinn does this a lot. Instead of just trying to go around a guy, once you get a step you cut through their hands breaking them at the elbow and putting the player on your back. This gives you leverage and body positioning. Quinn does this. This alone is just a thing but he also chains this with anticipation. If Jack Quinn is cutting your hands it is because he needs that space for something. He also does all the high end reads away from the puck. He times when he enters the crease and where he does it. He scans a lot in all zones. He constantly adjusts to what the defense shows him while also thinking of ways to change that look. He is average in height and weight but he is excellent at hockey IQ. Hockey IQ in another thread was tossed out in some contexts as just what you say when a guy is not very good but somehow still does okay. That isn't accurate. Hockey IQ is the ability to read the game quickly and consistently. That is why Jack Quinn at 6'1" is going to be just fine even when 6'6" Zadorov is bearing down on him. Let's talk about my favorite player. Zach Benson. I was not high enough on Zach Benson in his draft year because again, size can matter and I absolutely worry about Benson. He's 5'10" and that creates a couple of disadvantages, reach, leverage, space. Benson has less reach, just like in a sword fight he has to get inside his opponents reach, and because of all of this he plays with less space. Rasmus Dahlin occasionally will just shift the puck out to one side and go around a guy because with his reach, he can do that. Benson though will always be closer, will always have to play tighter, because he doesn't have the length. Again, it isn't that I don't think size matters, I just think it can be ignored in some instances. Why is Zach Benson my favorite. Manipulation, planning, insane hockey IQ. It took a bit of time but when we reached March, Zach Benson was turning the corner. I split it at March 6th versus Toronto where Benson did nothing but I gave the 2 weekend games of March 2 and 3 to the previous block of time. From Oct to March 3, Benson played 51 games and had 18pts, 6g, 12a for a 0.35ppg. In the games from March 3-April 15, Benson played 20 games and had 5g, 7a, for 0.6ppg. I believe that as February turned into March, Benson's ability to process the game finally started to catch up. Some of the ideas he had in those first 50 games he could execute on in the last 20 because he had figured out the pace. His hockey brain had the timing down better and that came with experience. The manipulations that made him just a joy to watch in jr started appearing more and more and were successful. He will lift your stick, steal the puck, cut your hands, lean into you and then suddenly the puck is gone and a teammate has a prime chance. Benson is excellent and taking pucks from the walls to the center of the ice because of this. He will cut back or fake cut backs, then show shot or pass only to do the opposite. These skills are what make Benson effective, he is smart, thinks lightning fast, and has the hands to do pretty much all of his ideas. So when it comes to his size, it doesn't matter because on a micro scale, he does so many tiny little things so so well, that being small isn't as limiting to him. He gets inside that reach and then uses his low center of gravity to gain leverage. His stick checking is truly elite. His edgework is maybe just below elite. The one thing he doesn't have is blazing speed but he is quick. All of these allow him to use that brain of his to be effective even without being 6'3" 205lbs. In his case size doesn't equal toughness, brains = toughness. Which brings us to the last player, Konsta Helenius. I was disappointed when the initial reaction from many, not all, was uhg another small forward. It told me you had never watched Helenius play hockey. Helenius is similar to Benson in some ways. He has a lot those ideas to get inside the opponents stick, cut the hands, use fakes to prepare passing lanes, and then deliver passes or shots. His hands are not as good as Benson but his shot is probably better. Helenius is viewed as small simply because his stat doesn't read 6' but that again misses the important part, Helenius is smart. His on ice positioning is very good, he checks well, and he knows what he wants to do with the puck before he gets it and where to go after he gets rid of it. His hockey brain processes the game well and that more than makes up for his size. Helenius is also 190lbs which is more than what Cozens weighed when he got to the NHL. It is also the exact weight of JJ Peterka who is 22. My point is we focus a lot on height but weight is also important here. Sure, a 6'4" player should theoretically be able to add more muscle because they have more places to add muscle but if a shorter player is the same weight, are they really smaller? Again reach and space are the key components against this. My point is that Helenius is not small but average and he has a far above average processing speed, like Quinn and Benson. That is going to make him an effective player more so than his height. Does size matter? Yes, on defense in particular it gives your opponent less space and makes you harder to go around (exceptions exist obviously). Mass gives you more staying power and potentially more strength to outleverage smaller players along walls or in front. However, I agree with this videos take on hockey IQ. Players with good or better IQ tend to negate size advantages regularly and with ease. Zach Benson was a 18yr old rookie in the NHL who was Buffalo's 2nd best checking forward? We focus on size because we see clear examples of when it matters (a forward like Benson is shoved off the puck or boxed out in front) but it is harder to understand and analyze iq because it means a lot more different things. When Benson or Quinn cut back along the half way, fake a pass, cut the hands of the defender and either shoot or pass to an open player, that is a complex series of events that show IQ. It is why they are and will be successful. The game is fast and physical. The hockey IQ of a player like McDavid, Bedard, Benson, or Quinn allows that fast physical game to move slower and to bend to one's will. Again size doesn't equal toughness, but lack of hockey IQ (Risto) doesn't get made up for with size until we start getting to extreme's and even then, Logan Stanley isn't that good at hockey. Do I wish all our guys had Benson's skillset with Tuch's size, yes. But that doesn't mean that Benson, or Quinn, or Helenius, or whoever will "play small" because they are small or won't be as impactful as someone bigger. I am positive many will not agree with me but I think IQ mixed with determination, trumps size mixed with average other stuff. I do value size, I just don't only value it.

Interestingly, Benson is currently in Buffalo. Wonder if he is back for a short trip or what.

Benson produced almost the same scoring rate as Connor Bedard at 5v5. A lot of ppl are going to be surprised by him this season.

Money wise they are. The bottom 6 is worth what? 9 million or less?

Oh I think speed is important to them but it's gotta be in combination with the other asset they want. I'm warning against simplifying it down to "they only want fast players"

I don't agree entirely. They found players with very good shot suppression metrics who are also fast. Think it's a combination.

Role: 2nd line RW, 1st unit PP Points: 32g, 47a

I think some people are down on Benson. That's why they talk about sophomore slumps and project him to have less assists or just barely more goals than last year. I think it will be fun when those ppl are wrong.

No no, all the people projecting Benson to be either the same or in some cases worse in terms of points. That is what I think will be fun.

The other thing is let's say whoever Buffalo would have drafted makes the NHL. That wouldn't happen until 2028 maybe?

Man, this is gonna be fun. So much fun.

Benson had 19a as a rookie.

They will make the playoffs if they grow up over the summer and realize the NHL is hard and doesn't care about what you think you're entitled to.

Trading Benson is one of those truly stupid ideas. He won't need 3 years, he'll be g2g after this year.

Benson is better than Kulich and Rosen. Y'all need to realize Benson should have been a top 5 pick. The NHL just went full stupid that draft.

The bold won't happen for a very obvious reason, Ruff isn't going to have 3 forwards who all shoot right on the same line. Especially when he doesn't have to.

That bottom 6 is wrong. Benson - McLeod - Greenway Malenstyn - Rafferty - Kubel Kubel shoots right and a blackhole for opponents when it comes to offense.

The point of looking at scoring rates was to see if we have enough scoring to make the playoffs. The answer is maybe kinda. It isn't too say we will score x amount of goals. Coaching matters for these and injuries do too. You're 13th forward is playing half the games, so if you bump someone into that spot who's better that helps. Likewise, we aren't accounting for the other side of the equation. We might have enough scoring, but will we prevent enough goals against? That's part 2 of this and more difficult to predict. I suppose we could pull every players xga and average them and see where it goes. Either way, this team had just enough to get into the playoffs and technically is better than last years team, but just barely. Again, Lindy Ruff is the great unknown. He manages to impart a system that isn't crap and make the pp even average, Buffalo can make the playoffs. The board is set. The pieces are moving. The margins are thin.

No it doesn't. It tells the number of pts a player scored per 60 of ice time last year. Okay, what's the Sabres goals for this season? We have 5 new forwards in the top 12 and 1 forward who only got 20 something games due to injury. Again, tell me what the Sabres 2024 goals for and against will be? I simply looked to see if we had enough scoring compared to the best in our conference. Without improvement, we're about 14% below their ability to produce.

This is gonna be a fun season.

Go look at his defensive metrics. That "some" must be a really small group. He's an overpaid #5 defender trending down.

Dahlin out hit him last year. So did Clifton.

Benson is going to light it up.