Amerks8796

The “not enough young players” thing regarding the Amerks is weird. It’s not an issue. It’s never been an issue for any AHL team, ever. It’s not even really a thing. You could technically have a full team of ECHL lifers who are 35 years old, and it would be within the rules. The only thing teams have to worry about is how many veterans are in the lineup on any given day.

In my opinion, Dell played pretty well. Yes, a defenseman saved that shot, but the other 17 minutes of OT he kept them in it. People have had it out for Dell ever since he stunk in Buffalo and had that hit on Batherson, but as Appert said over and over, he was great all year in Rochester. The Amerks simply don’t even make the playoffs without him. UPL had a bad year in the AHL, and Dell’s steady play kept them in it. I’ll pass on Dell next year, but I’m certainly glad the Amerks had him this year.

I’ll never understand those who want these guys to go back to Europe. It’s not that those leagues are bad, but the Sabres have little control over it, and it’s a very different style. Last summer some people wanted Peterka to go back to Germany. How much better did it work out? Sabres need to get these prospects to NA as soon as they can in almost all circumstances. They should be learning the Sabres systems, adjusting to the NA game, and working with Sabres coaches. It’s easy to understand why a 20 year old kid would want to go back home, but the Sabres need to lay out why it’s better for them to stay.

He also stood on his head in OT in game 1 against Belleville. Amerks may not have even made it out of round one with UPL. Dell was an asset in the playoffs. Big saves at big times.

Amerks need a lot, mostly at D and goaltending. I’d be fine with Houser as the backup and someone like Subban or Tokarski as the starter. On defense, I’d re-sign Tischke and Alt. In addition in free agency, I’d go find a couple top pairing vets to replace Samuelsson and Fitzgerald. At forward, you’re going to need to replace Quinn and Peterka’s production. Some of that will be from increased production from Weissbach and Rousek, but I would really target Andrew Poturalski if possible. Big time AHL player and he’s from Buffalo. I’d bring back Malone and Jankowski if they’re interested. It’ll be a transition year with more veterans.

Good teams build good depth. If he makes the team, great. If not, Rochester has one defenseman signed for 22-23.

I’m disappointed they lost, but Laval was the better team, so I don’t feel too bad. Laval is super fast and they forecheck hard. They may not win the cup but they’ll be a tough out. Amerks just ran out of gas. I think the Utica series took a lot out of them, and losing Mersch didn’t help.

Dell was consistently a .910 goalie all year. It’s interesting when people justified UPL’s poor play towards the beginning of the year with “small sample size” but that of course doesn’t apply to Dell now. He’s easily been the better goalie all year. I’m not even a big Dell fan. I don’t want him back next year, but he’s been far better other than a one month stretch when UPL played well around March.

You’re ignoring facts and stats. I don’t care if you agree with me.

Dell has been the better goalie the entire year in Rochester. How is this even a debate? If UPL was not a prospect, and he was some journeyman with the exact same play, literally nobody would want anything to do with him. The only reason anyone wants him to play is his status in the organization. That’s a fact. Dell has got them here. And he should not be pulled unless his play tanks, or he gets hurt. Dell was 12-7-1. 5-2 in the playoffs UPL was 15-14-6-1

UPL has had numbers similar to Dell’s playoffs numbers for most of the year. People always made excuses for it. He improved them a bit towards the end of the year. But unless Dell plays even worse then he has, you can’t change goalies. Putting in a goalie who is coming off an injury, and hasn’t played in weeks should be a last resort. I don’t think Dell has been great in the playoffs, but what he does is stay calm in big moments. He’s made big saves in big moments all playoffs. Game 1 in OT against Belleville for example. After he gave up both goals last night, he made several big stops. He’s won 4 OT games. That wouldn’t have happened with UPL. UPL is the opposite, where he always tends to give up a bad goal at the worst time. It wouldn’t be fair to the team, fans, or really anyone to play a goalie based strictly on development. I trust Appert agrees, considering Laaksonen hasn’t seen a game in the playoffs.

No, they open up if they sell enough of the lower tickets.

I think they’d need a couple top 6 vets in addition to what you mentioned. I’d love Greer or Poturalski. Defense is probably the biggest concern. Laaksonen is really the only player under contract, and he’s bad enough that they won’t play him in the playoffs. Maybe Fitzgerald doesn’t crack Buffalo. I’d re-sign Alt, Prow, and Tischke. And sign 2 more steady vets. Subban/Houser could be the goalie tandem.

Full arena is probably unlikely on a regular basis, but I’m hoping they pick up some new casual fans and season ticket holders out of this. My concern is that with Quinn, Peterka, Krebs in Buffalo next season, the team could be poor, and you lose an opportunity to build your fan base. There’s really nothing coming from the pipeline next year. I certainly hope they plan on being very active in AHL free agency to bridge the gap with a good, veteran team next year.

It’s just the feed from the scoreboard. They aren’t producing TV quality broadcasts every game in the AHL.

I’m not writing him off. But the larger sample is in Rochester. He’s barely played in the NHL. His game has a lot of weaknesses. I’m a Sabres fan, too, and I’m not counting on him to be anything more than a replacement level backup.

Over a very short sample? Dell has played a lot of NHL games with quite respectable numbers. My observations of UPL is he gives up way too many weak goals. That’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed. Like goals you can’t believe a professional would give up, let alone a supposed too prospect.

Right, but why were Dell’s numbers much better for the whole season? Surely UPL should be able to outplay Dell, even behind a bad defense. Truth is, UPL is largely responsible for a lot of the bad goals he’s given up.

I think this will be a difficult game to win without Samuelsson and Davidson. Utica is loaded with talent, and they are very well coached with Dineen. Amerks struggled at times with a low skill Belleville team. If they can get one of both of them back by Saturday, it could be a close series.

Your mistake, which is common, is to think development get prioritized 100% of the time. It doesn’t. Appert had said as much himself. Development is far less a priority, in the moment, in the playoffs compared to, say, a regular season game in December. Laaksonen is very weak, defensively and physically. I don’t think his defensive game improved much at all. There’s no doubt he’s good offensively, but they were playing a big and physical team in Belleville. I actually think you might see him tonight if Davidson is still out. They could use him as the 7th D and shelter his defensive minutes and mostly use him on the PP.

He’s been beyond bad defensively all year. There’s a reason 3 AHL/ECHL tweeners played over him. With Davidson close to a return, I can’t imagine it’ll be any easier for him to crack the lineup.

I didn’t complain about the seats. I really don’t have a huge issue with them. The Pegulas paid for the new scoreboard. To my knowledge, state funding paid for the concession expansion and bathroom renovations. But realistically, if one wants new seats, it’ll come much sooner if the Pegulas do it. Otherwise who knows when more state money will fund it.

I believe so, yes. But the city doesn’t exactly have money lying around for improvements. The Pegulas operate the arena. I believe the setup is similar with KBC, but it’s Erie county. People generally look to the Pegulas for improvements, not the county.

The seats need replacing. But the Pegulas can’t be bothered. Sometimes I wonder if they even remember they own the Amerks.

I’ve been to that arena. It’s “nice” but sterile. I agree with you about the seats on the end. In general, I like the older arenas because I think they have more character.