RochesterExpat

Novikov's skating is vastly improved. It's partly why he was getting increased roles in the KHL. He should have no issues keeping up with the speed of the game in North America.

I agree this was a head-scratcher, but I think he was scouted as a byproduct of playing in Russia and/or from playing on the same team as Poltapov. We know during the 20-21 season the MHL/VHL/KHL were among the only leagues with data available for the stats nerds. Since we know Sam's team has had a lot of input on draft selection (Kulich is an example of someone they flagged as a quality candidate and justifiably so), it's entirely possible their algorithm liked Sardarian and they chose to flag him for follow up. Conversely, it's also possible that Sam's team flagged Poltapov as a target and Jerry's team decided they liked Sardarian after noticing him while watching tape of Poltapov. Someone somewhere in the organization liked something that they saw in his game. I will go on record and say that I will not hold GMs accountable for 2021 draft choices. That was a difficult year and draft boards were a mess all over. I believe teams generally have a good idea of who is going to get drafted when. That draft had a lot of media people doing day-of research on players being selected. That being said, I'd say GMKA did a pretty good job all things considered. I think 2022 will prove to be the more impactful draft in the long-term as far as full-time NHL players are concerned.

And this is what I'd like to see Buffalo do this offseason. Specifically, go full rental and trade for Hellebuyck and DeMelo from Winnipeg. I don't need to go into a description of why Hellebuyck is a good goalie, but DeMelo is an overlooked RHD who gets a lot of unnecessary flak from his fanbase because he's boring and doesn't run up points. From the stats nerds perspective, he's a solid D-man. He's at least partly responsible for unlocking Morrisey. He's also considered a likeably guy and a leader on the team and he's on a $3m contract for 23-24 so Buffalo isn't stuck long-term if he doesn't work out. Extending him shouldn't be difficult either if Buffalo is truly a playoff team and he's partnering with a former 1OA pick. If you bring him back for 3 more seasons, that lets you bring in players like Novikov on the third line while still under their ELCs and gives you some buffer in the event of injury. More importantly he is a puck mover and should work within Granato's system. We can talk advanced stats all day on players, but not every player plays a game that will work with every team. DeMelo's play should translate just fine to being the right-hand man to Power and letting Power open his game up more. If the Jets are willing to listen to offers on Hellebuyck, I'm sure they're willing to listen on DeMelo. I don't know what the cost would be, but it will be easier to acquire him over the summer than trying to get him in February.

Novikov in 2 years. Unfortunately, this team doesn't have 2 years.

I’ve been raving about him for a while now. Excited to see what he does in Rochester.

Steve Jobs is interviewing coaches. That’s cool.

Playing Baby Bruins next year: Nads on Bussi, time of goal: 1:09

We have a granite sink in the kitchen that’s all black. It’s a breeze to keep clean and both looks and feels nice. Every couple months, the wife wipes it down with vegetable oil so the color returns to normal as it gets a bit faded from the harder water we have. Looks brand new again after a few minutes. I feel like I owe you a beer though about the copper sink. We’ve been planning a bathroom remodel and the current leading sink is a copper sink with the dimples from hammering. Going to be changing that ranking now.

Well if we get a few more days of storms like we've had, maybe being forced inside will help you find it? It works for me. I swear that's why my wife cheers for rain.

I like the talent level for Östlund, but is he physically strong enough for the AHL? I don't believe he's as strong as Rosén was this time last season and Rosén had a very tough start to this season in Rochester. I think he's since hit his stride and I'm not really as worried about Rosén as I was even as recently as the New Year, but I'm concerned Östlund may not see the same growth. Or maybe he comes over here, slams some hot wings and a few garbage plates, hits the weights, and enters October as a specimen of a man.

Should add he was getting meaningful minutes this season and some PK time. That’s worth mentioning because KHL teams roll 8 dressed D on the bench which reduces minutes and makes getting PK exposure all the more interesting.

Do we know if any Russian prospects will be able to leave Russia? I’d like to see Novikov in Rochester next season, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.

Few weeks old now, but I built new garden beds this year. Going to put cattle panels over it and then shade cloth in the summer and swap to polyethylene in the fall. To the right is the tilled area with the 200+ corn plants coming through now as well as beans, squash, pumpkins, watermelon and cantaloupe. Further to the right is where I planted some blackberries. Somewhere between the blackberries and the tilled area are sunflowers coming in now. Also planted four peach trees (one is behind me when I took the picture) along the driveway (we have two out back of the house already) and we'll continue to add them each year until we cover the length of the driveway. At the current pace, that'll be 2028... And we planted a live oak because, well, Texas.

Sorry for being gone for ~2 months, but I had other priorities... (we finally had our formal wedding ceremony)

The hesitation to save her really says a lot about the health of their relationship. On the subject of HOAs, I didn't mind my HOA at my home in California. The fee was $119 a month and the HOA paid for armed security at the gate and covered the pool/common areas/park maintenance. They also resurfaced the roads and maintained the trees along the sidewalks. Not sure they ever ticketed anyone for not following the rules. I do know they sent an angry email once about the hours you were allowed to have your trash by the curb, but that was it. And, before anyone asks, the home is worth ~$850,000 today in San Diego. For those of you not familiar with SD housing, that's on the cheap side. I'm not a millionaire. No idea why we had armed security at the gate. It was just a thing.

Third missed high stick.

Bad luck.

Can someone explain to me how Cozens buries those ones but the seemingly easy shots he doesn’t? His finishing skills are just inverted.

Second missed high stick. Jost just took one to the face.

Buffalo just needs to put pucks on net. Break the Isles system.

Funny enough, I’m not sold JJP sitting out is going to help us win over sitting VO.

I didn't mean it to be malicious. The thread was whether or not he's changed people's minds. I'd like to see if minds change again. There's nothing wrong with changing opinions on players.

I'm dead serious. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he got an extension. I just want to see what people saying their reactions will be now so we can dig this up in 5 months and compare.

VO's TOI has been trending down the last few games and JJ's has been trending up which suggests it's VO who sits. So that means it'll be JJ.

How is this board going to react when he signs an extension this summer?