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I thought this deserved its own topic. We have trusted one of our number 1 picks to the loving hands of Islanders GM Garth Snow. In Garth I have a great amount of trust. Just last year he won Buffalo's executive of the year award for doing the most to help the Buffalo Sabres. We count on him still. Not since the days of Billy Smith have we had a better reason to wish rotten luck, hard cheese, and misfortune upon the prospects of the Islanders. Our new second favorite team is any team playing the Islanders in 2014-15. So far the Islanders are not looking completely incompetent up front.....their blue-line is another story. Offseason moves to date: Mikhail Graboski - 1/2 point a game centerman via Washington Nikolai Kulemin - Once 30 goal scorer in 2010-11, he has had just 30 goals since. Via Toronto TJ Brennan - Well known to Rochester fans. Cannon shot. AHL savant. Unproven NHL talent Halak - Via - St. Louis - via Buffalo. Cody Conacher - Still young, but career sputtering since his rookie campaign. The Isles Top 6 include: Tavares, Neilson, Okposo, all who can put up points. The Isles blueline is not very deep: Visnovsky, Hickey, Harmonic, Carkner Youngsters Ryan Strome, and Griffin Reinhart could emerge this year. Although the Isles have some talent, lack of depth at every position threatens the success of their season. I think following the Islanders could be one thing that takes some of the sting out of following the NHL next season from a Buffalo perspective. So opening volley. Which teams today are the Islanders better than? Looking at rosters, I have this optimistic assessment: I think they are better than only Carolina, Buffalo, Edmonton, and Florida with certainty, and maybe tie with Ottawa and Winnipeg. So in Wangs world style, we say: Tank on, Garth, Tank on, Wang.

I know it is far to early but come on we are already discussing this in multiple places. Eichel/McDavid are fascinating prospects with franchise changing potential. We now know we have at least 3 first round picks in the 2015 draft with a possibility of at least 2 lottery shots. So this guy And this guy And that is just the top 2 guys. Here are some names to look up. http://www.draftsite.com/nhl/mock-draft/2015/ O and paraphrasing "You ain't seen nothin yet."

Since we are rapidly approaching the expansion draft so here are the dates you want to know courtesy of John Vogl: 7/13: Asking players to waive NMC deadline (specifically for expansion draft) 5pm eastern 7/16: Players have to respond to NMC waive requests by this time and this is the last waivers before the roster freeze (5pm) 7/17: NHL roster freeze and submission of expansion draft lists (freeze at 3pm, lists due at 5pm) 7/18: Expansion draft protection lists and exposed players released. Seattle can talk to UFA's (10am) 7/21: NHL Expansion Draft (Seattle submits picks at 10am, Draft is revealed at 8pm) 7/22: Roster freeze ends, trades and waivers may resume (1pm) 7/23: NHL entry draft 1st round (8pm eastern start time) 7/24: NHL entry draft rounds 2-7 7/28: NHL Free Agency

Thread to discuss the first round happening tomorrow. Mods can we please pin this? Here is the time/tv schedule with the full order of teams: https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2020/10/05/2020-nhl-draft-date-time-order-of-picks-for-all-31-teams/

Discuss

... Grit, Tenacity, and Size. How should they be viewed at the draft?

Defenseman Not happy with that one

Cozens it is

Sabres win the draft lottery and call up Vancouver and offer it for Bo Horvat and their 1st round pick. We get our 2nd line center (and still don't lose the first round pick) who has already played in the league and they get their Sedins 2.0. Two questions: 1.) Would you do it if you were the Sabres? 2.) Would you do it if you were the Canucks?

I think a lot of the answer to this will make or break the RoR for a lot of posters. So, what do you think Botterill's plan is for these picks? Edit: How do I make the votes public?

With the 2018 draft in our rearview mirror, it's time for us, Sabres Fans, to turn our attention to the 2019 draft and start thinking about what BUF needs to do to secure the best odds in the Jack Hughes lottery. Let's face it, Buffalo isn't winning the Cup this season. So it would be a disservice to try and finish anywhere but dead last as Jack Hughes is truly a once in a lifetime generational talent... not counting McDavid, Eichel and Matthews... and maybe Dahlin. So rev up your tank engines Sabres Fans and let's get this party started! IMO, the first step should be trading ROR.. better yet if they get a likely lottery pick in return. Moving him would open up a huge hole in the lineup, losing a PK and PP centerpiece, and faceoff genius. Nobody else can do those things as well as him. Probably good for about 10-12 additional losses with him out of the picture. Then sign a journeyman goaltender and make him the starter. Bury Mittlestadt, Guhle and any other promising young guns in Roch the entire season. That should be enough for another last place finish... I'm ready.

So I watched Hockey Central today and something caught my attention, one of them mentioned Malkin's injury history, and how both should be in the prime of their careers. I nodded to myself and thought "well of course, Ovechkin has been tearing it up every year" then I thought about Malkin and realized he's been largely average since his one and only 50 goal season in 2011. Now, "largely" is an extremely relative word here and I mean it more in the sense that he has been average in comparison to Ovcehkin, his draft-hype, where he was drafted, and how many perceive of him as the 3-4th best player in the world. So, here is my question: Given all of the information we now know about both players, and given you have a roster with no dramatic edge in need towards RW or Center, would you still take Ovechkin over Malkin? It's center vs RW, proven Cup winner vs. stats, Ruski vs. Ruski. Me personally, I take Ovechkin. He's healthy more often, puts up better stats (albeit at a less demanding position), and is just a bigger impact than Malkin. Here are the stats for both players http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=722892 http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/o/ovechal01.html And last year nhl.com did a 2004 redo and wrote why the have Malkin edged over Ovechkin http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=722892

We're less than a month until the draft. Final rankings lists are being locked. It's time for the 2022 edition of the all-important-useless-Star-Wars-reference/character-based-on-player-name draft rankings: 2022 edition. I didn't want to hijack a real thread with my nonsense, so head to this Sabrespace for the real-world discussion. Last year, the Sabres drafted #1 and took the best Star Wars name/reference on the board and probably ever: Uncle Owen Unlimited Power. (At least, until they draft this guy in a couple years.) Three firsts this draft so I'm splitting it into tiers of who could still be available at each selection. In some cases (Nemec/Jiricek) they're likely to already be off the board, but I'm including their names anyway. Note: The sequence of players is in order for groupings and humor (Miro after Yurov), it has no bearing on order of preference within the tiers. Let me know if you need another player researched. Maybe available at #28... Luca Del Bel Belluz C -- "I'm Luca Del Bel Belluz I'm here to rescue you." = You're who? = "I'm Luca Del Bel Belluz." Del is a common name on wookiepedia. Both Del and Bel are clone troopers. Altogether, the most unlikely clone trooper name in the galaxy. Snuggerud RW -- A Snaggletooth! So old-school Star Warsy it just feels right. Chesley RHD -- Moisture farmer. Howard LW -- Luke: What's a duck? Google it. Mesar RW -- Gungan. Agile, quick, jumps really high and flips. Meesa goin' score goals! Jagger Firkus RW -- Perfect Star Wars name. Not a JAG. Total smuggler/gambler/scum pilot of a trash-heap ship that has tons of speed and secret compartments. And you know I play a mean guitar mindharp. Rinzel RHD -- I'll be the first to say it: "Rinzel will be fine." A cantina proprietor. Deeper dive shows that rinzefruit is a type of produce. Hutson LHD -- Part of the crimelord syndicate... Soon you will learn to appreciate him. Whoa-ho-ho! Pickering LHD -- System in the Mid Rim. And another Uncle Owen as a bonus. Ostlund C -- Imperial officer. 2 Osteds are Imperial navy officers! Amazing. Alater and Wermis! https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Osted_Alater ; https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Osted_Wermis Hävelid RHD -- Imperial ship or Imperial (m)officer (moff) https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Havelon ; https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Haveland Beck C -- Rebel pilot's first name. There's totally a Beck Iceslider out there. Cruz Lucius -- C'mon! The parents named their kids Chaz and Cruz? Anyway, Rebel pilot. He yells something like "I've got the shot!" as the path opens to a direct lane to launch proton torpedoes at the ISD shield generator, followed quickly by "Oh no!" as a wave of TIE Interceptors appear and blast him. Cruz disappears in a fireball. Pretty much the most awesome role to have in a movie. Cool helmet. 1 or 2 lines of dialog. He's the Grizz Frix of this draft! A lifetime on the autograph circuit as the "Oh no! Guy".

"The NHL Scouting Combine will be held at KeyBank Center and HarborCenter in Buffalo from May 30 to June 4 after being canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to NHL.com, 96 prospects (63 forwards, 30 defensemen and three goaltenders) were invited to participate in the showcase event, which allows teams to collect valuable physical and medical assessment information and conduct one-on-one interviews." https://www.nhl.com/canadiens/news/nhl-scouting-combine-starts-monday/c-334329328