1st Round: Pick #12 - D Tyler Myers

[deluca67]

Well, Hajt was taken 33rd overall in the draft ... Boughner was taken 32nd ... so basically they were about the same level of prospect (20-some years apart, of course) ... over time, Hajt turned out the be the much better player, but the drop-off you speak off is based on our ability to look back on their whole careers. With these kids it is a projection, and there is no guarantee, so swing for the fences. Teubert could emerge as the better player long-term, but I'd rather have the Sabres be aggressive and take the guy they really like rather than just sit there and take who is left on the theory that they are about the same.

I guess I understand you wanting the guy who has played tougher to this point, but that toughness is a CURRENT need ... I don't think we want either of these guys playing in Buffalo this season. They have 3 years probably before Myers hits the NHL as a regular ... if it turns out the nasty streak is not there, they will know it from watching him in Portland and they can act accordingly to fill that need elsewhere. But his combination of size and skating ability appears to be very rare.

Size only matters if he uses it. That's what will get him to the NHL.

[deluca67]

Hajt might not fill the entire void, but he'd fill 20 min per game and be top 4 -- and if he were 6'7" and had speed and stamina -- he'd fill 25 min. and be top 2.

Is that all the Sabres need? Someone to eat up minutes? I'd rather have a blueliner who plays 18 minutes a game and throws his body around. I'm sick of watching Miller get knocked around. I want someone on the blueline who is willing to take the game misconduct to protect his goalie. I hate watching the Sabres defensemen stand there doing nothing while Miller is on his back.

[nfreeman]

Is that all the Sabres need? Someone to eat up minutes? I'd rather have a blueliner who plays 18 minutes a game and throws his body around. I'm sick of watching Miller get knocked around. I want someone on the blueline who is willing to take the game misconduct to protect his goalie. I hate watching the Sabres defensemen stand there doing nothing while Miller is on his back.

 

I agree 100%. We need toughness back there and we need to defend Miller better. But I think last year showed that there was more than 1 hole on the D. Not only did we not play with toughness, we didn't execute the deft dig-out from the boards and the quick D-to-D-and-out play that springs the offensive rush in Lindy's system.

 

We have plenty of minutes for both a Pronger type and a Lidstrom type. I actually think one of the 2 spots is going to be filled by Teppo, but I (like I'd guess everyone else here) want the other one to be a tough, quality veteran NHL defenseman.

[That Aud Smell]

I live in Kelowna and watched the kid play many times this past year.

 

Love this pick.

he's a WHL boy so he's been through the grind so to speak. He's a good quality kid with a good attitude. He is young. He is big and he will only fill out more and more as each year goes by.

thanks, rick - it means a lot to have first-hand feedback from someone who knows the game.

 

Mike Wilson

:sick:

 

i'm still amazed at how that kid managed to break both shoulders in one incident. (or am i misremembering the particulars?)

 

"Definitely my tenacity in the defensive zone is one of the biggest things," Myers said.

 

That's a very disappointing statement to read.

you know, i have to say that the same thing jumped out at me. in my mind, tenacity is mostly something that you have, or you don't -- it's a natural byproduct of your temperament on the ice (i.e., you're an intense, doggedly-determined sort of guy). i guess it's possible that he hasn't tapped into his inner-tenacity yet, but that he will in the next few years.

 

but on the other hand, what he might have been saying is something akin to what we hear from young football players -- words to the effect of "i want to get a point where i can stop thinking so much and just get out there and fly to the ball" and, in that way, be more tenacious on the field.

 

my hope is that his use, and my understanding, of the word "tenacious" was really just a matter of semantics. time will tell. and by "time," i think we probably mean something like 3 years.

[BetweenThePipes00]

Is that all the Sabres need? Someone to eat up minutes? I'd rather have a blueliner who plays 18 minutes a game and throws his body around. I'm sick of watching Miller get knocked around. I want someone on the blueline who is willing to take the game misconduct to protect his goalie. I hate watching the Sabres defensemen stand there doing nothing while Miller is on his back.

I agree ... but again, we're talking 3 years down the road ... they better find a guy or two to play the physical game you want long before Myers hits the NHL. If the kid is as skilled as they say there will be room for him somewhere. The fact is that in the Sabres system they are never going to have 6 bangers back there. They want mobile guys who are puck movers ... maybe they didn't like that part of Teubert's game. Time will tell, I have never seen either of them play, I just like that they went after the kid they believed in, for whatever reason, rather than sit there and take whoever was left and happened to fit the "we need a big defenseman" profile.

[carpandean]

maybe they didn't like that part of Teubert's game.

To quote one report: Teubert has "skills, not elite skills, but the skill is there." Maybe they felt that his skills were not on the same level as Myers'.

 

Besides, had Darcy written "Teubert" on their piece of paper, the Kings would have taken him at 12 and the Sabres would have ended up taking Myers at 13. Had they not done the trade deal with LA, then it sounds like the Kings were going to trade the spot with another team who was interested in one of the two, so who knows which one we would have ended up with. It is quite likely that Teubert would never have been an option for the Sabres, anyway.

 

I can't really see this as a bad pick for the future of the team. Now, let's see if Darcy can get that physical, shut-down defenseman that we all want to play next year!

[shrader]

I think its pretty much a gurantee that the team LA had a deal with was going to take Myers. The Kings had probably talked to them already about who the pick would be. They wanted Teubert and weren't going to give the pick to anyone that was going to draft him.

[wonderbread]

Good pick I think overall perplexed about the trade but nevertheless they went for who they wanted, maybe they see something the really like. Other than the fact that he is a giant. Go Front Office!

[rickshaw]

thanks, rick - it means a lot to have first-hand feedback from someone who knows the game.

 

 

cheers!

[rtconner]

Gee, a 6'7" guy with a big vertical leap. That'll be helpful in hockey. Help me out here fellas, why do we care how high someone can jump in hockey?

 

It measures explosive strength. Even in football, when someone can jump high you get excited because it means they can explode well.. not because you care about them jumping high.