Prospect Watch

[shrader]

I thought it might be good to try to keep somthing like this going throughout the season. If at any point you get to watch some of our prospects play, let us know what you think about them. I'm thinking more about the one's who aren't signed yet, but feel free to talk about the :chris: s if you want.

 

This weekend is going to be a busy one for me. I'll have the chance to check out three of our recent draft picks over the next two days, Corey Tropp of Michigan State and Brad Eidsness and Corey Fienhage of Michigan State. That's far too many Corey's, but I'll save that rant for another day.

 

I don't know if any of these guys even has a realistic shot at ever signing with us, but that won't stop me from watching them. I'm not even sure if the two UND guys will play, as it looks like there should be a lot of competition at their positions (G and D). But anyway, I'll keep people updated.

[X. Benedict]

Cool! Thanks Shrader!

[shrader]

Oh, and Andrew Orpik's playing in Boston this weekend too, but I don't consider him to be in the team's plans at this point. I won't be at that game anyway.

[Strow]

Corey Tropp I think could play for the Sabres one day but he needs more years, he for sure is an AHL player.

[inkman]

This might be a good time to revisit this.

 

 

The plummet of Zagrapan 6 to 16, and the ommision of Funk, Tropp and Persson is somewhat alarming. All were fairly high draft picks.

[MajorMinotaur]

i frequently visit this site to read about them:

 

http://www.sabresprospects.com/

 

and obviously hockeysfuture.com too, but they have fewer updates

[Two or less]

This might be a good time to revisit this.

The plummet of Zagrapan 6 to 16, and the ommision of Funk, Tropp and Persson is somewhat alarming. All were fairly high draft picks.

 

I don't understand the low ratings for Myers and Ennis. Ennis is better offensivly then MacArthur ever was. And Kennedy it's not even comparable. HF website has gone down alot in recent years.

[inkman]

i frequently visit this site to read about them:

 

http://www.sabresprospects.com/

 

and obviously hockeysfuture.com too, but they have fewer updates

 

Interesting. Some major differences between the two sites listings.

[Two or less]

Interesting. Some major differences between the two sites listings.

 

 

BTW, the guy whos runs the Sabres prospects blog, used to be in charge of the Sabres HF page. He left HF and started his own page. The new guy is an idiot. He posts on HFBoards too and doesn't sound too smart. HF forums even post more links about players from the Prospects site then their own HF sabres page. lol

[shrader]

Interesting. Some major differences between the two sites listings.

 

I love this description of Gerbe: "The 21-year old slasher". If only they knew how true that is.

[LabattBlue]

i frequently visit this site to read about them:

 

http://www.sabresprospects.com/

This site is great and provides much more day to day prospect information than HF.

[MajorMinotaur]

i find that HF's list are just confused. They aren't really sure how they are comparing the prospects. Some are freshly drafted and have tons of potential, while others were drafted a few years ago and are either showing that potential or just faltering. When they list the top 20 they don't ever define it to whether the list of top 20 potential or top 20 likely to push into the NHL soon. Instead they just kinda mix the two together.

 

i mean they have patrick kaleta rated above tyler ennis... so someone who will probably play in the NHL vs. someone in juniors

 

then they have enroth above sekera and weber... so someone who has never played North American game vs. two people who have played in the NHL

 

no rhyme or reason.

[shrader]

Tropp's skating on the top line in Michigan State, so that might be worth watching throughout the season. I really didn't notice too much of him though. He did put up one assist when he drove hard to the net with the puck and a teammate netted the rebound. Other than that, he really didn't do much to catch my eye.

 

Eidsness did end up starting for North Dakota and it wasn't a great start to his career. He gave up 5 goals. One was a fluke bounce and the others were all in transition. It's tough to blame him for the game. He definitely moves side to side well and it looks like he sees the puck well. I think he should be able to string a decent season together once he gets some experience under his belt. He definitely put up the numbers in juniors to suggest that.

 

Fienhage didn't play. Hopefully he'll play tonight against UMASS. I'd imagine that Nodak will want to shake up their D a bit after last night.

[shrader]

I had completely forgotten about this thread until this past weekend. It seems like I'm seeing a different Sabres defenseman draft pick each weekend. It's a bit rough for me because the defensemen are some of the last guys I'm usually paying attention too unless they fit one of two styles:

1) that dominant physical force on both sides of the game, the Chris Pronger type

2) the all out offensive defensemen, I'll just say the Campbell type since that's who most around here will know (and as a whole, I can't stand this kind of player)

 

Last weekend brought 2007 7th round draft pick Drew MacKenzie of Vermont into town. He's got some decent size, but in typical college freshman form, he needs to bulk up a bit. He does see a good amount of ice time, including significant time on the PP, including a very nice assist. I really didn't notice him much defensively though, which is usually a good thing. He's definitely a long shot, but he's got plenty of time to develop and he'll definitely be facing strong competition throughout his college career.

 

This past weekend brought in defensemen, 2005 7th round pick Matt Generous of Saint Lawrence. He's a senior, so this is the end of the line if he wants a contract. I can definitely see this kid earning a contract, especially with the turnover we're about to see with our defensemen (Teppo, Spacek, possibly Tallinder). Again, there's some decent size here and he plays a smart game. He was obviously the better of these two players, but age plays a major role in that. I think you'll see him in Portland next year... anything that frees up Gragnani for that fulltime switch to forward can't hurt this team's system.

[LabattBlue]

I had completely forgotten about this thread until this past weekend. It seems like I'm seeing a different Sabres defenseman draft pick each weekend. It's a bit rough for me because the defensemen are some of the last guys I'm usually paying attention too unless they fit one of two styles:

1) that dominant physical force on both sides of the game, the Chris Pronger type

2) the all out offensive defensemen, I'll just say the Campbell type since that's who most around here will know (and as a whole, I can't stand this kind of player)

 

Last weekend brought 2007 7th round draft pick Drew MacKenzie of Vermont into town. He's got some decent size, but in typical college freshman form, he needs to bulk up a bit. He does see a good amount of ice time, including significant time on the PP, including a very nice assist. I really didn't notice him much defensively though, which is usually a good thing. He's definitely a long shot, but he's got plenty of time to develop and he'll definitely be facing strong competition throughout his college career.

 

This past weekend brought in defensemen, 2005 7th round pick Matt Generous of Saint Lawrence. He's a senior, so this is the end of the line if he wants a contract. I can definitely see this kid earning a contract, especially with the turnover we're about to see with our defensemen (Teppo, Spacek, possibly Tallinder). Again, there's some decent size here and he plays a smart game. He was obviously the better of these two players, but age plays a major role in that. I think you'll see him in Portland next year... anything that frees up Gragnani for that fulltime switch to forward can't hurt this team's system.

Thanks and here's to your last sentence. :thumbsup:

[Wyborowa]

i can't wait to see Zagrapen, Orpik, Myers, Kennedy play in a NHL jersey....

 

I think Zagrapen would play alot better if he got called up....

[inkman]

i can't wait to see Zagrapen, Orpik, Myers, Kennedy play in a NHL jersey....

I'm not sure that will ever happen.

 

What has you so excited about Zagrapan? He has done nothing so far...in the AHL.

 

As far as Orpik, all I've heard is that he won't wear an NHL sweater.

[Two or less]

Yeah i don't think Orpik will be signed after he gets out of college. He's just not that good. He's just a 3rd liner on Boston College.

 

As for Zags, i think he'll be in Europe next season. He's another bust.

 

The guys i am very excited for, are Tyler Ennis and Paul Byron. I think both will be great. I think Ennis' slow start will cost him a spot on Team Canada for the WJC but Tyler Myers should make the squad. He's another guy i can't wait for. And Luke Adam. He may be the Sabres best chance to have a Lucic.

[shrader]

Thanks and here's to your last sentence. :thumbsup:

 

I put that in there just for you.

 

 

Orpik? Yeah, that won't happen. I guess I'll have a chance to post about him after this weekend, but after seeing him in at least 20 games over the last 3+ years, I've never noticed a thing about the kid. That's never a good sign. If he's even signed, it will be for PR reasons.