Draft Day 2013

[inkman]

I think I might cry :(

Meh, he might turn into something nice but speeding by a middle of the road NHL defenseman in the preseason doesn't make me yearn. Having another huge Russian question mark on this team might have been just a little too much for this fan base to handle. Risto looks to be the part anyway.

[TrueBlueGED]

Meh, he might turn into something nice but speeding by a middle of the road NHL defenseman in the preseason doesn't make me yearn. Having another huge Russian question mark on this team might have been just a little too much for this fan base to handle. Risto looks to be the part anyway.

 

Maybe for the more-than-slightly xenophobic ones :P

 

Seriously though, I certainly didn't mean to sound like "OMG preseason goals, look at hockey Jesus!"...I just look at the raw talent displayed there and see something the Sabres lack throughout the organization.

[Claude_Verret]

Maybe for the more-than-slightly xenophobic ones :P

 

Seriously though, I certainly didn't mean to sound like "OMG preseason goals, look at hockey Jesus!"...I just look at the raw talent displayed there and see something the Sabres lack throughout the organization.

 

Yes, and with the hindsight of getting Zadarov at 16...damn it would have been nice to have picked this kid up at 8. Hopefully Risto makes it a moot point.

[That Aud Smell]

Meh, he might turn into something nice but speeding by a middle of the road NHL defenseman in the preseason doesn't make me yearn. Having another huge Russian question mark on this team might have been just a little too much for this fan base to handle. Risto looks to be the part anyway.

 

fair points. like i said, though, what if it turns out we were 1 year early when it came to snatching up a falling russian?

 

I just look at the raw talent displayed there and see something the Sabres lack throughout the organization.

 

i felt the same way.

 

Hopefully Risto makes it a moot point.

 

this is where i'm at. we can take real comfort in the fact that we took a guy at 8 who at 18 y/o -- 18 -- looks the part of an nhl defenseman.

[qwksndmonster]

During the draft I did some screaming and ranting and raving when we passed on Nichushkin. Just that pent-up fan rage of spending so many hours reading up on the prospects and having a set opinion being turned on its head.

 

With a talent pool so bereft of first line forward prospects we pass on the only top tier talent that fell to us because he's Russian.

 

As soon as I learned about Rasmus and Nikita I was able to change my tone. It'll be really interesting to see where the kids end up.

[TrueBlueGED]

Yes, and with the hindsight of getting Zadarov at 16...damn it would have been nice to have picked this kid up at 8. Hopefully Risto makes it a moot point.

this is where i'm at. we can take real comfort in the fact that we took a guy at 8 who at 18 y/o -- 18 -- looks the part of an nhl defenseman.

 

I'd be pretty shocked if any of us were disappointed by Risto himself. From everything I've read, and the limited amount I've seen, he has all the makings of a guy who can play top pair minutes for a really long time. It's just that Nichushkin's upside is so tantalizing.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

The Sabres have the best hair in the league between Risto, Armia, and Hodgson

[That Aud Smell]

The Sabres have the best hair in the league between Risto, Armia, and Hodgson

 

talk about worthy topics of discussion.

 

question being: where does this squad rank on the sabres' all-time hair teams?

 

my personal favorite hair moment: conference finals 1999. the color guy from HNIC - neale? - awkwardly remarked as a certain sabre was on screen getting his helmet re-situated while he was in the penalty box (was it mckee?) something along the lines of "days gone by, that beautiful head of hair would have been flowing in the breeze as PLAYER NAME made his way up and down the rink ..."

[sabre snipe]

Looking back almost a year later, the players we got in last years draft (plus trades) could be the turning point of this franchise. It has the potential to be one of if not the best draft we have ever had. And it's insane to think that even after this list below, we will be adding a 2nd overall, 3 seconds this year and 3 1sts next year in a very strong deep draft.

 

Here's the list:

 

1st) Rasmus Ristolainen

Nikita Zadorov

 

2nd) JT Compher

Connor Hurley

Justin Bailey

William Carrier

 

3rd) Nick Baptiste

 

4th) Hudson Fasching

 

5th) CalPeterson

Gustav Possler

Anthony Florentino

 

6th) Sean Malone

 

7th) Eric Locke

 

I think in a redraft, 4 maybe even 5 of those guys would go in the 1st round. (Rasmus, zorro, baptiste, then one or both of fasching compher).

Hurley I think would drop to late second or third although he was the youngest taken in that draft and bailey and carrier I think would be thirds while Peterson and possler would move up a round or two.

 

Regardless this is reassuring to look at. Other teams have to be jealous at our prospect list

[LGR4GM]

I definitely think that Compher and Baptiste are 2 players that could in the future be guys that were "steals" of the draft. Gustav Possler also has a really good shot at that title depending on how he recovers from his injury. At one point in the season Possler was leading MODO in points and goals as a 17yr old kid... that is impressive.