Mark Pysyk

[MDFan]

Boooooooooooooooooo stop effing with kids for no reason

This does not hurt Pysyk and could help him. What it does do is allow Nolan to get a longer look at his bottom defensemen without having to sit Pysyk which clearly does him no good at all. They have flexibility to send him down, keep him playing, so that is the logical move. The Sabres will likely move one or more of Weber, McBain, and Sultzer before year end as part of a package or outright waiver so you might want to make sure you know what you have if you are Nolan.

[tom webster]

This does not hurt Pysyk and could help him. What it does do is allow Nolan to get a longer look at his bottom defensemen without having to sit Pysyk which clearly does him no good at all. They have flexibility to send him down, keep him playing, so that is the logical move. The Sabres will likely move one or more of Weber, McBain, and Sultzer before year end as part of a package or outright waiver so you might want to make sure you know what you have if you are Nolan.

 

As I said before, it takes a big chunk out of his paycheck, so it does hurt him. Its part of the deal, however, and the players seem to deal with it.

[qwksndmonster]

This does not hurt Pysyk and could help him. What it does do is allow Nolan to get a longer look at his bottom defensemen without having to sit Pysyk which clearly does him no good at all. They have flexibility to send him down, keep him playing, so that is the logical move. The Sabres will likely move one or more of Weber, McBain, and Sultzer before year end as part of a package or outright waiver so you might want to make sure you know what you have if you are Nolan.

All I know is that watching Sulzer made me sick last night.

[drnkirishone]

 

All I know is that watching Sulzer made me sick last night.

well you are suppose to drink a full glass of water with it....

[inkman]

well you are suppose to drink a full glass of water with it....

:lol:

[26CornerBlitz]

well you are suppose to drink a full glass of water with it....

 

Not necessary...This brand has no fizz. :) Placebo.

Edited December 19, 2013 by 26CornerBlitz

[Doohicksie]

More reason to love Pysyk.

[SwampD]

More reason to love Pysyk.

That just makes me like Moulson all the more. I love his reactions the whole time.

[LGR4GM]

I thought we should revive this thread. As we go into this season many people are focused on Risto, Zadorov, Zemgus, Reinhart and such because they are all 1st round picks we are excited about. Well I am excited about this guy. Mark Pysyk, our 2010 first round pick at 23rd overall. Now Pysyk last year put in what can only be described as a solid season. According to some advanced stats he faced the 3rd best level of competition and yet had decent corsi numbers and such. On a more level note, to me he always seemed to pass the eye test. He looked good when he was out on the ice and he didn't panic.

 

Prior to the Olympic break he was returned to Rochester where I figured he would spend the next couple of weeks playing and learning but he never did return to the Sabres. From what I have read and gathered Timmy thought he needed to work on his offense and wanted him getting top minutes in Rochester. Now as we go into this season I am eagerly anticipating his ascension from borderline NHL player to permanent top 4 defender.

 

I view Pysyk as top 4 for a couple of reasons. First is his skating ability. He has decent speed but more importantly has good footspeed and balance on his edges. Watch him work down low sometime he can be elusive to opposing forwards trying to check him. On top of that he is smart. He isn't overly flashy and unless you look for him, you may not notice him an entire game... but that means he is doing it right. Pysyk is one of those steady guys who is large enough physically to give forwards hell but smart enough mentally to know when to dish it out or take a hit to make a play.

 

Bottom line is Pysyk is a steady guy without the flash or hype that Risto, Reinhart, Zadorov have gotten but he has similar potential (meaning he could be a valuable contributor to an NHL team) and he is someone who I think can take another important step forward this year and really change how we play in our defensive zone.

[dudacek]

Full agreement. Kid may see some growing pains this year, but I read the depth chart as proof they expect him to be with the big club for good this season.

I'm terrible at remembering which D plays which side, but style-wise, in the not-to-distant future I see him as the steady complement to either Myers or Risto on our top pair. He will never wow you, but he will make a quiet difference.

I've said it before, I think he's a Numminen type who will play in the league for a long-time.

Edited September 17, 2014 by dudacek

[Hoss]

I get the feeling from the little I have seen that Pysyk, and Girgensons for that matter, love the city and will be nearly lifers if talent and timing allow it.

[drnkirishone]

I like pysyk. I think he has a excellent chance of having a long lucrative career. I know I have said it before, but he plays the game rhe way I like from defense. Good skating, good stick work, physical enough to not get pushed around, good passing.

[nfreeman]

I thought we should revive this thread. As we go into this season many people are focused on Risto, Zadorov, Zemgus, Reinhart and such because they are all 1st round picks we are excited about. Well I am excited about this guy. Mark Pysyk, our 2010 first round pick at 23rd overall. Now Pysyk last year put in what can only be described as a solid season. According to some advanced stats he faced the 3rd best level of competition and yet had decent corsi numbers and such. On a more level note, to me he always seemed to pass the eye test. He looked good when he was out on the ice and he didn't panic.

 

Prior to the Olympic break he was returned to Rochester where I figured he would spend the next couple of weeks playing and learning but he never did return to the Sabres. From what I have read and gathered Timmy thought he needed to work on his offense and wanted him getting top minutes in Rochester. Now as we go into this season I am eagerly anticipating his ascension from borderline NHL player to permanent top 4 defender.

 

I view Pysyk as top 4 for a couple of reasons. First is his skating ability. He has decent speed but more importantly has good footspeed and balance on his edges. Watch him work down low sometime he can be elusive to opposing forwards trying to check him. On top of that he is smart. He isn't overly flashy and unless you look for him, you may not notice him an entire game... but that means he is doing it right. Pysyk is one of those steady guys who is large enough physically to give forwards hell but smart enough mentally to know when to dish it out or take a hit to make a play.

 

Bottom line is Pysyk is a steady guy without the flash or hype that Risto, Reinhart, Zadorov have gotten but he has similar potential (meaning he could be a valuable contributor to an NHL team) and he is someone who I think can take another important step forward this year and really change how we play in our defensive zone.

 

Huh?

 

As for the rest of this post: I think Pysyk has shown flashes that he could develop into the kind of guy that you and dudacek describe, but IMHO he'll need to have a very high-end hockey IQ to become a solid top-4 defenseman -- and we haven't seen enough yet to know whether this is the case. He doesn't have the body to play a physical game, nor the offensive skills (shooting or passing) to be a difference-maker in terms of contributing to the offense. He has very quick feet and great balance on his skates, but not the top-end speed I was expecting based on all of the raves we heard when he was drafted.

 

I also think the Sabres kinda think he'll get there this year, but they aren't sure, which is why they signed Benoit.

[inkman]

Yeah the ONE FREAKING THING that was seriously in question was if his 175lbs frame could handle the rigors of being an NHL defenseman.

[LGR4GM]

Huh?

Yeah the ONE FREAKING THING that was seriously in question was if his 175lbs frame could handle the rigors of being an NHL defenseman.

I was thinking that at 6'1" 193lbs he has the size to match most forwards in the corners. Most guys aren't 6'4" 220lbs.

[dudacek]

His size certainly isn't a strength, and his physical game is meh.

But from what I've seen, he's good at not putting himself in situations where he is going to lose a physical matchup.

 

The puck is off his stick quickly and safely. He uses that stick effectively to separate the puck from charging puck carriers, break up passes and tie people up in front of the net. He doesn't engage attackers head-on, he angles them away from danger areas.

He's not an explosive skater, but he is fast (forward, backward and laterally) and very poised and efficient. He uses his feet to get to the right spots ahead of his opponent. I'd argue that his defensive IQ is already above-average and it is going to get better.

Sometimes less is more on the back end.

 

I don't think you will ever get big plays or big numbers from him, just a lot of quiet efficiency.

i do wonder what a mature Pysyk will be like in big games. Will his style be an asset because he will keep his head when others are not? Or will he lack the edge to make a difference against more dynamic players who can match his IQ?

Edited September 17, 2014 by dudacek

[darksabre]

If he can be Hank Tallinder before the injuries I'll be okay with that.

[Huckleberry]

If he can be Hank Tallinder before the injuries I'll be okay with that.

 

Think he'll be better than that though, in 2 yrs time he should slot in as an excellent #4-5

[nfreeman]

If he can be Hank Tallinder before the injuries I'll be okay with that.

 

But Tallinder, although also not a big hitter, had a pretty different style and body -- a decent skater but not great, and 6'4" with a long wingspan that he used to disrupt passing lanes. Pysyk needs to play a different game.

 

I think a better comparable is Chris Butler, who didn't turn out the way we were hoping. It would be a disappointment (although not a shock) if Pysyk didn't surpass Butler.

[drnkirishone]

I don't really know any comparable for pysyk. His stick checkimg reminds me of lidstrom, his skating reminds me of svoboda, and his breakout passing of campbell. Obviously not on the levels of lidstrom or campbell but it reminds me of it. As for the critism of his physical play. Are people confusing physical play with big hits? Cause he does play the body and he does engage in front of the net and it is not the token effort campbell would do.

Edited September 17, 2014 by drnkirishone

[bcsaberks]

James Patrick.

 

I'm bullish on him too.

[LTS]

Pysyk, the Unsung.

 

He's the kind of guy, who at the end of his career, you'll say. "He did all that."?

[Derrico]

I love Pysyk. One of those guys that always seems to make the right pass and is great at breaking the puck out of our own end. He also makes good decisions in the offensive end in regards to passing and pinching. I don't think he'll ever score many goals or throw big hits but he is a quietly good player. You never hear about him which is great for D-men. Based on our great depth with young D I think he will eventually slot in as an excellent number 4 or 5 guy as someone has mentioned above.

[nfreeman]

James Patrick.

 

I'm bullish on him too.

 

Whoa.

 

Patrick had 36 pts in his first full NHL season, then 43 pts, then 55+ pts in 5 of his next 6 seasons, including 1 season with 71 pts and 1 with 62.

 

Pysyk will probably have zero or 1 NHL season with 40+ pts.

 

Pysyk is a very good skater. Patrick was an F-15.

 

I think we're talking apples and oranges.

[shrader]

Whoa.

 

Patrick had 36 pts in his first full NHL season, then 43 pts, then 55+ pts in 5 of his next 6 seasons, including 1 season with 71 pts and 1 with 62.

 

Pysyk will probably have zero or 1 NHL season with 40+ pts.

 

Pysyk is a very good skater. Patrick was an F-15.

 

I think we're talking apples and oranges.

 

Speaking of apples and oranges, that rookie season for Patrick came in the same year where Gretzky lead the league with 208 points. Comparing to the scoring of that era is never going to fly. Just look at some of the numbers here. And speaking of that, what sticks out to me the most... only one goalie had a save percentage over 0.9. It's crazy how much things have changed.

 

Edit: I think the Patrick most people think of now is the one who played for the latter 40 years of his 80 year career, just a solid middle of the pack defenseman who played smart and was never a liability out there.

Edited September 17, 2014 by shrader