Viktor Antipin: Progressing quickly and quietly

[LGR4GM]

He has gotten better every single game IMPO.  He is really aware in his own end and constantly is trying to read plays and get the puck out. Never shies away from contact. Skates really well, and has really progressed from game 1 to now. Thoughts?

[Doohicksie]

Yes, agree.  When moving the puck under pressure, he seems unfazed and uses small, subtle maneuvers to avoid the pressure.  Other Sabres D seem to hurry the pass; he'll just move the puck to a slightly more open area and skate into it (and away from the pressure).  It seems like he has eyes in the back of his head sometimes.

I just mentioned in the Panther GDT that I see the "leaders" of the D-lines as Scandella, McCabe and Antipin (over Beaulieu).  I think Antipin's downside is that his size is a little smaller than a standard NHL D, but I don't see it when he plays.

[bob_sauve28]

He seems like a good talent, but still needs more time to get better. Glad we have him. I really like all these new defenseman. Scandella is out of this world, even if he does not score much. Antipin looks like his best days are ahead of him. Beaulieu is my fav, but the jury is still out on him. Tennyson, Falk and Fedun are pleasant surprises.

 

So what's the deal with Ghule??

[Huckleberry]

He seems like a good talent, but still needs more time to get better. Glad we have him. I really like all these new defenseman. Scandella is out of this world, even if he does not score much. Antipin looks like his best days are ahead of him. Beaulieu is my fav, but the jury is still out on him. Tennyson, Falk and Fedun are pleasant surprises.

 

So what's the deal with Ghule??

 

Guhle is playing well in rochester now, lets keep him there and develop him.

 

Tennyson really isn't that good, I'd take falk and fedun over him all the time.     

Personally I wonder what type of injury Bogo has, seems there is more going than the team is letting out.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Huckleberry

[dudacek]

From what I’ve seen recently, Falk deserves to be in our top six right now over Tennyson, Beaulieu and possibly McCabe and Antipin.

 

Risto and Scandella are no-brainers, but after that it’s a real salad shooter.

 

This is what I wanted going into the season:

Risto, Scandella, McCabe, Bogosian, Beaulieu, Antipin, Gorges,

 

This is how Phil seemed to stack them going in (obviously guessing on Bogo and Falk)

Risto, Scandella, Bogosian, Beaulieu, Tennyson, McCabe, Antipin

 

And this is how they have played, IMO

Scandella, Risto, Falk, McCabe, Antipin, Fedun, Gorges, Tennyson, Beaulieu

 

It will really be interesting how it all shakes out once we get healthy.

Edited November 10, 2017 by dudacek

[Doohicksie]

Falk and Fedun are pretty much what they were last year:  Dependable depth that can play up in the D corps for periods of time.  You don't have to worry about them too much but you don't have to pay them too much either.

[Randall Flagg]

I think McCabe has largely been a tire-fire this season, unfortunately. 

Antipin is still incredibly sheltered but is doing anything you could hope for from that position. There are several small key skills that he is probably better than any other Sabre defender at. Our defenders have "gap control" in the sense that they don't get walked every time someone skates by them, but they don't have "gap control" which lets them snuff out both passing and shot options with a shift in their wrist position. Antipin has that, as long as he isn't defending guys with elite elite speed. He also makes that calm quick correct decision with the puck that Doohickie mentions more than any other Sabre.

I haven't watched close enough lately to really judge how Falk has been playing but I remember him being surprisingly solid last year so I'm not surprised to see that that has continued, and you have to love the edge he plays with. 

 

Back to Viktor, I hope they continue to slowly move him along the way they have. They have the potential to get a legitimate middle pairing defenseman with all of the right skills for today's game if it continues to go well. 

[French Collection]

I like his puck handling skills. He seems to have his head on a swivel and has good situational awareness.

He lacks the size to be physical but body positioning can make a difference.

 

I think he can be a 4-5 D-man who helps on the PP.

[dudacek]

Back to Viktor, I hope they continue to slowly move him along the way they have. They have the potential to get a legitimate middle pairing defenseman with all of the right skills for today's game if it continues to go well.

 

Wholeheartedly agree. Yet another example of the attention this staff is giving to player development.

Edited November 10, 2017 by dudacek

[Doohicksie]

He also makes that calm quick correct decision with the puck that Doohickie mentions more than any other Sabre.

 

I haven't watched close enough lately to really judge how Falk has been playing but I remember him being surprisingly solid last year so I'm not surprised to see that that has continued, and you have to love the edge he plays with. 

 

Back to Viktor, I hope they continue to slowly move him along the way they have. They have the potential to get a legitimate middle pairing defenseman with all of the right skills for today's game if it continues to go well. 

 

Antipin knows what to do to evade the forecheck.  He should be giving lessons to the other D.  The typical Sabres D reaction to a forecheck is to eat the puck along wall and hold it there to wait for reinforcements (looking a you, Jake).  This often fails because the other team sends in two forecheckers, creating a 2-on-1 along the boards, while the Sabres are trying to play positional hockey (not get bunched up).  By the time the other Sabres react with numbers, the puck is already moving out of the corner to a more dangerous spot, leading to quality scoring chances against.  Antipin plays a bit of keep away, moving the puck until he can make a better pass to a teammate.

 

Falk has a basic skillset and plays a simple game.  One part of his toolbox is the physical aspect.  When it comes to physical play, Falk uses his 6-'5" frame to greater advantage than Tyler Myers ever did as a Sabre.  Against the Caps, Falk's physical game complemented Scandella's skill game to neutralize Ovechkin (mostly).  He did get their one goal, but I've looked at that play and OV made a great move to the middle that fooled everyone.  Just gotta give him kudos.

 

The nice thing about Antipin is that while he's new to the North American game, he's had a lot of high level experience in Europe and seems like a quick study.  I look at some of the acquisitions (yes, I realize Antipin started with XGMTM) and I wonder if maybe one of the criteria they were rated by was whether they thought they'd be good at picking up the new system and demonstrating it the the rest of the team (which was full of DDB's bad habits).  When I look at Antipin, Pommer, Pouliot and Nolan, and even Tennyson, I kind of see that.  I think that was the hope for Beaulieu as well, although he's been hampered by injuries.  I think Gorges may also fall under that umbrella; even though he was part of the DDB fiasco, he's a seasoned enough vet that he should be able to revert back to previously established good habits (hopefully as the #7 D).

[nfreeman]

IMHO, Antipin is too physically overmatched to be in the top 4 of a real contender, but his puck skills and hockey IQ are good enough that I can see him developing -- as early as this year -- into a top 4 defenseman on the Sabres and in the top 6 of pretty much any team.