Sabres Looking for Speed

[WildCard]

Seems pretty apparent given Pittsburgh's roster and the additions of fast, mobile players over slow, physical ones that Botterill and Housley want to remove the flat footed and bring in the fleet of foot instead.

 

That being said, what are some good targets the Sabres can look to for that? Who are our slowest players that don't fit this mold, and need to be moved? 

[Gramps]

I'm guessing our slowest players are Pominville, Okposo & Bogosian. Reinhart isn't setting any speed recs either.

 

1st two aren't going anywhere.

[TrueBlueGED]

I'm guessing our slowest players are Pominville, Okposo & Bogosian. Reinhart isn't setting any speed recs either.

 

1st two aren't going anywhere.

I want Bogosian to vanish from the face of the planet, but dude isn't slow. He doesn't have quickness in tight areas, but his top end speed is good.

[WildCard]

I was thinking

 

Reinhart

Okposo

Gorges

Fasching

Larsson

[Thorner]

I think Fasching has decent speed, especially for a bigger dude.

[dudacek]

I don’t know what Fasching speed-bashers are watching. He’s kinda like Bogosian.

Guy needs to work on his quicks, but his top-end speed is fine.

[SwampD]

I hate chasing how the best team is winning. Is the NHL really going speedy and less physical, or does the best team just happen to be that? It won't be long before there will be a really good team that plays a more physical bruising game, and then we'll here about how the NHL is going bigger and tougher.

 

There are plenty fast teams right now that suck.

 

Just get good players.

[Doohicksie]

I hate chasing how the best team is winning. Is the NHL really going speedy and less physical, or does the best team just happen to be that? It won't be long before there will be a really good team that plays a more physical bruising game, and then we'll here about how the NHL is going bigger and tougher.

 

There are plenty fast teams right now that suck.

 

Just get good players.

 

Define "good".

[WildCard]

I think Fasching has decent speed, especially for a bigger dude.

I don’t know what Fasching speed-bashers are watching. He’s kinda like Bogosian.

Guy needs to work on his quicks, but his top-end speed is fine.

Hmm, guess I'm wrong on him then

 

I hate chasing how the best team is winning. Is the NHL really going speedy and less physical, or does the best team just happen to be that? It won't be long before there will be a really good team that plays a more physical bruising game, and then we'll here about how the NHL is going bigger and tougher.

 

There are plenty fast teams right now that suck.

 

Just get good players.

Every sport has gotten faster and stayed faster. 

[PalmTreeMafia]

Good topic. I'll take a stab at it, and then hopefully those more knowledgeable can make corrections. I'll do a simple binary categorization of fast/fast enough vs. slow/speed problematic in common game situations.

 

Here are the players I believe are considered to be fast or at least fast enough for most common pro game situations (4D + 9F): Ristolainen, Beaulieu, Bogosian, Antipin, Bailey, Baptiste, Fasching, Eichel, Criscuolo, Girgensons, Kane, Pouliot, Nolan.

 

And here are the slugs (3D + 5F): Scandella, McCabe, Gorges, Okposo, Pominville, O'Reilly, Larsson, Reinhart.

 

My take: I dont think this team is really all that slow? It's true that JB wants the team to get faster and has been taking steps toward doing so, but the rebuilding process is not and shouldn't be a simple process of adding fast players and removing the slow ones. There is plenty of roster space on successful NHL teams for players like Scandella, McCabe, Okposo, O'Reilly, and Reinhart. Faster players like Mittelstadt, Nylander, Guhle, and Bailey should be here full-time next season, too.

Edited December 5, 2017 by FuhrFury

[dudacek]

Scandella is slow now?

WTF do I know?

[WildCard]

One of the reasons I started this thread was because of the Wilson trade / Moulson demotion, and because Pittsburgh had a knack of doing 3 things while Botterill was there

 

1) Draft NCAA players

2) Keep and mature farm system players together

3) Trade and draft fast players, like Sheary and Hagelin 

[SwampD]

Hmm, guess I'm wrong on him then

 

Every sport has gotten faster and stayed faster. 

I thought Griffith and Peter Chris,… I mean Criscruolo were the some of the fastest guys on the ice, and there's a reason they're back in the A. Girgenson is no slouch either. Everyone is fast at this level and we already have plenty of speed. We just need better players.

[WildCard]

I thought Griffith and Peter Chris,… I mean Criscruolo were the some of the fastest guys on the ice, and there's a reason they're back in the A. Girgenson is no slouch either. Everyone is fast at this level and we already have plenty of speed. We just need better players.

You're right, but those players that are better I believe will be fast too. Fast players can be bad too, but I think Botterill wants speed and skill over physicality and skill

[SwampD]

You're right, but those players that are better I believe will be fast too. Fast players can be bad too, but I think Botterill wants speed and skill over physicality and skill

I think he wants all three. At least he better. The playoffs last year were brutally physical, and In my opinion, it wasn't the fastest team that won the Stanley cup, it was the more physical one. Pittsburgh took and gave a beating in that finals.

[pi2000]

This is a more talented roster than last season. Guess what that means.

[erickompositör72]

I hate chasing how the best team is winning. Is the NHL really going speedy and less physical, or does the best team just happen to be that? It won't be long before there will be a really good team that plays a more physical bruising game, and then we'll here about how the NHL is going bigger and tougher.

 

There are plenty fast teams right now that suck.

 

Just get good players.

 

Any game I turned on during the playoffs last year, I thought "wow, these guys are fast." Seemed like every playoff team- but obviously, my comparison was to the Sabres.

 

It's also about making fast decisions. Slower players who can process the game quickly don't let their lack of speed become a liability.

 

When the Sabres seem to try to make quick decisions and play at a fast pace, they give the puck away and allow odd-man rushes.

 

The other part of that- there needs to be a mix of a "system," where players know automatically where to expect one another to be, and instinct.

 

When players I see who have displayed good instincts in the past suddenly seem to make dumb decisions, I tend to look more critically at the system.

Edited December 5, 2017 by ericcomposer72

[SABRES 0311]

Define "good".

Good = fast

[MODO Hockey]

Good = fast

 

:P

[ubkev]

I thought Griffith and Peter Chris,… I mean Criscruolo were the some of the fastest guys on the ice, and there's a reason they're back in the A. Girgenson is no slouch either. Everyone is fast at this level and we already have plenty of speed. We just need better players.

Seriously, thanks for that reference. All I could think about, every time I saw that name, was that stupid cat make-up.

[Stoner]

I hate chasing how the best team is winning. Is the NHL really going speedy and less physical, or does the best team just happen to be that? It won't be long before there will be a really good team that plays a more physical bruising game, and then we'll here about how the NHL is going bigger and tougher.

 

There are plenty fast teams right now that suck.

 

Just get good players.

This sounds right. Also: how many guys are riding Crosby's coat tails?

[North Buffalo]

Watched Nashville last night, their puck movement transition, puck handling was awesome as they picked apart the Bruins in the first period and Bruins didnt play bad they had chances, enjoyable game to watch. To bad exhausted. PS D for Nashville was fast and physical and even Chara got nailed. No fear by forwards in corners, hard and fast no let up.

[Jacque Richard]

That’s great can they shoot the puck on the net.

[inkman]

That’s great can they shoot the puck on the net.

I thought the problem was shooting directly into the goalies Crest. It's so hard to keep up.

[mjd1001]

I hope they are doing whatever it takes to make this team faster and quicker.

 

The problem is not that you are just too slow...it is where it will be hard to upgrade.  Okposo, O'Reilly, and to a certain extent Reinhart.

 

This team gets dominated 5-on-5....where you would think speed makes the most difference. I posted this in another thread but I will summarize here:  The 'fast and good' players (Kane an Eichel) do not rely on the powerplay for their goals. they are very effective scoring 5 on 5.  The other 3 (Okposo, O'Reilly, and REinhart) rely on the PP for almost 45% of their goals (more than twice what Kane and Eichel do).  5 on 5, they are well below average scorers (for sure for the money you pay them and the expectations). 

 

More speed is great, but you have to find a way to get more speed on your top 2 skilled lines.  If/when Kane is gone...the only skilled player you can rely on 5-on-5 for your top 6 will be Eichel.  That's a lot of holes to fill, and why this team is a lot worse than we all expected for the last 2 years.