2018 - 2019 Sabres Prospects

[Weave]

3 hours ago, Marions Piazza said:

are you talking about Mike Wilson?

 

Norman Lacombe

[IKnowPhysics]

Top 100 NHL Prospects: https://lastwordonhockey.com/2018/09/04/top-nhl-prospects-100-81/

Sabres:

93) Linus Ullmark

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At 6-foot-4 Ulmark has a frame that most NHL teams are looking for in their goaltenders in recent years. He is an extremely athletic goalie. He is a good skater. Ullmark plays deep in his net and does not always take advantage of his size by coming out to the top of the crease and challenging shooters. However, his quick reflexes and excellent butterfly technique allow him to still make the save. He has an excellent side-to-side push, getting across the crease quickly and in control.

88) Tage Thompson

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At 6-foot-5, Thompson has the size and uses it to his full advantage in playing a power forward’s game. He is often the first one in on the forecheck, pressuring defenders into mistakes. He works very well down low, below the hash marks, cycling the puck and getting to the front of the net. Once there he can tip in pucks, pounce on rebounds, or fire in a pass from a teammate. Thompson also has an excellent one-timer, however, his wrist shot is an elite tool. It is powerful and features a quick release allowing him to score goals from further out.

 

70) Alexander Nylander

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A strong playmaker, Nylander has the ability to handle the puck as well as make precise passes while moving at top speed. His wrist shot features a quick release, but he must add upper body strength in order to add power to his shot. This will allow him to become a sniper in addition to his current skills as a playmaker. Nylander possesses soft hands and finishes plays in tight to the net. He also has the instincts to get open in the zone and get his shot off. Nylander’s great vision and hockey sense make him a dangerous player. He can thread the needle through small openings when passing to teammates. Nylander’s stickhandling allowed him to protect the puck in junior and will be useful going forward but he must add more bulk to really succeed in playing the cycle game against bigger opponents in the pros.

37) Brendan Guhle

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Guhle is a strong puck-moving defenceman. His strong skating is combined with good puck handling skills making him someone who can lead the rush. He is also willing to join as a trailer. Guhle has a good array of shooting skills that make him dangerous in this position, or at the point on the power play. He has a very hard slap shot and an excellent one-timer. He also utilizes a good wrist shot and snapshot, both of which feature a quick release. His ability to vary his shots, where he shoots from; and a willingness to go to both sides of the net and high or low all make him difficult to defend. He uses his agility to open up passing and shooting lanes. Guhle can control the play and quarterback things from the point.

6) Casey Mittelstadt

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Mittelstadt has excellent puck handling ability. He can beat defensemen one-on-one with a number of moves and has the soft hands to stick handle in a phone booth. He combines this with his skating ability to really create chances both on the rush or working down low. Mittelstadt is an excellent playmaker who creates passing lanes with his quick puck movement, stops and starts, and deceptive moves. He only needs a small opening and can make difficult passes through tight spaces, or the tough saucer pass. Add to this excellent hockey sense, and the intelligence to make smart plays with the puck, and Mittelstadt makes his linemates better.

He can also be a goal scorer. Mittelstadt has a varied arsenal of shots. His wrist and snapshots both feature good power, accuracy, and a lightning quick release. He can score from further out with a good slapshot. Mittelstadt also has the soft hands to finish plays in close to the net, including rebounds and deflections. Mittelstadt is an outstanding skater. He has excellent top-end speed, as well as the quick first step, and strong acceleration to take advantage of it. This strong skating allows Mittelstadt to get to loose pucks, create odd-man rushes and to play a strong two-way game.

 

1) Rasmus Dahlin

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The key to Rasmus Dahlin’s game begins with his outstanding skating. He has very good speed and outstanding acceleration in both directions. His skating is sublime and at times he seems to be floating above the ice. Dahlin has outstanding pivots, agility, and edge work. This allows him to cover all areas of the ice, and transition quickly from offence to defence. Dahlin is strong on the puck, but should get even stronger, and continue to improve his balance as he adds muscle.

Dahlin is an elite offensive defenceman, who has been playing above his age group for quite some time, both at the international and club level. Dahlin’s passing ability is outstanding, with extremely good vision and the ability to thread the needle through the smallest openings. He can start the rush, make the long breakaway pass, and quarterback the power-play. He also has an outstanding slap shot and one-timer. Dahlin moves the puck out of the zone quickly. He utilizes his skating and strong first pass to start the transition game.

Dahlin’s creativity and hockey sense are off the charts. He makes plays that other defenders would not even dream of trying. His strong skating allows him to walk the line, and to open up passing and shooting lanes. Couple this with the stickhandling to elude defenders one-on-one and the skating to beat them as well, and he is one of the most dynamic offensive defencemen in years.

 

 

 

Top 10:

10) Kirill Kaprizov (LW, MIN)

9) Martin Necas (C, CAR)

8.) Jesperi Kotkaniemi (C, MON)

7) Filip Zadina (RW, DET)

6) Casey Mittelstadt (C, BUF)

5) Quinn Hughes (LD, VAN)

4) Miro Heiskanen (RD, DAL)

3) Andrei Svechnikov (RW, CAR)

2) Elias Pettersson (C, VAN)

1) Rasmus Dahlin (LD, BUF)

 

Edited September 8, 2018 by IKnowPhysics

[Hoss]

Metaj Pekar with two goals in his debut with Barrie.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Sabres terminated the contract of Karabacek.  Another failed TM 2nd rd pick. Not a surprise.  I guess the kid will go back to the Czech Republic and have a nice career.  

Could have had Montour with that pick. 

Sabres has 9 picks in 2014 including 3 2nds and 2 3rds.  So far we only have Samson to show for it.  Cornel and Johansson are still on the system but neither looks like an NHLer.  The only one with a chance is our last pick Olofsson.  That is pretty lousy drafting considering our draft position and number of picks.  TM’s failures in the draft are one of the reasons this rebuild stalled.

Edited September 21, 2018 by GASabresIUFAN

[WildCard]

9 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Sabres terminated the contract of Karabacek.  Another failed TM 2nd rd pick. Not a surprise.  I guess the kid will go back to the Czech Republic and have a nice career.  

Could have had Montour with that pick. 

Did he get injured or something? His QMJHL production declined pretty steadily after we drafted him

[GASabresIUFAN]

8 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Did he get injured or something? His QMJHL production declined pretty steadily after we drafted him

No he was just a waste of a contract.

[WildCard]

30 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

No he was just a waste of a contract.

It's odd to see a healthy prospect decline in production in a junior league. I would get it if he fell apart in the AHL, but he just got worse, as he got older and bigger, in the Q. Weird

[Ogre]

58 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

No he was just a waste of a contract.

 His juniors careers ended with injury. He was also injured in his first pro preseason. He ended up in the ECHL and never really did much when he was called up to the A...

I had high hopes but it wasn’t meant to be.

[Brawndo]

 

[tom webster]

5 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Sabres terminated the contract of Karabacek.  Another failed TM 2nd rd pick. Not a surprise.  I guess the kid will go back to the Czech Republic and have a nice career.  

Could have had Montour with that pick. 

Sabres has 9 picks in 2014 including 3 2nds and 2 3rds.  So far we only have Samson to show for it.  Cornel and Johansson are still on the system but neither looks like an NHLer.  The only one with a chance is our last pick Olofsson.  That is pretty lousy drafting considering our draft position and number of picks.  TM’s failures in the draft are one of the reasons this rebuild stalled.

Check the rest of that draft. There have been almost no NHL production from the entire second round. On top of that, TM took over mid year and was forced to use whatever scouting department was left.

[WildCard]

1 minute ago, tom webster said:

Check the rest of that draft. There have been almost no NHL production from the entire second round. On top of that, TM took over mid year and was forced to use whatever scouting department was left.

Without having checked the rest of that draft, if that's true it's a good point

[Brawndo]

Here is the entire 2014 Draft with its production at the NHL Level thus far 

 

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl2014e.html

[WildCard]

8 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Here is the entire 2014 Draft with its production at the NHL Level thus far 

 

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl2014e.html

Remember when we all thought Brendan Lemieux was gonna be a big deal? #Mekar

Wow, we had 3 2nd round picks and missed on all of them. That's kinda impressive

Edited September 21, 2018 by WildCard

[Hoss]

25 minutes ago, tom webster said:

Check the rest of that draft. There have been almost no NHL production from the entire second round. On top of that, TM took over mid year and was forced to use whatever scouting department was left.

Brandon Montour, Ryan Donato and Christian Dvorak were all taken in the next nine picks. No excuses for Timmay.

[tom webster]

Montout’s the only guy that might be a difference maker.

That draft will end up being amongst the worst ever.

 

[Randall Flagg]

Today is the first day in at least 2 months that I've remembered that Ogelvie and O'Regan are not the same player. I've thought about/seen one or the other various times, but never both at the same time. 

Edited September 22, 2018 by Randall Flagg

[Thorner]

18 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

Today is the first day in at least 2 months that I've remembered that Ogelvie and O'Regan are not the same player. I've thought about/seen one or the other various times, but never both at the same time. 

[Hoss]

15 hours ago, tom webster said:

Montout’s the only guy that might be a difference maker.

That draft will end up being amongst the worst ever.

 

“Difference maker” is the most vague and subjective description for a player. Dvorak both appears to be a solid NHL player, Donato on the way. Karabacek couldnt even score in the ECHL. It’s a bad miss from GMTM. Trying to go around it is gymnastics.

[Die Hard]

I watched the prospects game against the Bruins. I came away extremely impressed with Donato (who I knew nothing about until then). Every time he touched the puck.... he controlled play and was a step faster than anybody else. He’s a very dangerous player. 

To learn he could have been drafted by the Sabres... is a little disappointing.

Edited September 22, 2018 by Die Hard
Addition

[tom webster]

3 hours ago, Hoss said:

“Difference maker” is the most vague and subjective description for a player. Dvorak both appears to be a solid NHL player, Donato on the way. Karabacek couldnt even score in the ECHL. It’s a bad miss from GMTM. Trying to go around it is gymnastics.

Only if you believe scouting is an exact science. It was a crappy draft, it’s why TM truedbti trade all three picks to grab Larkin. 

His stated draft philosophy was to swing for the fences after the first round. A second round pick in the NHL is akin to a 6th or 7th in the NFL. The only bad misses occur in first round. After that it’s slmist all luck.

 

[LGR4GM]

Completely disagree about 2nd round picks. 

[Doohicksie]

22 hours ago, tom webster said:

TM took over mid year and was forced to use whatever scouting department was left.

No excuse.  It's not like he came into the Sabres job in a vacuum.  He was a long-time hockey insider prior to that.

[inkman]

4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Completely disagree about 2nd round picks. 

Tbf, only 2nd round picks that you advocate. 

[tom webster]

5 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Completely disagree about 2nd round picks. 

Three or four of the second rounders from that draft will be anything more then a JAG and likely only one will be a top 4 forward or a top 3 defender.

I am not dismissing the value of depth and I don’t want to over simplify but it’s those top 8(4F, 3D, 1G) that drive the bus. The teams that contend are the ones that time it right with the top 8 joined by 3 or 4 ready to take over and 1 or 2 surprises.

No matter how refined and detailed, numbers can only project and there is nothing I’ve seen yet that makes scouting an exact science. It’s educated guessing mixed in with a ton of luck.

[Hoss]

Still, none of this excuses whiffing on three second-round picks. In the draft a GM’s job is to beat the numbers, not follow them.