Excitement Level For This Season!

[GASabresIUFAN]

My Braves are heading towards the playoffs for the first time in years.  My Hoosier basketball team is pre-season top 25 heading into the season for the first time in years with it’s best recruiting class in recent memory and the football team has won a couple of games. Lastly, my Bulldawg football team looks like a juggernaut.   Other then the terrible Bills team, Which I knew was going to be lousy (it’s all about the lines baby), I’m feeling pretty good as a sports fan.

However, the thing I’m most excited about is this coming Sabres season. My brain is telling me not to expect to much.  If we go from worst to 500 then we really have accomplished something.  However, it just feels like something more.

Maybe it stems from the hype around Mitts and R2.  Maybe it stems from the cleansing of the bottom 6 forwards, goaltending and making it Jack’s team. Maybe it stems from Jbot jettisoning the majority of TM’s expensive players (Kane, ROR, Gorges and Lehner).  Maybe it’s the depth Jbot created by acquiring guys like Beglund, Thompson, Skinner and Sheary. Maybe it’s from the raw talent our prospects displayed in the Prospects Challenge.  Maybe it comes from the confidence displayed by Jbot and Sexton.  Maybe it comes from the fact that when I look at the potential Amerks roster I see 14 guys who can contribute in the NHL, 10 of which have a real chance to be full time Sabres with the next couple of years including 6 guys who potentially could be top 6f/top 4d (Guhle, Pilut, Borgen, Asplund, Nylander and Olofsson); aka great organizational depth for the first time since 2004. It’s probably all of the above.  

I’m just so excited for this season to begin.  It feels like the Braves this season.  We here were so jazzed about Albies and Acuna, the vibe around the team seemed different.  They seemed fun again.  Like the Sabres, no one here was expecting the playoffs, but we were expecting and received a much more fun and competitive team to watch.  

Year 2 of a new regime often is a huge step forward.

Kirby Smart took UGA to the National Championship Game in year 2

This year 2 of the Braves new stadium and 2nd full year of Brian Snitker’s tenure as manager. 

This will be Archie Miller’s 2nd season in Bloomington.

Here is hoping for a great season to come in year 2 of the Jbot era. It just feels different this time.

 

Edited September 13, 2018 by GASabresIUFAN

[Randall Flagg]

I've enjoyed the level of positivity on the board in the last few weeks. It's a lot easier and more fun to read here than hfboards where everyone is bunkering down with their talking points and arguing instead of discussing. 

I'm going to keep enjoying it because I think it'll be destroyed (rightfully so) by a slow start, and if there's one thing our Sabres do, it's start slow

[WildCard]

I used to build my week around Sabres games. On Tuesday nights I'd come home and it would feel like a Friday. Thursday nights I'd grab a beer and wings with my dad and head out to meet some friends for our second Friday night. Saturday nights weren't a waste if I didn't have anything going on, in fact I liked staying in because the Sabres were on. West coast games meant a long GDT and something to look forward too all night.

I'm pretty excited to have that feeling back

[Marions Piazza]

Even after we drafted Dahlin, I didn't let my self get too excited for next season, then we traded for Sheary and I was like okay, lets see how this works out, still not super positive, but then the combination of the Skinner and RoR trades AND the success of the prospects, I am pretty excited as well.  

There is a lot to look forward to.  With any luck, Asplund and Nylander have success in Roc and earn call ups early on and continue to play well.  

[nfreeman]

If Howie has advanced up the learning curve, if Hutton has the goods and if Jackie boy and Dahlin stay healthy, this will be the most enjoyable season in forever.

[inkman]

48 minutes ago, Marions Piazza said:

Even after we drafted Dahlin, I didn't let my self get too excited for next season, then we traded for Sheary and I was like okay, lets see how this works out, still not super positive, but then the combination of the Skinner and RoR trades AND the success of the prospects, I am pretty excited as well.  

There is a lot to look forward to.  With any luck, Asplund and Nylander have success in Roc and earn call ups early on and continue to play well.  

What success from the prospects?  The tournament?  Does that mean anything, ever? 

53 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

My Braves are heading towards the playoffs for the first time in years.  My Hoosier basketball team is pre-season top 25 heading into the season for the first time in years with it’s best recruiting class in recent memory and the football team has won a couple of games. Lastly, my Bulldawg football team looks like a juggernaut.   Other then the terrible Bills team, Which I knew was going to be lousy (it’s all about the lines baby), I’m feeling pretty good as a sports fan.

However, the thing I’m most excited about is this coming Sabres season. My brain is telling me not to expect to much.  If we go from worst to 500 then we really have accomplished something.  However, it just feels like something more.

Maybe it stems from the hype around Mitts and R2.  Maybe it stems from the cleansing of the bottom 6 forwards, goaltending and making it Jack’s team. Maybe it stems from Jbot jettisoning the majority of TM’s expensive players (Kane, ROR, Gorges and Lehner).  Maybe it’s the depth Jbot created by acquiring guys like Beglund, Thompson, Skinner and Sheary. Maybe it’s from the raw talent our prospects displayed in the Prospects Challenge.  Maybe it comes from the confidence displayed by Jbot and Sexton.  Maybe it comes from the fact that when I look at the potential Amerks roster I see 14 guys who can contribute in the NHL, 10 of which have a real chance to be full time Sabres with the next couple of years including 6 guys who potentially could be top 6f/top 4d (Guhle, Pilut, Borgen, Asplund, Nylander and Olofsson); aka great organizational depth for the first time since 2004. It’s probably all of the above.  

I’m just so excited for this season to begin.  It feels like the Braves this season.  We here were so jazzed about Albies and Acuna, the vibe around the team seemed different.  They seemed fun again.  Like the Sabres, no one here was expecting the playoffs, but we were expecting and received a much more fun and competitive team to watch.  

Year 2 of a new regime often is a huge step forward.

Kirby Smart took UGA to the National Championship Game in year 2

This year 2 of the Braves new stadium and 2nd full year of Brian Snitker’s tenure as manager. 

This will be Archie Miller’s 2nd season in Bloomington.

Here is hoping for a great season to come in year 2 of the Jbot era. It just feels different this time.

 

*than

[Samson's Flow]

49 minutes ago, WildCard said:

I used to build my week around Sabres games. On Tuesday nights I'd come home and it would feel like a Friday. Thursday nights I'd grab a beer and wings with my dad and head out to meet some friends for our second Friday night. Saturday nights weren't a waste if I didn't have anything going on, in fact I liked staying in because the Sabres were on. West coast games meant a long GDT and something to look forward too all night.

I'm pretty excited to have that feeling back

This. It's been so long since it was worth getting excited for Sabres hockey, that it will be a strange feeling to have that feeling back rather then watching out of some sadistic obligation.

[inkman]

1 minute ago, Samson's Flow said:

This. It's been so long since it was worth getting excited for Sabres hockey, that it will be a strange feeling to have that feeling back rather then watching out of some sadistic obligation.

*than

[GASabresIUFAN]

3 minutes ago, inkman said:

*than

????

[jsb]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

My Braves are heading towards the playoffs for the first time in years.  My Hoosier basketball team is pre-season top 25 heading into the season for the first time in years with it’s best recruiting class in recent memory and the football team has won a couple of games. Lastly, my Bulldawg football team looks like a juggernaut.   Other then the terrible Bills team, Which I knew was going to be lousy (it’s all about the lines baby), I’m feeling pretty good as a sports fan.

 

5 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

????

inkman is just trying to help

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just now, jsb said:

 

inkman is just trying to help

Help.  Not the word I would have chosen.

[jsb]

LOL, I was trying to be nice.

[Samson's Flow]

12 minutes ago, inkman said:

*than

Thanks. Now I know.

"I think I will use the pointy end of the fire poker rather than the handle end to shove it up your @ss later..."

[Doohicksie]

36 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

????

Grammar nazi is gonna nazi.

[LGR4GM]

And instead of ignoring it, we now have several posts giving him all the attention. Thread derailed. Wooooooooooooo! 

[Doohicksie]

Well I'm excited.

About the Sabres I mean.

[Marions Piazza]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

What success from the prospects?  The tournament?  Does that mean anything, ever? 

 

Have some fiber or something, lighten up.  I can't be excited about the successes that Nylander and Asplund had in the tournament?  One is finally showing the skill and play that we have been hoping for and the other is showing signs that he could be ready earlier.  Does it mean that it will translate into the season, maybe not, but it's something to have some excitement over after having a bare cupboard in Roc under GMTM.

Edited September 13, 2018 by Marions Piazza

[dudacek]

I am always excited and hopeful for training camp, whether it is warranted or not.

This year there appears to be a lot more interesting storylines to watch unfold than normal.

Hope most have happy endings. Haven’t had many of those lately.

[DarthEbriate]

I am very excited for the season. There is a t-shirt and meme out there that shows my excited expression and that's what I look like now.

Eich, Reino, Dahlin, Skinner, and Mitts give me hope. But the goalie revisioning is my favorite overall move of the offseason.

[...]

I'm excited.  I haven't looked forward to a season in a few years now.  I hope to God they finally turn a corner this season because who knows how long I, or any other fan whose interest waned, may stay away after this season if they don't.  They have everything they need in place to make this a great season.  Just give me a race for a wildcard slot, some highlight reel plays once in a while, and it'll be a big improvement.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I am always hopeful and not just about the Sabres, but everything.

As I have said in the past, without hope all is lost.

[sabills]

I'm jacked for Skinner with Eichel.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, sabills said:

I'm jacked for Skinner with Eichel.

Shouldn't you be "Jacked" about Eichel?

2 hours ago, N S said:

I am always hopeful and not just about the Sabres, but everything.

As I have said in the past, without hope all is lost.

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."  Andy Dufresne - Shawshank Redemption

Hope is eternal, but this year it seems our supply of hope is greater then in recent years.  I think Jbot has given us more reason to hope then anyone over the last decade. 

Edited September 13, 2018 by GASabresIUFAN

[Thorner]

Rasmus Dahlin.

Honestly, that's all that needs to be said, in my view. How fortunate the Sabres were to win the lottery and achieve a player of his caliber will only become more abundantly clear as time goes by. 

[mjd1001]

I feel better/more excited about this season for the Sabres than for a lot of others, even Jacks first year:

-Dahlin, of course.  I don't expect him to be great right away, but I want to see flashes of greatness.

-Speed.  This might be one of the fastest skating teams we have seen in....at least recent memory

-A lot of change to the roster..and not in a way that looks like it was meant for change's sake..or as a 'quick fix'

-Skinner.   A speedy winger that is a pure finisher. He's like Evander Kane with less physicality but even more 'finish'

-I don't really care if they make the playoffs this year..just I want to see a few things that MAKE me think they are on their way to making it soon.  Also, I'm hoping for/excited to see a team that, for the first time in a while, has the chance to control play and out-shoot/out-possess the other team somewhat frequently.