2019-20 Sabres Prospects

[rakish]

1 hour ago, Derrico said:

Wowzers Rakish.  I would love to know the criteria you use as you’ve been very right on guys in the past.  But having guys like Lukas Rouset and Alex  Nylander way ahead of Mitts is crazy town.  

I mentioned Mittlestadt in the post, he was in the wrong league, had he been in the AHL his numbers would have looked normal, but not scoring much in the NHL is difficult to get the model to adjust to. In the end, you know where Mittlestadt is, this is to tell you how Linus Weissbach is doing, he had a pretty good year

Edited June 25, 2019 by rakish
I'm an idiot

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Derrico said:

Wowzers Rakish.  I would love to know the criteria you use as you’ve been very right on guys in the past.  But having guys like Lukas Rouset and Alex  Nylander way ahead of Mitts is crazy town.  

Well had Mittelstadt not been force fed minutes & match ups he wasn't ready for would expect Mitts to have been far further up the rankings. 

I'm pleased to see Davidsson as far up as he is.  He was a beast along the boards on the WJC team that lost to Canada.

[rakish]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Well had Mittelstadt not been force fed minutes & match ups he wasn't ready for would expect Mitts to have been far further up the rankings. 

I'm pleased to see Davidsson as far up as he is.  He was a beast along the boards on the WJC team that lost to Canada.

Yes absolutely, what I'm doing is contextualizing the stats. Your brain does that naturally in this case since you have a good grasp of the context that Mittlestadt was in. Having the model understand the context is more important as you get further down the food chain. I understand Buffalo usage quite well, Rochester a little, NCAA stuff almost none, and Euro players zero, so I rely on the software to tell me the context.

It's rather obvious that 2017 was a really good draft. Right now I'm not the biggest fan of 18 and 19, but we'll see.

[#freejame]

9 hours ago, tom webster said:

For the record, Campbell only played two and a half seasons in AHL and his call ups in years one and two were twelve and eight games,

Playing two and a half seasons in the AHL is the same as playing in three AHL seasons. Unless you’re just getting more specific, I’m not sure the point you’re trying to make. He didn’t stick in the NHL year one and two, year three he did. 

[tom webster]

Thanks for clarifying.

[Formerly Allan in MD]

I want to smile about Nylander this season.

[Hoss]

11 minutes ago, Formerly Allan in MD said:

I want to smile about Nylander this season.

You will. He’s going for 22 goals and 31 assists this season. Someone save this post and call me out when I’m not wrong.

[Ogre]

21 minutes ago, Hoss said:

You will. He’s going for 22 goals and 31 assists this season. Someone save this post and call me out when I’m not wrong.

If you’re right I’ll call you out just to find out what you were smoking....Don’t tell me now! That would ruin it...and I would want some...

[inkman]

25 minutes ago, Hoss said:

You will. He’s going for 22 goals and 31 assists this season. Someone save this post and call me out when I’m not wrong.

NHL?

[GASabresIUFAN]

http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/oskari-laaksonen-quietly-one-of-sabres-best-prospects/

Article on Laaksonen with some info on his former Finnish teammate Ruotsalainen.  Any doubt that the scouts watching Laaksonen's improvement last season made notes on Ruotsalainen.

Could Ruotsalainen by the Droid we've been looking for?

I'm kind of surprised that the Sabres didn't tender Dougherty.  I thought he had a very good year in Rochester.  Oh Well.  

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by GASabresIUFAN

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/oskari-laaksonen-quietly-one-of-sabres-best-prospects/

Article on Laaksonen with some info on his former Finnish teammate Ruotsalainen.  Any doubt that the scouts watching Laaksonen's improvement last season made notes on Ruotsalainen.

Could Ruotsalainen by the Droid we've been looking for?

I'm kind of surprised that the Sabres didn't tender Dougherty.  I thought he had a very good year in Rochester.  Oh Well.  

 

What droid is that?

[Brawndo]

5 hours ago, Thorny said:

What droid is that?

[North Buffalo]

3 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

So where is his hologram message... who is gonna save the Sabres... I noticed you left that out... suspicious..

[inkman]

6 hours ago, Thorny said:

What droid is that?

Arttu (Ruotsalainen) 

[Thorner]

I'm dumb. Doh. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

5 hours ago, inkman said:

Arttu (Ruotsalainen) 

I thought it was obvious, but thanks for catching the joke.

Back to the prospect list - Prospect is defined as a player 23 and under, who is waiver exempt (for the pros) and played part of last season in the AHL or lower leagues.

Here is my revised top 20.

1. UPL - making move to pro game, but was arguably the best non-pro goalie in the world last season

2. Cozens - Potential to be a top line winger or 2nd line center in Buffalo

3. Olofsson - former 7th rd pick looks likely to get a top 9 wing job in Buffalo this fall.  Looked good with Jack during late season callup.

4. Asplund - great second half in Roch.  If he builds on it this season, he could be in Buffalo sooner then later.

5. Pilut - dominated in Rochester and looked decent in Buffalo early but ended up injured.  Excellent puck mover we need on the 3rd pair.

6. Borgen - Physical stay at home D who skates decently.  Bogo's replacement after this season.

7. Johnson - 1st rd all around D.  Description reminds me of a faster Tallinder. I demoted Jonson a little on the list because the three players just ahead of him are very close to NHL ready and Johnson’s upside is similar to Borgen and Pilut.  

8. Thompson - Former 1st rd pick who has played in the NHL most of the last two season, but still hasn't quite figured out how to use his massive frame.  Looked good in late demotion to Roch.  Still think he has 20 goal potential, but might need another couple of years to grow physically stronger.

9. Laaksonen - Maybe should be higher, but hasn't played in NA yet.  However his physical growth combined with a flashy all around game could put him in the top 2 or 3 if the improvement continues. Playing for Finland International is a great sign of how his development has come. 

10.  Ruotsalainen - Small Forward who scored 21 goals and added 21 assists in the Finnish Elite league.  Could be Olofsson 2.0. Could move quickly up this board.

11. Nylander - While talent is there maybe just needs to play with top talent to bring out his best.  Make or break year for him. Demoted him behind Ruotsalainen because Ruotsalainen has proven he can score in a good league, while Nylander hasn’t and both guys are 21.

12. Pekar - Our resident pest who has having a good CHL season before an injury.  Starts this season in Roch and I envision a more talented and more disciplined Kaleta long-term.

13. Samuelsson - Physical stay at home D has solid potential but needs more time in college to help his O development.

14. Davidsson - I think of him as Asplund 2.0.  Had a good second half last year.  One more year in SHL (with a new team) and then here.

15. Bryson - Jbot seems to really like this small D's all around game.  Starts in Roch this season.  We'll see if his game translates to the pros.

16. Portillo - 6'6" Swedish G making the move to NA and the USHL and then Michigan.  Could very well have UPL type potential based on his excellent play in the Swedish Jr leagues.  Still one never quite knows with goalies, but he is likely 4 years away.

 17. Huglen - Kind of a Mitts lite kind of player.  Nice frame but needs 20 lbs of muscle to reach potential. 

18. Weissbach - Small forward was nearly a pt a game scorer for Wisconsin last year

19. Fitzgerald - Making the jump to Rochester after 4 mediocre years at BC.  Still put up 3 pts in 4 late season AHL games.  

20. Hickey - Former 3rd rd pick by Calg in 2014, had a rough 1st pro season but was rewarded with a qualifying offer.  I guess the Sabres see something.  I’m not so sure.

Others to watch Cederqvist, Kukkonen and Glotov (I want to see what he can do in Rochester)

Removed - Dougherty - A Former 2nd rd pick who I thought he impressed with solid stay at home play in Rochester.  Sadly he wasn’t given a qualifying offer by the Sabres.

[Randall Flagg]

I think Olofsson is going to be so good 

[WildCard]

8 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

I think Olofsson is going to be so good 

25-17-42 for him next year calling it now 

[Randall Flagg]

2 minutes ago, WildCard said:

25-17-42 for him next year calling it now 

30-31-61

[...]

2 minutes ago, WildCard said:

25-17-42 for him next year calling it now 

No friggin' way.

My call is 24-18-42.

[WildCard]

Just now, Randall Flagg said:

30-31-61

Do you think he'll have more assists than goals? I could see him netting 30 though 

[Randall Flagg]

3 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Do you think he'll have more assists than goals? I could see him netting 30 though 

His first "holy *****" play for me:

And assists are easier to get than goals

But you may be right that his stat line will get dominated by goals

Just checked his rochester stat sheet: 66 games, 30 goals, 33 assists

Edited June 28, 2019 by Randall Flagg

[Hoss]

21-17-38 and I’d be very happy with that. I do think he could just go berzerk.

[WildCard]

I've been big on him since last summer. I really wanted him to start in the NHL selfishly but really the AHL was much better for him.

 

It would be so nice if one of our prospects worked out and we didn't have to fill a big hole in our top 6 through trade or FA

3 minutes ago, Hoss said:

21-17-38 and I’d be very happy with that. I do think he could just go berzerk.

Yeah I think he gets 20g at least barring something strange, but I do think he could get 30g like Flagg said, and 50+ points. A huge chunk of that though is of course who he plays with. Will Krueger let the inexperienced NHL guys get significant ice time? I hope so 

[...]

If they put him where he belongs, and, IMHO, that's on the first line with Jack and Jeff, I could see him easily breaking 40 points, probably getting 50 or more.  I think most of that will come as assists.  He's good on the walls and has the other two to finish.  To me, the only real question is if Olofsson can hang on that line for the season.