Updated Sabres Prospect Pool 2021 and beyond

[Crusader1969]

1 minute ago, Crusader1969 said:

I have to challenge you about the “bad in the ECHL”

he was 3rd best in the entire league in both GAA and Sv% during thr 19/20 season

 

Edit.   10th in sv%. 

[Hoss]

Just now, Curt said:

UPL was not bad in the ECHL.  He has played a total of 37 AHL games.  Goalies take time.

I wonder how frequently successful NHL goalies play 40 games of sub .890 sv% hockey in the AHL.

Just now, Crusader1969 said:

Edit.   10th in sv%. 

Oof. So much he was the 10th best goalie in a terrible league. Not great and certainly doesn’t add much confidence.

[Curt]

6 minutes ago, Hoss said:

I wonder how frequently successful NHL goalies play 40 games of sub .890 sv% hockey in the AHL.

I honestly do not know.

[dudacek]

36 minutes ago, Hoss said:

I wonder how frequently successful NHL goalies play 40 games of sub .890 sv% hockey in the AHL.

Oof. So much he was the 10th best goalie in a terrible league. Not great and certainly doesn’t add much confidence.

Tim Thomas played 36 IHL games at .892 when he was 26. Probably the most extreme example.

Jack Campbell 19 AHL games at .884 when he was 24

Binnington .907 in 41 games at 23

Jake Allen .904 in 35 games when he was 23

Blackwood .882 in 31 games when he was 22

That’s just a quick check, so not unheard of, but he certainly has a lot to overcome.

Lets see where he’s at come March.

Edited November 28, 2021 by dudacek

[LabattBlue]

4 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Tim Thomas played 36 IHL games at .892 when he was 26. Probably the most extreme example.

Jack Campbell 19 AHL games at .884 when he was 24

Binnington .907 in 41 games at 23

Jake Allen .904 in 35 games when he was 23

Blackwood .882 in 31 games when he was 22

That’s just a quick check, so not unheard of, but he certainly has a lot to overcome.

Lets see where he’s at come March.

Good stuff! 👍

[Hoss]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Tim Thomas played 36 IHL games at .892 when he was 26. Probably the most extreme example.

Jack Campbell 19 AHL games at .884 when he was 24

Binnington .907 in 41 games at 23

Jake Allen .904 in 35 games when he was 23

Blackwood .882 in 31 games when he was 22

That’s just a quick check, so not unheard of, but he certainly has a lot to overcome.

Lets see where he’s at come March.

Aside from Thomas none of those names inspire me. And there’s a huge gap between suv-.890 and .904/.907.

[Weave]

31 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Aside from Thomas none of those names inspire me. And there’s a huge gap between suv-.890 and .904/.907.

 

[Flashsabre]

35 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Aside from Thomas none of those names inspire me. And there’s a huge gap between suv-.890 and .904/.907.

Umm What? Binnington has won a Cup, Campbell has been lights out. Allen and Blackwood are legit NHL goalies.

There seems to be a narrative where some just seem to want UPL to fail. I don’t get it. Kid has played much better of late he is very young for a pro goalie.

[kas23]

1 hour ago, Hoss said:

Aside from Thomas none of those names inspire me. And there’s a huge gap between suv-.890 and .904/.907.

I would take any of those names over what we have right now.

[Thorner]

47 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Umm What? Binnington has won a Cup, Campbell has been lights out. Allen and Blackwood are legit NHL goalies.

There seems to be a narrative where some just seem to want UPL to fail. I don’t get it. Kid has played much better of late he is very young for a pro goalie.

Pointing out that save %s above 900 do not equal sub 890 isn’t a “narrative” so much as it’s a “fact”

[Hoss]

50 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Umm What? Binnington has won a Cup, Campbell has been lights out. Allen and Blackwood are legit NHL goalies.

There seems to be a narrative where some just seem to want UPL to fail. I don’t get it. Kid has played much better of late he is very young for a pro goalie.

I want UPL to succeed. I’m a Sabres fan. Nobody wants him to fail, it’s just important to note how far off he is from playing meaningful pro hockey.

[Flashsabre]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

Pointing out that save %s above 900 do not equal sub 890 isn’t a “narrative” so much as it’s a “fact”

People wanting to dump on the kid when he has a .920 sv % his last 8 games but ignoring it all together tends to lean towards narrative.

[Hoss]

27 minutes ago, kas23 said:

I would take any of those names over what we have right now.

Absolutely! That’s a layup. And I’m not saying there isn’t good NHL goaltending on that list but none of them are long-term studs to this point except Binnington but, again, there’s a wide gap between .886 and .907.

1 minute ago, Flashsabre said:

People wanting to dump on the kid when he has a .920 sv % his last 8 games but ignoring it all together tends to lean towards narrative.

The conversation started before the last eight games and eight games isn’t a big enough sample size to entirely dissuade the conversation about his struggles. It’s not a narrative.

[Flashsabre]

2 minutes ago, Hoss said:

I want UPL to succeed. I’m a Sabres fan. Nobody wants him to fail, it’s just important to note how far off he is from playing meaningful pro hockey.

I agree with this. It just seems a number of people want to dump on him. At the end of the season we can see where he is at.

My biggest gripe (not from you) are the people who say he has never been good, totally ignoring his OHL career and WJC run.

I’m not going to say he is the solution but before age 24 you really don’t know what you have.

[Hoss]

1 minute ago, Flashsabre said:

I agree with this. It just seems a number of people want to dump on him. At the end of the season we can see where he is at.

My biggest gripe (not from you) are the people who say he has never been good, totally ignoring his OHL career and WJC run.

I’m not going to say he is the solution but before age 24 you really don’t know what you have.

There’s a full chance UPL puts up numbers in the NHL he never came close to in the AHL. Not only because the two leagues very different, but also because goalies are ***** weird.

[dudacek]

13 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Absolutely! That’s a layup. And I’m not saying there isn’t good NHL goaltending on that list but none of them are long-term studs to this point except Binnington but, again, there’s a wide gap between .886 and .907.

The conversation started before the last eight games and eight games isn’t a big enough sample size to entirely dissuade the conversation about his struggles. It’s not a narrative.

Eight game is too small, but the 18 games before that isn't? He's played just 26 AHL games over the past 2 seasons.

During the same time period he was .908 over 14 games in Finland and .904 over 4 games in Buffalo.

I agree he hasn't been good and you are right question his play. i just think the breadth of his struggles have been overstated.

Edited November 28, 2021 by dudacek

[Taro T]

10 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

People wanting to dump on the kid when he has a .920 sv % his last 8 games but ignoring it all together tends to lean towards narrative.

He's played extremely well in 3 of those and very well in one of his last games too.   But he's had at least 2 stinkers in those other 4.

Really hope he's turning a corner, but he needs to play well in far more than 4 games to get people believe he actually has turned that corner.  When he's off his game, he plays like a very small man with a lot of room open over his shoulders as he gets too low, but yet also has the slowish reactions typical of one his size.  It's been a bad combination.  He hasn't gotten as small in those 3 really solid games, so there's hope.   But the sample size needs to get bigger to actually believe.

[Hoss]

31 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Eight game is too small, but the 18 games before that isn't? He's played just 26 AHL games over the past 2 seasons.

During the same time period he was .908 over 14 games in Finland and .904 over 4 games in Buffalo.

I agree he hasn't been good and you are right question his play. i just think the breadth of his struggles have been overstated.

He’s a career .886 in the AHL. That’s not bad, that’s putrid. It’s that simple.

[Crusader1969]

45 minutes ago, Hoss said:

I want UPL to succeed. I’m a Sabres fan. Nobody wants him to fail, it’s just important to note how far off he is from playing meaningful pro hockey.

He is 22.  Plenty of the top NHL goaltenders had similar numbers in the AHL

your point of being far away is true but it’s not something to be overly concerned about at this point 

[Second Line Center]

On 11/18/2021 at 10:18 AM, Thorny said:

Looking at the top 10, we've got 4 defenders, 3 wingers, 2 centres, and a goalie

Considering that 1 of those 2 Cs is already on the team, we are probably looking at our system currently having  a total of 1 non-NHL C that projects to being even an NHL player (Krebs. Looks better than pre-Eichel trade, though). 

The system needs high-end centres. This draft is deep for centres. Adams hasn't drafted a notable C in two drafts. We have 3 first round picks - we need to see that as a point of emphasis in the looming draft. 

Address that area and the pool is looking really solid. 

 

 

This is what's different about 2015.

Jack was the first piece brought in and brought in to a system thin on talent that GMTM started trading away to accelerate the rebuild.  

 

 

With this 2022 draft I feel we land one of the stud centers we look close to what Tampa was in pre Cup runs.  That that is one of the final major rebuild pieces and we're a playoff team come 2023 for years. 

Edited November 29, 2021 by Second Line Center

[Flashsabre]

Levi now has a stat line of:

16gp 11-4-1  1.43gaa  .950 sv%

His numbers are better then his insane   Junior numbers.😀

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

Levi now has a stat line of:

16gp 11-4-1  1.43gaa  .950 sv%

His numbers are better then his insane   Junior numbers.😀

Not saying Levi’s ready but Spencer Knight was his opponent in that WJHC and is now in the NHL. Knight’s pedigree was higher and he is fast tracking for a goalie. 
 

Carter Hart came up young as well but has had a lot of bumps on his road.

I think Levi turns pro at the end of this year. He will need to be challenged at the next level in order to keep developing. The goalie position is so much more about mental balance, focus and confidence.
This guy’s chart has been on a steep climb and I see him building a great resume to keep advancing.

[sabresparaavida]

With 24 points in 17 AHL games, Quinn has an NHLe of 56 points over an 82 game season. I think next year he should be able to come in and give us 40+ points in a middle 6 role.

[Flashsabre]

1 hour ago, French Collection said:

Not saying Levi’s ready but Spencer Knight was his opponent in that WJHC and is now in the NHL. Knight’s pedigree was higher and he is fast tracking for a goalie. 
 

Carter Hart came up young as well but has had a lot of bumps on his road.

I think Levi turns pro at the end of this year. He will need to be challenged at the next level in order to keep developing. The goalie position is so much more about mental balance, focus and confidence.
This guy’s chart has been on a steep climb and I see him building a great resume to keep advancing.

I think his mental game is a huge strength for him. So consistent in all aspects of his game.

Turning pro will depend on the organization at the end of the year. UPL, Portillo and Levi will all need to play consistently next year to develop.

[Taro T]

31 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

I think his mental game is a huge strength for him. So consistent in all aspects of his game.

Turning pro will depend on the organization at the end of the year. UPL, Portillo and Levi will all need to play consistently next year to develop.

IMHO the biggest question about Levi will be how well will he stand up to being run by NHLers.  If he can keep from breaking when getting run over by a true NHL-sized man going at full speed, he'll end up being a steal.

He seems to have the reflexes and the mental acuity to make it.  Can he be durable at the smaller stature is the big Q.  (Fortunately for him, goalies don't get run as often as they did.  But they still get run and playing on a team that is considered (rightly or wrongly) to not be particularly tough will not help cut down on that further.)