GDT: Those dastardly Flyers V The Good Guys (7pm MSG) @ KBC

[Derrico]

2 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

I've got to throw in Tage Thompson at least as a honorary mention.  Completely bypassed all my expectations for his career this season.

Yep.  He is a legitimate number one centre.  I thought we were getting a nice scoring winger with a wicked shot.  But watch his all around game.  His ability to stick handle and retrieve pucks in tight spaces along the boards has been excellent.  I haven’t noticed him being a complete liability in the defensive zone either.  A C spine potential of Thompson on top line and Krebs? Mitts?, Cozens taking two of the next three slots could work out.  
 

As Liger says, adding JJ and Quinn at the wings next year should also really help those C.  I’ve been fooled before but I love the new looking core.  That’s all just forwards too.  Power, Dahlin, Mule and Joker on D?  I’m excited for next year already.  Add a legit goalie this off-season and LFG!

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

Not that long ago I would have never imagined saying that Mittlestadt is one of our better two-way players. He is now. He really works hard on the defensive side of the game. He's one of our best battlers on the wall. As @LGR4GMpoints out put some proficient scorers on his line and his offensive production and flair will be more on display. Compared to what he was a couple to few years ago he has transformed himself into playing a tougher all-around game. For some players the maturation process takes a little longer. Tage and Mitts are the embodiment of that. And coaching matters!

I think Mittelstadt with another puck transporter and aggressive forechecker like Peterka makes that line harder to predict. 

1 minute ago, Derrico said:

Yep.  He is a legitimate number one centre.  I thought we were getting a nice scoring winger with a wicked shot.  But watch his all around game.  His ability to stick handle and retrieve pucks in tight spaces along the boards has been excellent.  I haven’t noticed him being a complete liability in the defensive zone either.  A C spine potential of Thompson on top line and Krebs? Mitts?, Cozens taking two of the next three slots could work out.  
 

As Liger says, adding JJ and Quinn at the wings next year should also really help those C.  I’ve been fooled before but I love the new looking core.  That’s all just forwards too.  Power, Dahlin, Mule and Joker on D?  I’m excited for next year already.  Add a legit goalie this off-season and LFG!

Jack Quinn is putting up near historic ahl numbers. If he adds 10lbs of muscle, he'll be nhl ready. 

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

I've got to throw in Tage Thompson at least as a honorary mention.  Completely bypassed all my expectations for his career this season.

Moving Thompson to center put him in a position to succeed. It gave the lanky player more space to maneuver and create. When asked why he moved Tage to center the coach said that as a prospect he was a center and saw his ability to skate and create. It was a positional move that allowed the player to unleash his assets and minimize his liabilities. As Tage has physically filled out he has demonstrated that he can battle for the puck on both the offensive and defensive zones. In contrast to Krueger the coach with the cool blue framed glasses focused more on what a player can do rather than focus on what he couldn't do. That's what good coaches and teachers do: maximize potential. 

[Doohicksie]

17 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

I've got to throw in Tage Thompson at least as a honorary mention.  Completely bypassed all my expectations for his career this season.

The decision to hire Granato begat the move of Tage to center. 

[dudacek]

32 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

I've got to throw in Tage Thompson at least as a honorary mention.  Completely bypassed all my expectations for his career this season.

I honestly think we haven’t made enough of Tage.

He’s well-past the hot streak/puck-luck stage. He creates his own chances and legitimately snipes. He can dangle and protect the puck. He’s fearless and he plays with swagger. To my eyes he’s been very much a leader on the ice. When things are tight, he’s the guy I look for to make a play.

I know he hasn’t had much competition in the past decade, but 34 goals in the same ballpark as the best Sabres seasons by the likes of Hawerchuk, Drury, Pominville and Eichel. It’s a number reached by (rough count) only 16 other Sabres.

Other than Eichel, he’s become the most dangerous offensive weapon we’ve had up-front since Danny Briere.

And it has literally come out of nowhere. Im sure I’m forgetting people, but the only Sabres I can recall making this sort of jump from spare part to legit top-6er are Robert and Satan.

Edited April 17, 2022 by dudacek

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I honestly think we haven’t made enough of Tage.

He’s well-past the hot streak/puck-luck stage. He creates his own chances and legitimately snipes. He can dangle and protect the puck. He’s fearless and he plays with swagger. To my eyes he’s been very much a leader on the ice. When things are tight, he’s the guy I look for to make a play.

I know he hasn’t had much competition in the past decade, but 34 goals in the same ballpark as the best Sabres seasons by the likes of Hawerchuk, Drury, Pominville and Eichel. It’s a number reached by (rough count) only 16 other Sabres.

Other than Eichel, he’s become the most dangerous offensive weapon we’ve had up-front since Danny Briere.

And it has literally come out of nowhere. Im sure I’m forgetting people, but the only Sabres I can recall making this sort of jump from spare part to legit top-6er are Robert and Satan.

His shot has significantly improved. 

[Digger]

22 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Moving Thompson to center put him in a position to succeed. It gave the lanky player more space to maneuver and create. When asked why he moved Tage to center the coach said that as a prospect he was a center and saw his ability to skate and create. It was a positional move that allowed the player to unleash his assets and minimize his liabilities. As Tage has physically filled out he has demonstrated that he can battle for the puck on both the offensive and defensive zones. In contrast to Krueger the coach with the cool blue framed glasses focused more on what a player can do rather than focus on what he couldn't do. That's what good coaches and teachers do: maximize potential. 

I'll give Granato the credit for moving Tage to center but I do wonder if the move would have happened if Mittelstadt had stayed healthy and if Reinhart had stayed with the team this season and playing center as he had at the end of last season.  Cozens also.  The conditions were right.  It just goes to show that all players have to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes up.  Granato looks brilliant on the move regardless and we are much deeper at center than we thought at the beginning of the 2021-22 season.

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, Digger said:

I'll give Granato the credit for moving Tage to center but I do wonder if the move would have happened if Mittelstadt had stayed healthy and if Reinhart had stayed with the team this season and playing center as he had at the end of last season.  Cozens also.  The conditions were right.  It just goes to show that all players have to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes up.  Granato looks brilliant on the move regardless and we are much deeper at center than we thought at the beginning of the 2021-22 season.

Injuries are an inescapable part of the game. Recognizing the varied talents of each player and their ability to play a variety of roles is essentially what Granato has done well. Mitts has played on the wing, as have Krebs and Cozens. He has exercised the same flexibility with the defense pairings in being open to have players switch sides. What he is essentially doing is not pigeonholing players and emphasizing putting his best players on the ice. He's working with the players he has on hand and trying to work with their assets and manage their liabilities. It's obvious that maximizing talent is more important than adhering to a system.   

[Doohicksie]

19 minutes ago, Digger said:

I'll give Granato the credit for moving Tage to center but I do wonder if the move would have happened if Mittelstadt had stayed healthy and if Reinhart had stayed with the team this season and playing center as he had at the end of last season.  Cozens also.  The conditions were right. 

• The move happened before Mittelstadt's injury, which was in the first game of the season.  Tage was moved to C in the preseason.  Note that it may have been an experiment at first but Tage almost instantly blossomed at center.
• I think even if Reino was still here (which is an interesting thought experiment in itself), Tage would still have been given a chance at C and Reino would have reverted to RW.  But it may have been a situation like we're seeing with Krebs were sometimes he plays wing and sometimes center.  I think if there was some rotation between Reino and Tage, Granato would have recognized how much better Tage is at center while Reino can play well at center or wing.
• If the choice came down to Cozens versus Tage at center, I think Cozens would be playing wing right now.

[Digger]

14 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

• The move happened before Mittelstadt's injury, which was in the first game of the season.  Tage was moved to C in the preseason.  Note that it may have been an experiment at first but Tage almost instantly blossomed at center.
• I think even if Reino was still here (which is an interesting thought experiment in itself), Tage would still have been given a chance at C and Reino would have reverted to RW.  But it may have been a situation like we're seeing with Krebs were sometimes he plays wing and sometimes center.  I think if there was some rotation between Reino and Tage, Granato would have recognized how much better Tage is at center while Reino can play well at center or wing.
• If the choice came down to Cozens versus Tage at center, I think Cozens would be playing wing right now.

Maybe you're right.  My point was that this was really a season of opportunity for many players to step up and Tage has made the most of it (Eichel, Reinhart moved, Mittelstadt hurt).  You might recall that even Hasek needed to get his chance as a number 1 before he cemented the spot.  Yes I agree on the "thought experiment" comment.......typical Sabres fan always wondering what could have happened.

[Doohicksie]

As long as we're in thought experiment mode, I think the more relevant question is:  If the Sabres were in better shape at C and Tage was converted but *didn't* necessarily start the season as 1C, how do the centers fall out?  I'm guessing that if Casey doesn't get hurt he is the 1C, then Cozens and Tage are fighting it out for 2C.  What happens with Tage if he's centering Bjork and Hayden (or whatever terrible combinations Cozens centered earlier in the year)? 

[inkman]

15 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

As long as we're in thought experiment mode, I think the more relevant question is:  If the Sabres were in better shape at C and Tage was converted but *didn't* necessarily start the season as 1C, how do the centers fall out?  I'm guessing that if Casey doesn't get hurt he is the 1C, then Cozens and Tage are fighting it out for 2C.  What happens with Tage if he's centering Bjork and Hayden (or whatever terrible combinations Cozens centered earlier in the year)? 

It shows to go ya how tenuous these things are.  Everything played out exactly as it needed to.  Anything different and Tage could be in Mitts shoes.