Sabres Officially Select #9, #16, and #28

[steveoath]

2 minutes ago, steveoath said:

Bob McKenzie rankings are out (apologies if this is elsewhere, couldn't see it).

https://www.tsn.ca/juraj-slafkovsky-shane-wright-bob-mckenzie-nhl-draft-ranking-1.1818585

It's interesting.

 

Has Savoie at 9, Lambert at 16, Nathan Gaucher at 28.

[Brawndo]

 

[Brawndo]

Adams mentioned when asked by Paul Hamilton if the Russian Players were a no go because of possible passport issues. He said it’s a consideration, but if the talent is too good to pass up, they would be strongly considered and probably selected. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Ideal 

9 - Gauthier

16 - Kasper (Kulich)

28 - Chesley, Luneau or Gaucher

[North Buffalo]

Athletic staff have Sabres taking Savoie, Yurov and Rinzel... not the worst possibly great...

[Buffalonill]

7 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

Athletic staff have Sabres taking Savoie, Yurov and Rinzel... not the worst possibly great...

[Crusader1969]

15 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Ideal 

9 - Gauthier

16 - Kasper (Kulich)

28 - Chesley, Luneau or Gaucher

I’m thinking the odds of Gauthier at 9 is slim and Kasper at 16 is slimmer 

would love for it to fall this way though

[Cozenscousin]

15 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Ideal 

9 - Gauthier

16 - Kasper (Kulich)

28 - Chesley, Luneau or Gaucher

Boy that would be great. I’m afraid that neither Gauthier or Kasper make it to 9. Several teams are looking for the bigger fast skating forwards like Ottawa and Detroit. If the Sabres want one of them, they may have to trade up. Philly has no 2nd rounder so maybe they would be willing to trade down. Not sure what it would cost.

[PerreaultForever]

On 6/28/2022 at 11:37 AM, steveoath said:

Has Savoie at 9, Lambert at 16, Nathan Gaucher at 28.

You never know with drafts, but that has the potential for disaster. 

Gauthier likely gone before we pick as he keeps moving up and up so Savoie is a definite possibility. Is he too small? idk. It's a tough one. Definitely has skill. 

[#freejame]

The only hope I have going into this draft is that if Miroshnichenko, Yurov, and Lambert are all available at 16 that we roll the dice on a Russian and not Lambert. I really want Miroshnichenko and nothing about his cancer or nationality concerns me. He seems to want to come here asap and plenty of players in all sports have had incredible post-cancer careers. 

[dudacek]

47 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

You never know with drafts, but that has the potential for disaster. 

Gauthier likely gone before we pick as he keeps moving up and up so Savoie is a definite possibility. Is he too small? idk. It's a tough one. Definitely has skill. 

I don't see any world where Savoie busts. Can't think of a top 10 pick with with his profile who has

He's probably going to be a Nik Ehlers level, but he's also got a chance to be Danny Briere. He's fearless and hyper-competitive.

Of the players who look like they could be there, he's the one I seem to be gravitating to.

[SDBillsfan]

Most pundits like Savoie and many of them have him in their top ten. Interestingly however, Scouch has serious reservations.

[steveoath]

Savoie seems to be the likely "victim" of the rise of some other players. I really like him.

I would love them to swing for Miroshnichenko at 16, but I could see them going for Geekie or McGroarty there. 

1 minute ago, SDBillsfan said:

 Interestingly however, Scouch has serious reservations.

And he loooooooooves Lambert.

[LGR4GM]

9 minutes ago, steveoath said:

Savoie seems to be the likely "victim" of the rise of some other players. I really like him.

I would love them to swing for Miroshnichenko at 16, but I could see them going for Geekie or McGroarty there. 

And he loooooooooves Lambert.

Idk if he loves Lambert but he does like him. Scouch openly admits he is sticking his neck out for Lambert.

[steveoath]

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Idk if he loves Lambert but he does like him. Scouch openly admits he is sticking his neck out for Lambert.

He's not as gushing in this video as he was previously, but does make a reasonable case in defence of his numbers.

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

I’m thinking the odds of Gauthier at 9 is slim and Kasper at 16 is slimmer 

would love for it to fall this way though

 

2 hours ago, Cozenscousin said:

Boy that would be great. I’m afraid that neither Gauthier or Kasper make it to 9. Several teams are looking for the bigger fast skating forwards like Ottawa and Detroit. If the Sabres want one of them, they may have to trade up. Philly has no 2nd rounder so maybe they would be willing to trade down. Not sure what it would cost.

I readily admit that the odds of the draft falling to us with Gauthier at 9 and Kasper at 16 are unlikely.  That said it's not outside the realm of possibility.

On my consensus board Gauthier is 8th with rankings as high as 5 and as low as 18 with 9 of the 15 having him at 9 or later.  Kasper is 16th on the consensus board with rankings as high as 8th and as low as 31.  10 of the 15 have him 16th or later.  Obviously it just takes one team to love a a guy and things change. 

However the talent on the board from 6 to 25 is very good and the guys could go nearly anywhere.  For example Snuggerud is 25th on my consensus board but Craig Button put him as the 8th best player in this draft.  As I wrote in the Rankings thread I like all the guys that consensus has 19-23 in Ohgren, Howard, Kulich, Miroshniichenko and Ostlund, ahead of Geekie (17th) and McGroarty (18th).  If KA takes any of those 5 guys at 16 I wouldn't be upset.  I think all of them will be good NHL players.  I'm especially fond of Kulich.  I think he's a  very close substitute for Kasper.  By the way I also really like McGroarty, but I worry his skating isn't NHL quality.

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[Flashsabre]

2 hours ago, steveoath said:

Savoie seems to be the likely "victim" of the rise of some other players. I really like him.

I would love them to swing for Miroshnichenko at 16, but I could see them going for Geekie or McGroarty there. 

And he loooooooooves Lambert.

Scouch has reservations about Savoie yet still ranks him  high in the top 10.

Scouch is in love with transitions. Guys that can skate the puck out of the zone, thru neutral ice and into the offensive zone. This is his biggest reason for loving Lambert. I think he places too much emphasis on it but it is his thing.

[Cozenscousin]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Idk if he loves Lambert but he does like him. Scouch openly admits he is sticking his neck out for Lambert.

Lambert worries me too high in the draft. He hasn’t progressed very much. Has great skating skills but I’m not convinced he has the hockey IQ to go with it. If he’s there at 28 I’d consider taking a shot. I think Kasper would be a good fit. Could plug him into the Rochester lineup right away and I bet he would be ready for the Sabres next year. I think Detroit is all over him at #8. Played on the same SHL team as Seider and they come from the same region (Germany/Austria). I think he would be good for JJ Peterka. 

Edited June 29, 2022 by Cozenscousin

[Buffalonill]

3 hours ago, steveoath said:

Savoie seems to be the likely "victim" of the rise of some other players. I really like him.

I would love them to swing for Miroshnichenko at 16, but I could see them going for Geekie or McGroarty there. 

And he loooooooooves Lambert.

Size

[dudacek]

It’s going to take a few years to play itself out, but I am really interested to see how the Sabres analytics department impacts this draft.

Forton had a interesting quote about how Ventura’s team was statistically “watching” every player everywhere and every time a player popped, Forton’s team would hone in for a closer first-hand look.

[PerreaultForever]

6 hours ago, dudacek said:

I don't see any world where Savoie busts. Can't think of a top 10 pick with with his profile who has

He's probably going to be a Nik Ehlers level, but he's also got a chance to be Danny Briere. He's fearless and hyper-competitive.

Of the players who look like they could be there, he's the one I seem to be gravitating to.

It's not so much that Savoie will bust, I don't think so, but he might take a long time to transition into the bigger and tougher NHL game. Briere is the hope, but Briere took a while to become Briere too. Kasper might be the safer choice. I'm honestly not sure this year. I guess to use the popular vernacular Savoie has a higher ceiling, but Kasper has a higher floor. 

I just don't like Lambert. Don't think he has the right attitude so not worth the risk. Overall I would rather they made the safer picks this year rather than swinging for the fences. We are at a pivotal point and a solid draft is all we need. A great draft is possible but a failed draft could turn everything upside down again. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

Worth a listen

 

[dudacek]

58 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

It's not so much that Savoie will bust, I don't think so, but he might take a long time to transition into the bigger and tougher NHL game. Briere is the hope, but Briere took a while to become Briere too. Kasper might be the safer choice. I'm honestly not sure this year. I guess to use the popular vernacular Savoie has a higher ceiling, but Kasper has a higher floor. 

I just don't like Lambert. Don't think he has the right attitude so not worth the risk. Overall I would rather they made the safer picks this year rather than swinging for the fences. We are at a pivotal point and a solid draft is all we need. A great draft is possible but a failed draft could turn everything upside down again. 

I think I'd be happiest with Yurov at 9, but I don't think the Sabres will go there.

I think they will pick either Kasper or Savoie. I like both. Given the choice (which you nailed), I'm going with Savoie for the ceiling.

But I'm not sure which one will end up the better player.

I've taken a closer look at Lambert and do see a few elements that might attract the Sabres to him: he plays fast, he's got a competitive streak and he might be the best skater in the draft.

But he just doesn't strike me as a guy who understands the game well enough or makes his teammates better.

There are too many other interesting players at 9 or 16 to make him a consideration.

[Buffalonill]

Is anyone a little worried Kasper is Zemgus Girgensons ?

he’s mature on and off the ice, and one of the best all-around prospects with high character and work ethic. At best, he projects as a 2C; at worst, a 3C.

-Bob McKenzie-

Edited June 30, 2022 by Buffalonill

[DarthEbriate]

48 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Is anyone a little worried Kasper is Zemgus Girgensons ?

he’s mature on and off the ice, and one of the best all-around prospects with high character and work ethic. At best, he projects as a 2C; at worst, a 3C.

-Bob McKenzie-

Not really worried about him being a locomotive. More of, if I take Z who is basically a 3W/4W off the roster in a couple years and replace him with a similar but slightly better 3C/4C who has 2C upside... that's a win.

But I think Kasper projects more to middle six than the bottom six winger that Girgs has been basically his entire career (except the first couple seasons when the roster was in full tank mode and he was a top 6 by default).