Sabres Prospects 2022-2023

[FrenchConnection44]

Levi gets back to back goaltender of the week:

 

https://nuhuskies.com/news/2023/1/23/mens-ice-hockey-levi-earns-consecutive-goaltender-of-the-week-honor.aspx

[FrenchConnection44]

A lot of talk about the forwards (and Levi) - Savoie, Kulich, Bloom, Nadeau - and rightfully so; like all those guys.

Defensively, there aren't as many candidates in the system. Ryan Johnson is the premier draft pick - we shall see how he does at Minnesota and he is 21 already. No big deal really, some players develop a bit later. 

But one player I am looking out for is Komarov - in the Quebec league. Just turned 19 a couple of weeks ago. Good size and seems to be playing quite well. 

[Buffalonill]

17 minutes ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

A lot of talk about the forwards (and Levi) - Savoie, Kulich, Bloom, Nadeau - and rightfully so; like all those guys.

Defensively, there aren't as many candidates in the system. Ryan Johnson is the premier draft pick - we shall see how he does at Minnesota and he is 21 already. No big deal really, some players develop a bit later. 

But one player I am looking out for is Komarov - in the Quebec league. Just turned 19 a couple of weeks ago. Good size and seems to be playing quite well. 

Thats if he signs with buffalo 

[French Collection]

8 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

Thats if he signs with buffalo 

He could be 6 or 7 D next year but I suspect time in Rochester would be good for him.

[Pimlach]

5 minutes ago, French Collection said:

He could be 6 or 7 D next year but I suspect time in Rochester would be good for him.

Yes, he should start in Rochester and if looks good he could be the first call up.   I do not understand why he would not want to join this team and play for DG.  

 

[Doohicksie]

39 minutes ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

A lot of talk about the forwards (and Levi) - Savoie, Kulich, Bloom, Nadeau - and rightfully so; like all those guys.

Defensively, there aren't as many candidates in the system. Ryan Johnson is the premier draft pick - we shall see how he does at Minnesota and he is 21 already. No big deal really, some players develop a bit later. 

But one player I am looking out for is Komarov - in the Quebec league. Just turned 19 a couple of weeks ago. Good size and seems to be playing quite well. 

I was looking at the depth chart and defense is really a "cupboard is bare" situation.  If we don't sign Johnson we really don't have any prospects that are anywhere near NHL ready (even Johnson needs some seasoning).  But thinking of Savoie, Kullich, Östlund, Rousek, Bloom, Nadeau, etc., there is literally no one like that who plays defense in the system.

[LabattBlue]

Wouldn’t be surprised if the Sabres went forward in the 1st round(as it seems to be forward heavy), and then go back to back to back defense with the 3 2nd round picks. As noted, even if Johnson signs, the cupboard needs restocking. 

Edited January 25, 2023 by LabattBlue

[nfreeman]

On 1/22/2023 at 3:49 PM, bob_sauve28 said:

 

Whoa.  That was awesome.

[Weave]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

I was looking at the depth chart and defense is really a "cupboard is bare" situation.  If we don't sign Johnson we really don't have any prospects that are anywhere near NHL ready (even Johnson needs some seasoning).  But thinking of Savoie, Kullich, Östlund, Rousek, Bloom, Nadeau, etc., there is literally no one like that who plays defense in the system.

I’m not sweating that at all given the age of our 4 core D.

[bob_sauve28]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

I’m not sweating that at all given the age of our 4 core D.

2006 cough cough ....

[Weave]

10 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

2006 cough cough ....

2006 had nothing to do with a lack of prospects.

Given the age of our core 4, for the next several years we would be fine with 3 mid career vets on short contracts.  It’s not like we’ve got an aging group with a short timeline for replacement.

Thats not saying that I don’t want D men drafted.  It’s just a statement that with our current core, I’m not worried about what isn’t on the farm today.  If Power were anything but a 1 overall, we’d be talking about him as a prospect, not an NHLer.  And Mule beat the normal timeline for 2nd round picks as well.  We have the pool we’d have normally.  They just graduated early.

[Thorner]

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Yes, he should start in Rochester and if looks good he could be the first call up.   I do not understand why he would not want to join this team and play for DG.  

 

 

Not sweating it too much for the reason @Weavementioned, but I really hope he does. It’s true we talk a lot of the F prospects but really after the Kulich, Savoie, Rosen type guys..when you hear about guys like Bloom, putting up point a game, in junior, as a 2nd year post draft player, it’s really not that noteworthy of a development. If you want to be an NHL mainstay one day, putting up good offensive numbers against a bunch of kids you are older than in a league you are too good for is sort of a prerequisite. If he wasn’t point a game he wouldn’t even be on any kind of radar at all. It’s step 1. Can guys like that carve out a depth role one day? Sure. And I like him as a depth prospect certainly. *All* teams have those guys, though.

Again, where we separate is the Rosen, Savoie, Kulich Top end F prospects in system, and getting back to Johnson, he’s a superior prospect to the other Fs there and so to me the next level priority after the top Fs and Levi.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Thorny

[Crusader1969]

9 hours ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

Levi gets back to back goaltender of the week:

 

https://nuhuskies.com/news/2023/1/23/mens-ice-hockey-levi-earns-consecutive-goaltender-of-the-week-honor.aspx

His save percentage  is. .950???    

[Crusader1969]

7 hours ago, Weave said:

I’m not sweating that at all given the age of our 4 core D.

This is the correct take.  The Sabres will be trying to fill the bottom pair at worst in the coming years    There is a good possibility that the top 4 will not change in the next 7 years 

They can easily add depth and bottom pair by trade or UFA signings 

I will also add , if the Sabres end up drafting around 16 to 20 , they could easily take one of the top rated Dman 

[Flashsabre]

19 minutes ago, Crusader1969 said:

His save percentage  is. .950???    

I think those are his numbers for in conference games. Overall he has 12 wins, 2.37 gaa and a .926 sv% overall.

[CTJoe]

6 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

2006 cough cough ....

solution, if we have the balls to do it:  Chychrun for Savoie and a 1st. 

[dudacek]

7 hours ago, Weave said:

2006 had nothing to do with a lack of prospects.

Given the age of our core 4, for the next several years we would be fine with 3 mid career vets on short contracts.  It’s not like we’ve got an aging group with a short timeline for replacement.

Thats not saying that I don’t want D men drafted.  It’s just a statement that with our current core, I’m not worried about what isn’t on the farm today.  If Power were anything but a 1 overall, we’d be talking about him as a prospect, not an NHLer.  And Mule beat the normal timeline for 2nd round picks as well.  We have the pool we’d have normally.  They just graduated early.

To put things in perspective, the Sabres have drafted 3 1st-round defencemen in the past 5 years. They had 3 in the entire decade starting in the year 2000 and 4 the decade before that. When you think about it, if you care about being balanced, 2 every 5 years should be the average

Or to put this another way, over the past 5 years only 1 NHL team (Chicago with 4) has drafted more 1st round defencemen than Buffalo's 3, and only 2 others (NJ, Cbs) have drafted as many. Ironically, Chicago's 4th was the 32nd pick. Mule, a 2nd-rounder was also a 32nd pick.

We haven't been neglecting the blueline at all, we're seeing the effects of doing such a good job addressing it.

(Yes, we need more bodies for the farm back there and ideally would take a couple with our 1st 4 picks this year)

Edited January 26, 2023 by dudacek

[pi2000]

Some kid named Hinostroza scored the game winner for Roch tonight. 

He might be a good one. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

9 hours ago, pi2000 said:

Some kid named Hinostroza scored the game winner for Roch tonight. 

He might be a good one. 

He looks more like a AAAA player who can't stick in the NHL full time.

[FrenchConnection44]

On 1/25/2023 at 12:23 PM, Doohickie said:

I was looking at the depth chart and defense is really a "cupboard is bare" situation.  If we don't sign Johnson we really don't have any prospects that are anywhere near NHL ready (even Johnson needs some seasoning).  But thinking of Savoie, Kullich, Östlund, Rousek, Bloom, Nadeau, etc., there is literally no one like that who plays defense in the system.

Agreed. 

Which is why I mention Komarov as a prospect at age 19 (Johnson still needs seasoning and is 21). 

[FrenchConnection44]

22 hours ago, Thorny said:

 

Not sweating it too much for the reason @Weavementioned, but I really hope he does. It’s true we talk a lot of the F prospects but really after the Kulich, Savoie, Rosen type guys..when you hear about guys like Bloom, putting up point a game, in junior, as a 2nd year post draft player, it’s really not that noteworthy of a development. If you want to be an NHL mainstay one day, putting up good offensive numbers against a bunch of kids you are older than in a league you are too good for is sort of a prerequisite. If he wasn’t point a game he wouldn’t even be on any kind of radar at all. It’s step 1. Can guys like that carve out a depth role one day? Sure. And I like him as a depth prospect certainly. *All* teams have those guys, though.

Again, where we separate is the Rosen, Savoie, Kulich Top end F prospects in system, and getting back to Johnson, he’s a superior prospect to the other Fs there and so to me the next level priority after the top Fs and Levi.

 

There is a twofold problem here on what arguing about Bloom and, say, Savoie. Not arguing Savoie may not be the better prospect.

But, first, there is on going debate over which league is better - WHL (Savoie) vs OHL (Bloom). Both are comparable. And even the QMJHL (several prospects there) is somewhat comparable. Their champion won the CHL cup over the WHL and OHL champions last year, though most point to stronger depth in the OHL as the stronger league. 

Second, Bloom and Savoie are virtually the same age - both are 19; Bloom is 6 months older - and Bloom isn't going against younger players than Savoie. Simply because he was drafted prior to Savoie due to eligibility doesn't really mean anything. And, in fact, the vast majority of leading scorers in the OHL are drafted and in the 19-20 year old range, whereas in the WHL the top of the heap are not drafted and are age 17-18. So Savoie is often going against less mature players than Bloom. 

That distinction you're drawing between the two is meaningless with respect to age or experience or competition. If anything it favors Bloom as having tougher competition.

And then there is Johnson who is 21 playing against a lot of 18-19-20 year olds in the NCAA - which, granted, is a stronger league than the Canadian leagues. Still, he's up there in age, relative to a lot of his competition, and yet is not dominating at that level. Good player. But not a superstar. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by FrenchConnection44

[FrenchConnection44]

17 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

His save percentage  is. .950???    

 

16 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

I think those are his numbers for in conference games. Overall he has 12 wins, 2.37 gaa and a .926 sv% overall.

 

Yes, the article indicated they were conference numbers. 

[Thorner]

15 minutes ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

 

There is a twofold problem here on what arguing about Bloom and, say, Savoie. Not arguing Savoie may not be the better prospect.

But, first, there is on going debate over which league is better - WHL (Savoie) vs OHL (Bloom). Both are comparable. And even the QMJHL (several prospects there) is somewhat comparable. Their champion won the CHL cup over the WHL and OHL champions last year, though most point to stronger depth in the OHL as the stronger league. 

Second, Bloom and Savoie are virtually the same age - both are 19; Bloom is 6 months older - and Bloom isn't going against younger players than Savoie. Simply because he was drafted prior to Savoie due to eligibility doesn't really mean anything. And, in fact, the vast majority of leading scorers in the OHL are drafted and in the 19-20 year old range, whereas in the WHL the top of the heap are not drafted and are age 17-18. So Savoie is often going against less mature players than Bloom. 

That distinction you're drawing between the two is meaningless with respect to age or experience or competition. If anything it favors Bloom as having tougher competition.

And then there is Johnson who is 21 playing against a lot of 18-19-20 year olds in the NCAA - which, granted, is a stronger league than the Canadian leagues. Still, he's up there in age, relative to a lot of his competition, and yet is not dominating at that level. Good player. But not a superstar. 

It’s less about age (though 6 months is still notable) and more about experience.

Historically speaking, players putting up merely point a game as 2 year overagers in the CHL isn’t very noteworthy. This is just a fact. By overagers I mean this is the second season, post draft, that Bloom is playing against a bunch of guys most of whom won’t sniff the NHL. He’s been there for a long time. Covid will have limited games but that’s relative and most players were affected. If he has any NHL shot at all, he SHOULD dominate. 

Im glad he is. It keeps him in the running for being a mainstay NHLer one day 

- - -

Not really sure where Savoie comes into the discussion - there’s no comparison between him and Bloom as prospects. That’s not an argument I personally need to make, and I wasn’t looking to make a direct comparison. Only, Bloom as 2nd year in CHL post draft and how that’s translated historically.

I also expect Savoie to dominate the CHL being a post-drafted player, Bloom is just another season on in that equation. 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Thorny

[Thorner]

There’s a poster on here who comes at me every time I mention Bloom as a prospect, can’t remember if that’s you or not but I’ve always got the impression it was some sort of relation. 

Let me be clear: I like Bloom as a prospect. Every system needs guys like that - he’s done nothing since being drafted to make me question the pick, or think he hasn’t performed up to the level you’d want, in correspondence to where he was picked, to think he’s off the track he needs to be, to carve out the role in the NHL he could reasonably achieve. 

My point is merely that he isn’t the type of prospect, as he currently stands, that is elevating our pool beyond the other teams of the league. At least, he’s not one of our x-factors at this time - his good performance this year in junior keeps him on track for reasonable expectations, where many drafted around where he was have already fallen off by now. But his production hasn’t exceeded expectations to the tune of him taking up rank alongside the Savoies and the Kulich’s of the pool. Lots of teams have guys in the CHL ranks doing what Bloom is doing. If he represents a prospect elevating our pool beyond others, it’s in the sense that we have have a better depth guy than they have.

Can he just smash expectations and become an all-star? Of course. That’s what I hope happens. It’s just not what the data is suggesting at this time. 

- - -

For the record, Savoie has played 35 CHL games since being drafted. Bloom has played 111. Stuff like that matters.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Thorny

[FrenchConnection44]

7 minutes ago, Thorny said:

It’s less about age (though 6 months is still notable) and more about experience.

Historically speaking, players putting up merely point a game as 2 year overagers in the CHL isn’t very noteworthy. This is just a fact. By overagers I mean this is the second season, post draft, that Bloom is playing against a bunch of guys most of whom won’t sniff the NHL. He’s been there for a long time. Covid will have limited games but that’s relative and most players were affected. If he has any NHL shot at all, he SHOULD dominate. 

Im glad he is. It keeps him in the running for being a mainstay NHLer one day 

- - -

Not really sure where Savoie comes into the discussion - there’s no comparison between him and Bloom as prospects. That’s not an argument I personally need to make

I also expect Savoie to dominate the CHL being a post-drafted player, Bloom is just another season on in that equation. 

I brought up Savoie because you made the comparison of Bloom having an advantage over him in terms of age, experience and playing lesser competition. Wasn't my comp; it was yours 😊. Savoie has played in a comparable league (WHL) the past two years just as Bloom has. So there is no difference between the two in terms of either leagues or experience in those leagues. 

The only measurable difference is one is a few months older in age and as a result became draft eligible a year earlier by just making the cut off, where as the other didn't. If you want to say that's a big deal, fine. I don't really think that is the case. 

I noted also that I wasn't arguing a comp in terms of prospective talent. Simply that the other comparisons made (level of competition; experience against comparable competition; and age) are a virtual wash and therefore meaningless (though Bloom's top level competition is actually more mature than Savoie's, so there is that).