Sabres Prospects 2022-2023

[Flashsabre]

21 minutes ago, dudacek said:

 

I wonder what the issue has been for Lindgren — slipped in the draft, requested a trade, has had kind of a disappointing season.

Wonder if there's something going on off-ice?

Asking to be traded from Kamloops who is hosting the Memorial Cup is very weird but Sutter runs a good program in Red Deer

[MBD]

13 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

I’m excited to see him in blue and gold next this year 

FIFY

[Curt]

On 3/11/2023 at 2:29 AM, PerreaultForever said:

Do we have any potential NHL prospects who hit people and/or play a nastier type of game? 

Prokhor Poltapov, Olivier Nadeau, Nikita Novikov……

Really, there isn’t that much.  I think that’s why we have seen Adams trying to acquire some NHL players with these characteristics….Lyubushkin, Stillman, Greenway.

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, Curt said:

Prokhor Poltapov, Olivier Nadeau, Nikita Novikov……

Really, there isn’t that much.  I think that’s why we have seen Adams trying to acquire some NHL players with these characteristics….Lyubushkin, Stillman, Greenway.

This is kind of what I figured. Nadeau I remember from the draft. idk much about how the Russians play. Are any of these 3 likely to be NHLers? 

I have no problem with the three pick ups (and you can add Jost in to that as well) and they are a LITTLE tougher with them but not nearly enough yet. We need to start using some of our draft capital for different types of players and not just offensively skilled forwards with good analytics. We need more diversity in the prospect pool and definitely more D men. 

[Taro T]

23 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

This is kind of what I figured. Nadeau I remember from the draft. idk much about how the Russians play. Are any of these 3 likely to be NHLers? 

I have no problem with the three pick ups (and you can add Jost in to that as well) and they are a LITTLE tougher with them but not nearly enough yet. We need to start using some of our draft capital for different types of players and not just offensively skilled forwards with good analytics. We need more diversity in the prospect pool and definitely more D men. 

Agree they need more diversity on the roster; not sure how important that is for the pipeline if they can trade some of the surplus of what they seem to be good a drafting (scoring forwards with a very high pace of play) for someone a bit more established in an area that they aren't good (or at least don't seem to be good) at drafting.

Scorers are harder to find.  Sandpaper guys should be easier to get.

And C's should be tradable for D if we really need more of those as prospects. (Again, given the top 3 on the team and the age of the 5, not sure that the D they REALLY need right now are of the prospect variety.  They need 2 more NHLers today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PerreaultForever]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

Agree they need more diversity on the roster; not sure how important that is for the pipeline if they can trade some of the surplus of what they seem to be good a drafting (scoring forwards with a very high pace of play) for someone a bit more established in an area that they aren't good (or at least don't seem to be good) at drafting.

Scorers are harder to find.  Sandpaper guys should be easier to get.

This is true and another option. I guess I'm just really impatient now cause I could see we were sooooooooo close but inside I knew we would not make it cause we just didn't have enough grit and depth (and good goaltending) and it was all there for the taking. Sure, we have to give up a little of the pipeline and draft capital, but we are solid in that department. 

Every time we play Tampa it's going to bug me that KA wasn't the one to trade for Jeannot (for example). This off season is a big big moment that can't be missed. 

[Curt]

1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:

This is kind of what I figured. Nadeau I remember from the draft. idk much about how the Russians play. Are any of these 3 likely to be NHLers? 

I have no problem with the three pick ups (and you can add Jost in to that as well) and they are a LITTLE tougher with them but not nearly enough yet. We need to start using some of our draft capital for different types of players and not just offensively skilled forwards with good analytics. We need more diversity in the prospect pool and definitely more D men. 

Poltapov I think is definitely trending towards being an NHL player, probably a bottom 6 winger who can play a checking/energy line game.

Novikov it’s really hard to say because he is a 6th round pick defensive defenseman.  It’s impressive that he has gotten so much playing time in the KHL, but I don’t really know how it will translate.

Seems like Adams wants to spend a lot of the higher draft picks taking swings at hitting on star offensive producers, and is going to try to bring in the more defensive/role players via FA or trade.

It makes sense, because stars are extremely hard to get any other way except via the draft.

And piggybacking off of what Taro said a bit, it could be that they feel, more than any other player “type”, they are able to most accurately project scoring forwards to the NHL level.  As long as they are getting lots of good scoring forward prospects, they should be able to keep the best ones and trade the surplus for help in other areas.

Big picture; having a team with a surplus of high end top-6 forwards, but not enough bottom-6 sandpaper types; is probably in a better overall position than a team with a surplus of bottom-6 sandpaper guys, but lacking in high end top-6 guys.

[PerreaultForever]

4 hours ago, Curt said:

Big picture; having a team with a surplus of high end top-6 forwards, but not enough bottom-6 sandpaper types; is probably in a better overall position than a team with a surplus of bottom-6 sandpaper guys, but lacking in high end top-6 guys.

You're probably right, and I guess we will see. What you describe above is the Sabres vs. the Bruins. When their current old core is finally gone I guess we will see if we swap places or not. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

With Bloom and Portillo traded away and UPL graduating, I thought I'd update my list.

1) Savoie (C/W) - 35g and 87 pts in 58 WHL games - Ahead of last year's pace.

2) Kulich (C/W) - 17g and 35pts in 48 AHL games - unprecedented production for a 18 year old

3) Levi (G) - Another Richter Award Nomination (won last year). His numbers not quite as good as last year, but he is the NE team.  2.24 w a .933.

4) Östlund (C) - 26 pts in 38 Allsvenskan games. (2nd tier Swedish hockey league).  Best performance from the group of former 1st rd picks on his team.

5) Rosen (C/W) - 29 pts in 50 AHL games.  Very solid first NA season.

6) Nadeau (W) - His scoring pace is nearly that of Savoie with 20g 41 pts in only 28 games

7) Johnson (LD) - His offense hasn't grown at all in 4 years of college, but Mn trusts him

8.) Neuchev (W) - 12 pts in 57 K games at 19 years old

9) Kisakov (W) - 7 pts in 41 AHL games

10) Poltapov (W) - 10 pts in 56 KHL games

11) Kozak  (C/W) - 8 pts in 49 AHL games.  Kisakov, Poltapov, and Kozak have all had similar production in their leagues this season at 20. 

12) Lindgren (LD) - Turned it on lately. Has 11 goals (33 pts) in 59 games. Not bad goal production for a D.

13) Komarov (RD) -  Similar pt production in the Q to Lindgren.

14) Rousek (W) - 46 pts in 56 A games.  Deserves a call up at some point - Age 23.

15) Novikov (LD) - Hulking D has played 62 games this season in the KHL.

16) Leinoen (G) - Sorry but I'm not impressed with an .858 save % in the SM-liiga or a .860 save % in the lower Finnish league.  Wasn't a fan of the pick when it was made and not a fan now.

17) Marjala (W) - 9 pts in 15 SM-liiga games.  Will KA sign him?

18) Cedarqvist (W) - 13 pts in 39 games for the 22 year old's first season in the A and in NA.

19) Huglen  (W) - 14 pts in 33 NCAA with MN

20) Richard (W) - 49 pts in 43 USHL games - off to college next season.

21) Sardarian (W)- 7 pts in 29 NCAA games with NH. 

There are another 8 or 9 prospects in the system but I doubt any have any chance of playing even a minute in the NHL.

Prospects 1-7 will all play in the NHL.  Kulich, Johnson and Savoie could play in the NHL as early as next year.

Prospects 8-17 could play in the NHL depending on how they progress.  Rousek may get a call up this season.  

Prospects 18-21 are highly unlikely to make the NHL.  Richard is the one guy from this group that could surprise IMHO.

Edited March 14, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[tom webster]

14 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

With Bloom and Portillo traded away and UPL graduating, I thought I'd update my list.

1) Savoie (C/W) - 35g and 87 pts in 58 WHL games - Ahead of last year's pace.

2) Kulich (C/W) - 17g and 35pts in 48 AHL games - unprecedented production for a 18 year old

3) Levi (G) - Another Richter Award Nomination (won last year). His numbers not quite as good as last year, but he is the NE team.  2.24 w a .933.

4) Östlund (C) - 26 pts in 38 Allsvenskan games. (2nd tier Swedish hockey league).  Best performance from the group of former 1st rd picks on his team.

5) Rosen (C/W) - 29 pts in 50 AHL games.  Very solid first NA season.

6) Nadeau (W) - His scoring pace is nearly that of Savoie with 20g 41 pts in only 28 games

7) Johnson (LD) - His offense hasn't grown at all in 4 years of college, but Mn trusts him

8.) Neuchev (W) - 12 pts in 57 K games at 19 years old

9) Kisakov (W) - 7 pts in 41 AHL games

10) Poltapov (W) - 10 pts in 56 KHL games

11) Kozak  (C/W) - 8 pts in 49 AHL games.  Kisakov, Poltapov, and Kozak have all had similar production in their leagues this season at 20. 

12) Lindgren (LD) - Turned it on lately. Has 11 goals (33 pts) in 59 games. Not bad goal production for a D.

13) Komarov (RD) -  Similar pt production in the Q to Lindgren.

14) Rousek (W) - 46 pts in 56 A games.  Deserves all call up at some point - Age 23.

15) Novikov (LD) - Hulking D has played 62 games this season in the KHL.

16) Leinoen (G) - Sorry but I'm not impressed with an .858 save % in the SM-liiga or a .860 save % in the lower Finnish league.  Wasn't a fan of the pick when it was made and not a fan now.

17) Marjala (W) - 9 pts in 15 SM-liiga games.  Will KA sign him?

18) Cedarqvist (W) - 13 pts in 39 games for the 22 year old's first season in the A and in NA.

19) Huglen  (W) - 14 pts in 33 NCAA with MN

20) Richard (W) - 49 pts in 43 USHL games - off to college next season.

21) Sardarian (W)- 7 pts in 29 NCAA games with NH. 

There are another 8 or 9 prospects in the system but I doubt any have any chance of playing even a minute in the NHL.

Prospects 1-7 will all play in the NHL.  Kulich, Johnson and Savoie could play in the NHL as early as next year.

Prospects 8-17 could play in the NHL depending on how they progress.  Rousek may get a call up this season.  

Prospects 18-21 are highly unlikely to make the NHL.  Richard is the one guy from this group that could surprise IMHO.

History says about 5 will play more than 100 games in the NHL. I’ll go with 1-4 and 7.

[GASabresIUFAN]

6 minutes ago, tom webster said:

History says about 5 will play more than 100 games in the NHL. I’ll go with 1-4 and 7.

You don’t think Rosen will play in the NHL?  Even Alex Nylander is up to 87 NHL games and Rosen is already better at his age in the A than Nylander was .

Nadeau is also going to play.  He plays a down low by the net game. He is exactly the type of scrappy crash the net type of player we are missing.  It will be very interesting to watch his development in the A next season. I suspect he’ll be biggest surprise next season.  
 

I was leaning toward putting 16 & 17 in the non-nhl potential list, but you never know with goaltenders and Marjala looks much improved vack home in Finland. 

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[tom webster]

3 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

You don’t think Rosen will play in the NHL?  Even Alex Nylander is up to 87 NHL games and Rosen is already better at his age in the A than Nylander was .

Nadeau is also going to play.  He plays a down low by the net game. He is exactly the type of scrappy crash the net type of player we are missing.  It will be very interesting to watch his development in the A next season. I suspect he’ll be biggest surprise next season.  
 

I was leaning toward putting 16 & 17 in the non-nhl potential list, but you never know with goaltenders and Marjala looks much improved vack home in Finland. 

 

I’m just playing the percentages. I think it’s likely someone we think is a long shot makes it and, I also think  history will show that the Sabres were one of the teams that beat the percentages but I never bet against the numbers.

[GASabresIUFAN]

6 hours ago, tom webster said:

I’m just playing the percentages. I think it’s likely someone we think is a long shot makes it and, I also think  history will show that the Sabres were one of the teams that beat the percentages but I never bet against the numbers.

According to the % published recently and linked to in the NHL Draft thread we should produce 6.86 players from our current pipeline.  That makes sense since the pool has 4 1st rd picks and 3 second rd picks in the current pipeline.  Interestingly, given the number of players in the pipeline drafted from rounds 3-7, we should have 3 NHLers from that group, but I only project Levi and Nadeau as NHLers.

Edited March 14, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[Flashsabre]

41 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

According to the % published recently and linked to in the NHL Draft thread we should produce 6.86 players from our current pipeline.  That makes sense since the pool has 4 1st rd picks and 3 second rd picks in the current pipeline.  Interestingly, given the number of players in the pipeline drafted from rounds 3-7, we should have 3 NHLers from that group, but I only project Levi and Nadeau as NHLers.

Don’t sleep on Neuchev. In a couple years I think he will be a player.

[LGR4GM]

31 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Don’t sleep on Neuchev. In a couple years I think he will be a player.

He fascinates me. 

[Taro T]

13 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

He fascinates me. 

Care to expound upon that please?

[Derrico]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

Care to expound upon that please?

Eww gross

[Flashsabre]

4 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Care to expound upon that please?

From my end he just oozes skill in a 6’2 package. He was all everything for his MHL team last year and has held his own as a 19 year old in the KHL this season. Sabres said they had a first round grade on him which makes the Finnish goalie in the 2nd round even more of a head scratcher. They got him in the 3rd though.

Edited March 14, 2023 by Flashsabre

[GASabresIUFAN]

I like Neuchev as well.  He is currently 8th on my board behind 5 at rd picks, Levi and Nadeau, who is tearing up the Q.

However, a word of caution, all Russian players have a huge question mark on them until they can get out of Russian.  

When does KA put the Levi arrival clock on the Sabres website? Plenty of time to get PT in Rochester for the season if he gets signed asap.

[JohnC]

On 3/13/2023 at 12:03 AM, GASabresIUFAN said:

With Bloom and Portillo traded away and UPL graduating, I thought I'd update my list.

1) Savoie (C/W) - 35g and 87 pts in 58 WHL games - Ahead of last year's pace.

2) Kulich (C/W) - 17g and 35pts in 48 AHL games - unprecedented production for a 18 year old

3) Levi (G) - Another Richter Award Nomination (won last year). His numbers not quite as good as last year, but he is the NE team.  2.24 w a .933.

4) Östlund (C) - 26 pts in 38 Allsvenskan games. (2nd tier Swedish hockey league).  Best performance from the group of former 1st rd picks on his team.

5) Rosen (C/W) - 29 pts in 50 AHL games.  Very solid first NA season.

6) Nadeau (W) - His scoring pace is nearly that of Savoie with 20g 41 pts in only 28 games

7) Johnson (LD) - His offense hasn't grown at all in 4 years of college, but Mn trusts him

8.) Neuchev (W) - 12 pts in 57 K games at 19 years old

9) Kisakov (W) - 7 pts in 41 AHL games

10) Poltapov (W) - 10 pts in 56 KHL games

11) Kozak  (C/W) - 8 pts in 49 AHL games.  Kisakov, Poltapov, and Kozak have all had similar production in their leagues this season at 20. 

12) Lindgren (LD) - Turned it on lately. Has 11 goals (33 pts) in 59 games. Not bad goal production for a D.

13) Komarov (RD) -  Similar pt production in the Q to Lindgren.

14) Rousek (W) - 46 pts in 56 A games.  Deserves all call up at some point - Age 23.

15) Novikov (LD) - Hulking D has played 62 games this season in the KHL.

16) Leinoen (G) - Sorry but I'm not impressed with an .858 save % in the SM-liiga or a .860 save % in the lower Finnish league.  Wasn't a fan of the pick when it was made and not a fan now.

17) Marjala (W) - 9 pts in 15 SM-liiga games.  Will KA sign him?

18) Cedarqvist (W) - 13 pts in 39 games for the 22 year old's first season in the A and in NA.

19) Huglen  (W) - 14 pts in 33 NCAA with MN

20) Richard (W) - 49 pts in 43 USHL games - off to college next season.

21) Sardarian (W)- 7 pts in 29 NCAA games with NH. 

There are another 8 or 9 prospects in the system but I doubt any have any chance of playing even a minute in the NHL.

Prospects 1-7 will all play in the NHL.  Kulich, Johnson and Savoie could play in the NHL as early as next year.

Prospects 8-17 could play in the NHL depending on how they progress.  Rousek may get a call up this season.  

Prospects 18-21 are highly unlikely to make the NHL.  Richard is the one guy from this group that could surprise IMHO.

Name 3-5 players that you believe could be on the roster within two years. And then name one or two of the longer developing prospects that you believe will come to fruition as NHL players. 

 

[Curt]

10 hours ago, Taro T said:

Care to expound upon that please?

I will a little.

He is big, 6’2”, with a muscular physique.  He skates extremely well.  He can rip the puck and loves to shoot and score goals.  He plays hard and isn’t just a perimeter guy.  He is only 19 and did respectably well in the KHL.

Basically, he is a star top-6 goal scoring winger starter kit.

I can’t say if he will put it all together, but his potential is immense.

[GASabresIUFAN]

22 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Name 3-5 players that you believe could be on the roster within two years. And then name one or two of the longer developing prospects that you believe will come to fruition as NHL players. 

 

I wrote on the bottom of my previous post that I think players listed 1-7 will all play in the NHL.  Kulich, Johnson, and Savoie could all be in Buffalo next year, but my guess is all 3 need at least one more year.  Levi likely needs at last 1-2 years in the A, but given our terrible goalie situation he may play earlier than expected.

Nadeau heads to Rochester next year so we’ll get a better feel for his progress there, but his around the net game is much needed in Buffalo long term. Rosen will likely make the NHL but will probably be traded due to our crowded and young forward group.  I don’t see him with nearly the upside of his fellow top forwards.  He’ll likely need two more AHL seasons before he see an NHL ice.  Östlund looks like a playmaker we need.  He just needs to get stronger.  He is probably 2plus years away.

From outside the top 7 on my list, I think Neuchev is a very intriguing prospect, but hard to evaluate until you see him in Rochester. I thought Kisakov adjusted well and I think Neuchev has more upside.  I think Novikov has a real shot as a younger version of Lyubushkin if he ever leaves Russia.

Some of the dark horse candidates are Komarov and Richard.  Komarov has really stepped up his offense this season, is already 6’3” and plays a good two way game for the Q.  We’ll know more about his skating and in zone work when he gets to Rochester.  Richard is off to college and if his scoring continues there we might have a late round gem to follow.

Edited March 14, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[LGR4GM]

10 hours ago, Taro T said:

Care to expound upon that please?

 

2 minutes ago, Curt said:

I will a little.

He is big, 6’2”, with a muscular physique.  He skates extremely well.  He can rip the puck and loves to shoot and score goals.  He plays hard and isn’t just a perimeter guy.  He is only 19 and did respectably well in the KHL.

Basically, he is a star top-6 goal scoring winger starter kit.

I can’t say if he will put it all together, but his potential is immense.

This covers it but Neuchev loves to drive the center and shoot. He actually could use a bit more awareness of teammates IMO (I have seen 2 partial KHL games of his so take that for what it is worth) but in general he is an offense first attacking forward. Kinda reminds me a bit of Tuch in some ways. 

He has 12 points in 57KHL games at 19. That's all while getting 8-10minutes a night from the look of stuff. 

From EP's draft guide (seriously I know I say this a lot but EP has great content). His statistical profile gives him a 20% chance of being a 2nd line player in the NHL. 

Quote

Victor Neuchev thrives in the chaos that his game creates. He’s a fast handler who likes to demonstrate his talents; a showoff and an entertainer with the puck.

He attacks defenders most shifts, constantly pulling off creative and unexpected moves. We came to especially appreciate his ability to veil his passes this season. It seemed like every single one of his feeds to the slot was prepared with a head or should fake that would send confused defenders covering the wrong option.

Our issue with his game was its inefficiency. Some games, there were just as many turnovers as highlights. More than that, it’s very likely that Neuchev’s skating, particularly his lack of ankle flexion, won’t support the type of dangle heavy game he is playing right now as he rise up hockey’s ranks. He will lack the separation speed to pull off many of his moves against better opponents.

He’s a very individualistic player wanting to be the main focus on every play. While there is a significant chance that Neuchev’s playstyle won’t carry over to the NHL, his combination of fast processing ability, manipulative playmaking, handling, and shooting skills, and his larger stature will interest many teams.

 

[LGR4GM]

Quote

Viktor Neuchev is a very angry player and it really makes him stand out in the MHL. Aggressive forechecking with no regard for his own life, throwing himself into opponent players or, literally, the boards. He was effective in this puck battles, using his physicality to hold off one or even two opponents while still being able to  control the puck and move it away from the boards. A rare forechecking player in the league, he uses that aggression and anger to fly down the ice and engage as quickly as possible. - Dylan Griffing, Spet 7th, 2021 game report

Just a partial game report from his draft year. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

22 hours ago, tom webster said:

I’m just playing the percentages. I think it’s likely someone we think is a long shot makes it and, I also think  history will show that the Sabres were one of the teams that beat the percentages but I never bet against the numbers.

 

15 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

According to the % published recently and linked to in the NHL Draft thread we should produce 6.86 players from our current pipeline.  That makes sense since the pool has 4 1st rd picks and 3 second rd picks in the current pipeline.  Interestingly, given the number of players in the pipeline drafted from rounds 3-7, we should have 3 NHLers from that group, but I only project Levi and Nadeau as NHLers.

I forgot Johnson in my calculation.  The proper number is now 7.137.