Sabres Prospects 2022-2023

[tom webster]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

For Kulich, if he does not make the top 12, why would you keep him as a 13/14 spare forward when he could be playing in Rochester and called up as needed.  

Because I don’t believe there is any benefit to playing in the AHL and teams are starting to realize the same thing for their elite talent. I’ve been pretty consistent in that regard just like I think playing in the AHL playoffs has little to no value for most prospects.

[tom webster]

32 minutes ago, inkman said:

Maybe it’s just me but I think Rousek’s overall game is ahead of Kulich at this point.  Kulich has an VO level shot which has afforded him some nice goal totals.  In the long run Kulich has the pedigree to be a much better player than Rousek but he’s also 5+ years older.  

Depending on how the top nine shake out, I envision a scenario where JJP and Krebs make up the the fourth line and  Kulich, Savoie and Rousek alternate throughout the season as long as everything else goes according to plan.

[Flashsabre]

4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 

I thought Lindgren-Komarov made a good pair at prospects camp/Prospects Tournament. 

Lindgren asking to be traded from Memorial Cup host Kamloops was curious but Brent Sutter runs a strong program at Red Deer.His numbers were down but he seemed to pick it up as the season wound down and he seems to be picking it up in the playoffs.

[dudacek]

13 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

I thought Lindgren-Komarov made a good pair at prospects camp/Prospects Tournament. 

Lindgren asking to be traded from Memorial Cup host Kamloops was curious but Brent Sutter runs a strong program at Red Deer.His numbers were down but he seemed to pick it up as the season wound down and he seems to be picking it up in the playoffs.

 

On 3/29/2023 at 9:56 PM, dudacek said:

Mats Lindgren kinda following the Savoie template this year: pedestrian start, strong finish.

Finished the season with a 7/17/24 run with 61 shots over his final 27 games after going 4/6/10 with 51 shots in his first 36.

His Rebels won their division and face Calgary in the first round.

Seems likely there was something going on off the ice that precipitated his trade and contributed to poor 1st-half play this year and 2nd-half play last year and him slipping in the draft.

He also had the following to say about the Sabres development staff:

"It's been really great," Lindgren said. "It shows that they care a lot and it makes me happy. It gives me confidence when they are coming out and watching me play, going out for dinner, and just talking about the games and what I can improve on.

"I'm really happy with how they do things in Buffalo, and I'm so thankful for Adam, Nathan, and Tim for taking their time to come out and watch me and everything. It's been great so far. Even just sending me video clips of what I can do better, breaking down video, talking with me on the phone. They're always available for me to reach out to them whenever I want, and they've made that very clear. It's amazing to have people like that who you can reach out to."

"Being a part of the Buffalo Sabres' prospect pool has been unreal," Lindgren emphasized. "The potential and just how the team is looking right now in Buffalo, it's amazing. It's exciting watching their games and seeing what they're going to be like in a few years, or even next year.

"It's very exciting for me to, hopefully, be a part of that one day."

 

Edited April 8, 2023 by dudacek

[Pimlach]

Pucks are getting through if we have guys willing to go to the net. 
 

Had a few possible tip-ins or re-directs.  The Canes are covering the points, get the puck inside.  

[Pimlach]

Levi forced to make a big save because of a careless clearing attempt.  

[French Collection]

6 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

That's the Kraken-Shane Wright loophole. Wright was up with Seattle to start the season, never got his 9th game and then they sent him down on a "conditioning assignment". The rule as far as I know it was that he hadn't dressed in 5 consecutive games so they were allowed that AHL conditioning stint. After that, he went to the WJC and then back to the WHL.

The Sabres and other teams could do this with their top CHL picks, but I doubt they do it with Savoie next season as it'll be his Draft+2 season vs. Wright's D+1 season this year.

And now that his OHL season is over, Wright will be assigned to the AHL vs. joining the Kraken for the playoffs. At least to start.

Side note. Wright was traded by Kingston to Windsor in the OHL for a pile of draft picks and prospects (7 iirc) for their playoff run. Windsor finished first in their conference but got swept in the first round by 8 seed Kitchener.

[Flashsabre]

 

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Pucks are getting through if we have guys willing to go to the net. 
 

Had a few possible tip-ins or re-directs.  The Canes are covering the points, get the puck inside.  

I did it again, 

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Levi forced to make a big save because of a careless clearing attempt.  

And again. 
 

 

[Weave]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

I did it again, 

And again. 
 

 

[JohnC]

7 hours ago, tom webster said:

Because I don’t believe there is any benefit to playing in the AHL and teams are starting to realize the same thing for their elite talent. I’ve been pretty consistent in that regard just like I think playing in the AHL playoffs has little to no value for most prospects.

My understanding is that Krebs did shine in Rochester and in the playoffs when the season finished in Buffalo. Did it help his game for the next season in Buffalo? I can't say. But I'm sure it didn't hurt. 

[Taro T]

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

My understanding is that Krebs did shine in Rochester and in the playoffs when the season finished in Buffalo. Did it help his game for the next season in Buffalo? I can't say. But I'm sure it didn't hurt. 

The guy that really shined was Peterka.  Not sure that it can be said that it carried over to this year.

[Flashsabre]

7 hours ago, tom webster said:

Because I don’t believe there is any benefit to playing in the AHL and teams are starting to realize the same thing for their elite talent. I’ve been pretty consistent in that regard just like I think playing in the AHL playoffs has little to no value for most prospects.

I don’t agree. Playing in the intensity of a playoff series is hugely beneficial regardless of league.

Quinn, JJ and Krebs benefited last year and Kulich, Rosen and the gang will benefit this year.

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

I can’t even blame drinking on this one. It was mid afternoon and I hadn’t even touched the stuff.  

[Flashsabre]

Rosen with 2 goals for the Amerks so far tonight. 

[Flashsabre]

Quinnipiac stun Minnesota 10 seconds into OT.

Minnesota has a 2-1 lead and completely shut down in the 3rd. Shots were like 15-2. Quinnipiac pulled the goalie and finally scored after all the pressure.

Really surprised how much of a non factor Cooley was in the game for Minnesota.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

Quinnipiac stun Minnesota 10 seconds into OT.

Minnesota has a 2-1 lead and completely shut down in the 3rd. Shots were like 15-2. Quinnipiac pulled the goalie and finally scored after all the pressure.

Really surprised how much of a non factor Cooley was in the game for Minnesota.

You mean defense wins championships.  Amazing.

[tom webster]

8 hours ago, Flashsabre said:

I don’t agree. Playing in the intensity of a playoff series is hugely beneficial regardless of league.

Quinn, JJ and Krebs benefited last year and Kulich, Rosen and the gang will benefit this year.

You don’t really know they benefited. You just assume they did. Players get better as their minds and bodies mature. 

[Archie Lee]

4 hours ago, tom webster said:

You don’t really know they benefited. You just assume they did. Players get better as their minds and bodies mature. 

A factor in keeping players in the AHL (or Junior or Europe) is the availability of positions on the NHL roster.  Sometimes there just isn't a suitable spot available. As the Sabres get better and deeper there will not be 2-4 spots available for rookies every year.  

Every player gets one development path.  There is simply no way to know if a player would have ended up better or worse had a different path been followed. All you have is where the player is trending and where they end up.

People spent years lamenting how Thompson and Mittelstadt were rushed and poorly developed and now one is a star and the other is making a strong case to be a  long-term middle-six contributor.  Would they have arrived earlier or be better players today if they had spent more time in the AHL? Or would they have been better staying in the NHL and being healthy scratched 1/2 of the time?  It is impossible to know.

 

[JohnC]

14 hours ago, Taro T said:

The guy that really shined was Peterka.  Not sure that it can be said that it carried over to this year.

Although his play was often intermittent, there were episodes where you can see the talent. Quinn, without question, looked like he belonged. That wasn't the case with JJ who was often a non-factor. But there were times (not enough) where you can see the talent. He's a fast north/south skater who has the frame to get stronger and be more of a physical presence. I think that playing in the NHL this year, even though it was a major adjustment for him, was a better learning experience than if he played a lot in Rochester. It will be interesting to see if next year will be a leap year for him? 

[Pimlach]

14 hours ago, Taro T said:

The guy that really shined was Peterka.  Not sure that it can be said that it carried over to this year.

Of course it carried over. What were you expecting from him in his first  NHL year?   He made the team in part because our GM left spots open for rookies to play.  He gets sheltered shifts because his true readiness is borderline. You saw that yesterday   

This talk about playing AHL games does not help player development is nonsense. 

If Peterka was in the Bruins organization he probably would be in the AHL, maybe getting some bottom 6 NHL looks.  
 

[Pimlach]

22 hours ago, tom webster said:

Because I don’t believe there is any benefit to playing in the AHL and teams are starting to realize the same thing for their elite talent. I’ve been pretty consistent in that regard just like I think playing in the AHL playoffs has little to no value for most prospects.

You are one of my favorite posters here, but I must say you are going a bit overboard here.  I get your point, but the emphasis is not correct.   

Playing in the AHL has little value for some prospects, and those prospects are few and far between.  Most prospects need the AHL to fine tune their game as their bodies mature. Most prospects cannot make a top 8 team in the NHL straight out of Juniors at 18/19, only the top few draft choices in a given year can jump right in.  Recent examples:  Owen Power could jump right in.  Jack Quinn could not.  Matt Savoie could not.  

[French Collection]

47 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

A factor in keeping players in the AHL (or Junior or Europe) is the availability of positions on the NHL roster.  Sometimes there just isn't a suitable spot available. As the Sabres get better and deeper there will not be 2-4 spots available for rookies every year. 

Right on, there may be 1-2 spots per year for rookies going forward. Some years might be 0 unless an excellent prospect forces his way in.

This will be the point where prospects and picks are traded to upgrade certain positions. The salary cap will have to be managed throughout this process and that can force a team to play a guy on his ELC.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

Although his play was often intermittent, there were episodes where you can see the talent. Quinn, without question, looked like he belonged. That wasn't the case with JJ who was often a non-factor. But there were times (not enough) where you can see the talent. He's a fast north/south skater who has the frame to get stronger and be more of a physical presence. I think that playing in the NHL this year, even though it was a major adjustment for him, was a better learning experience than if he played a lot in Rochester. It will be interesting to see if next year will be a leap year for him? 

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Of course it carried over. What were you expecting from him in his first  NHL year?   He made the team in part because our GM left spots open for rookies to play.  He gets sheltered shifts because his true readiness is borderline. You saw that yesterday   

This talk about playing AHL games does not help player development is nonsense. 

If Peterka was in the Bruins organization he probably would be in the AHL, maybe getting some bottom 6 NHL looks.  
 

Peterka was great in the playoffs last year.  Quinn was spent by the time they rolled around.  If the playoffs truly carried over then shouldn't they have had more comparable seasons or even have had Peterka with the better season?  

And in the 2 game look sees the 2 got last year, Peterka looked better than Quinn also IMHO.

They both developed last year and both were ready for the NHL this year.  And both will be better next year for having had this season.  Am not disparaging either.  But, don't believe the AHL playoffs were what made or broke this season's play for either.   Unless you want to argue that without the playoff run Peterka wouldn't have started in Buffalo this year.  Doubt that's the case.

It's cool they got to play in the playoffs, but it didn't make or break their seasons last year.  UPL breaking right before the playoffs last year didn't torpedo his year this year nor would having been in them altered his track this year either IMHO.

[JohnC]

Just now, Taro T said:

Peterka was great in the playoffs last year.  Quinn was spent by the time they rolled around.  If the playoffs truly carried over then shouldn't they have had more comparable seasons or even have had Peterka with the better season?  

And in the 2 game look sees the 2 got last year, Peterka looked better than Quinn also IMHO.

They both developed last year and both were ready for the NHL this year.  And both will be better next year for having had this season.  Am not disparaging either.  But, don't believe the AHL playoffs were what made or broke this season's play for either.   Unless you want to argue that without the playoff run Peterka wouldn't have started in Buffalo this year.  Doubt that's the case.

It's cool they got to play in the playoffs, but it didn't make or break their seasons last year.  UPL breaking right before the playoffs last year didn't torpedo his year this year nor would having been in them altered his track this year either IMHO.

My main point about JJ's rate of development is that it was better served in Buffalo than playing in Rochester would have been this year. There is no question that he struggled, especially in comparison to Quinn. I didn't say that JJ playing in the AHL playoffs last year, helped or hurt him this year. Although I did say that Krebs playing in the AHL playoffs last year did help him this year. What is obvious is that young players have different rates of development. That shouldn't be surprising. However, I do expect JJ to make a noticeable leap forward next year because of his experience in the NHL this year, and due to being more physically and emotionally mature as time goes by. In general, I don't think that we disagree very much here.