Hindsight: Grading the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Sabres draft

[Zamboni]

I don't feel these three years are "too early to grade", so ... with time passing and seeing what these draft picks have mostly developed into, how did the Sabres do in these draft years? You can just judge in a vacuum within the Sabres and players themselves, or do a deeper dive and compare the Sabres picks with what the other teams picked in those years as well. Does a one player "hit" add or subtract to your evaluation of that draft year?

Tim Murray was the GM in 2016

Jason Botterill was the GM in 2017 and 2018

 

What's your letter grade of each year? Does it differ from what you said right after the draft of that year?

 

2016 Draft 

Pick

8 ... Alex Nylander

33 ... Rasmus Asplund

69 ... Cliff Pu

86 ... Casey Fitzgerald

99 ... Brett Murray

129 ... Philip Nyberg

130 ... Vojtech Budik

159 ... Brandon Hagel

189 ... Austin Osmanski

190 ... Vasily Glotov

 

2017 Draft

Pick

8 ... Casey Mittlestadt

37 ... Marcus Davidsson

54 ... Ukko Pekka Luukkonen

89 ... Oskari Laaksonen

99 ... Jacob Bryson

192 ... Linus Weissbach

 

2018 Draft

Pick

1 ... Rasmus Dahlin

32 ... Mattias Samuelsson 

94 ... Mataj Pekar

117 ... Linus Lindstrand Cronholm

125 ... Miska Kukkonen

187 ... William Worge Kreu

[thewookie1]

6 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

2016 Draft 

Pick

8 ... Alex Nylander  -- Ugh, both from a What if and Result (At least we got Jokiharju, a good Dman in return)

33 ... Rasmus Asplund  -- Solid Defensive Forward but aside from a few spurts offensively, disappointing 

69 ... Cliff Pu  -- Great name, that's about it sadly

86 ... Casey Fitzgerald  -- Feels like a lucky bounce; most dmen like him never develop but he has become a 6/7 Dman with grit

99 ... Brett Murray -- Tall, good guy and net front guy. Lacks NHL skating speed but a solid AHLer

129 ... Philip Nyberg - Human

130 ... Vojtech Budik - Human?

159 ... Brandon Hagel  -- The one that got away

189 ... Austin Osmanski  -- Local guy never got far

190 ... Vasily Glotov -- No matter what, great kid. 

C+ The 1st rounder is like an anchor

6 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

2017 Draft

Pick

8 ... Casey Mittlestadt - Thrown into the deep end too fast but has shown flashes of what he was drafted for

37 ... Marcus Davidsson - BUST

54 ... Ukko Pekka Luukkonen - Potential is there, but does his body have the capability to reach that potential

89 ... Oskari Laaksonen - AHL Offensive Dman, likely nothing more

99 ... Jacob Bryson - NHL depth defenseman who isn't particularly great at anything but skating but is good in general

192 ... Linus Weissbach - At very least a high end AHLer, perhaps more?

B+ Technically "hitting" on 50% of the picks is rather impressive

6 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

2018 Draft

Pick

1 ... Rasmus Dahlin - Norris hopeful who is merely brushing the surface of his talent (Franchise Player but not Generational)

32 ... Mattias Samuelsson - NHL Defensive Dman, not flashy but brings physical play and defensive safety. Has vastly improved as a skater and isn't completely out of place offensively. 

94 ... Mataj Pekar - Disappointing overall but should still be a good AHL guy with piss and vinegar

117 ... Linus Lindstrand Cronholm - Great name

125 ... Miska Kukkonen - Unsure

187 ... William Worge Kreu - Great name

A- Top D pairing, nothing else though

[GASabresIUFAN]

It’s early still on 2017 and 18, but here goes

2016 - C-. On the plus side TM found 3 depth NHLers in Hagel, Asplund and Fitz, and 1 AAAA player in Murray.  Sadly, the late round steal in Hagel wasn’t even offered a contract although his play to that point didn’t warrant one.  TM’s failure in the Nylander (84 NHL games so far) pick set the franchise back and the pick was only salvaged by Jbot dumping him for Jokiharju.  The rest of the draft stunk.  Jbot also used Pu to help get Skinner.  Asplund is the only player from this draft that may have a long term future as a Sabre.

2017 - B-. Mitts is a solid NHLer and still has a chance to be a star.  Getting a starting D in the 4th round (Bryson) is a steal.  UPL and Laaksonen are still developing with UPL still having a chance to earn the Sabres starting job.  Missing on Davidsson hurts and Weissback looks like a good AHLer.  Grade could still increase if UPL and/or Laaksonen become Sabres and/or Mitts becomes a star.

2018 - A-. Dahlin and Samuelsson are homeruns and our No. 1 D pair, but the rest our busts.  I guess Pekar still has an outside chance.  The top 2 picks deserve an A+, but not getting anything but a depth AHLer lowers the grade some. 

Edited July 12, 2022 by GASabresIUFAN

[Carmel Corn]

I don't understand the high grades for the 2018 draft.  We had 1OA, Dahlin was the consensus #1 pick....what else were we going to do?  Samuelsson I like, but the rest of the 2018 draft was a tire fire.

[Brawndo]

12 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

I don't understand the high grades for the 2018 draft.  We had 1OA, Dahlin was the consensus #1 pick....what else were we going to do?  Samuelsson I like, but the rest of the 2018 draft was a tire fire.

No matter where they drafted, getting both Your Top Pairing Defenseman in the same draft is a great haul. 

[Eleven]

I like this thread, @Zamboni, and I'd encourage it again next year, 2017-19.

2016 is an ugly draft when we look at just the players involved, but a pretty good draft when we look at what it turned into.  Jokijaru is a capable NHL starting defenseman, which is about what you get at 8.  You don't always get a Hall of Famer, and you don't always get an NHL starter (see the player initially picked by the Sabres for an example).  Asplund is a hit for a second rounder, as is Fitzgerald for a third.  Please remember that this isn't the NFL--second and third round picks are hardly guaranteed to have notable NHL careers.  Pu became Skinner, so that's great, there.  I don't care about rounds 4 and later unless there's a standout, and there isn't here, which is par for the course.

2017, Mittlestadt is still not my favorite choice here.  I'm rooting for the kid, of course, but the lack of personal commitment to his own physical development prior to the draft was and remains a concern.  No one taken after him is really setting the world on fire, though (sorry, Suzuki fans, I'm still a doubter), but Oettinger would have made more sense.  Instead, the Sabres took UPL in the late second, and while he's no longer a prospect, we don't know what he is, yet.  He's either an NHLer or not, and we'll find out this coming season.  In between was a guy who never is going to play regularly in the NHL (again this is the case for the majority of second round picks), Davidsson.  Bryson is an outlier and a good find late in the draft.  Overall, this looks like a weak draft year league-wide, and maybe the Sabres just did the best they could.

2018.  Dahlin looks like he's going to be a force on defense, but probably not the best defenseman since Potvin, as we were told by countless pundits.  That's ok.  He's still a solid pick there.  I wouldn't trade him for any other single player in that draft, so that's good use of a first overall pick.  Samuelsson is a VERY nice second round pick up.  I think a lot of teams will end up regretting not taking him in the first.  Pekar, I'd love to see in a Sabres uniform someday.  Seems like a cleaner Pat Kaleta.  

 

I'd say 2018 was the best of the three, then 2017, then 2016.  Notably, this is reverse of time since draft, meaning we've had more time to watch the 2016 players and evaluate how bad 2016 was.

 

[Buffalonill]

How they drafted Nylander over Chychrun I'll never know .

He was Literally next door neighbors with the owner 

[sabresparaavida]

3 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

I don't understand the high grades for the 2018 draft.  We had 1OA, Dahlin was the consensus #1 pick....what else were we going to do?  Samuelsson I like, but the rest of the 2018 draft was a tire fire.

Getting Samuelson in the second is very good value. Anything outside the first is a crap shoot, and getting a top 4 D outside of the first makes it a win.