Sabres Prospect Challenge September 15-19.

[Thorner]

38 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I don't disagree with this but there's a few points that are in the gray area. "JBot's draft picks" yes, definitely. But that was kind of the point right? The original sentence was finally a GM with a team built through the draft. The reply from me was "not yet". 

So to the 12 Adams 10 Botterill, that may be true but the main core of this team at the moment is Botterill. 

the top line is 2/3 Botterill 1/3 Adams. 

I'm not sure what the lines will be and which rookies might play so for the moment your next group of forwards (Cozens, Mitts, Asplund, Olofsson) is 3 JBot 1 Murray.

Then come your Adams kids (Quinn, Peterka, Krebs) but not sure if any are impact players (yet) or not. 

After that it's Murray leftovers and who cares dregs like Bjork. I'm not counting the bottom of the line up for anybody cause they are all irrelevant.

The D is 1/3 Adams because he drafted Power. The rest of it however is all JBot.

Goaltending. Well it's Adams, but is that really a good thing??? imo it's been progressively downgraded since the Miler trade. Now if Lehner hadn't been a drug fueled head case maybe we'd have solid top 10 goaltending stability but that's not the way it worked and the current goalies are nothing to rave about. If UPL steps up it's still Botterill to the rescue. 

Now to be clear, I'm not saying Botterill was better or any good at all. He certainly chose poorly in coaches and his defensive shuffling was mind bogglingly odd. Bogo and Lehner were mishandled. The Foligno trade was just dumb. Lots of errors, but FOR THE MOMENT, this is still primarily a JBot roster. I am hoping in a year or two I won't be able to say that. 

5 of the 10 top scorers from last year were Botterill guys, including the top 3, and 4 of the top 6. 

The remaining 2 in the top 6 were Murray guys, including expected captain Okposo.

Adams is responsible for 3 of 10, that being 3 of the bottom 4 (though one is Tuch who had been hurt), and one of those 3 is Hinostroza.

Adams biggest stamp thus far is Tuch and Krebs being in there for Eichel, but as of now our top 10 scorers are as much a product of Murray as they are Adams. This could all change quickly if guys like Quinn and Peterka, Power and Comrie shoot up this year, but as of now yes more of the productive talent has been supplied by Botterill. 

- - - 

I think the next Adams roster addition of note re: points was down the list in Cody Eakin

Edited September 19, 2022 by Thorny

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Adams biggest stamp thus far is

....knowing who to keep and who to get rid of from the previous regimes.

[LabattBlue]

6 hours ago, Brawndo said:

He’s actually eligible to be signed to an ELC before the OHL Season Starts, similar to Suchanek. They should sign both. 

I agree.  Extra incentive…sign a contract, and stay for training camp!

Edited September 19, 2022 by LabattBlue

[Thorner]

47 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

....knowing who to keep and who to get rid of from the previous regimes.

Yes time may well bear that out

[Thorner]

Can anyone let me know what Matthew Savoie’s stat line was, over the course of the 3 games? Please and thanks if you can 

[RochesterExpat]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Can anyone let me know what Matthew Savoie’s stat line was, over the course of the 3 games? Please and thanks if you can 

Game 1: Zero Points

Game 2: One Goal.

Game 3: Two Goals.

I do not believe he had any assists.

[dudacek]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Can anyone let me know what Matthew Savoie’s stat line was, over the course of the 3 games? Please and thanks if you can 

Looks like 3 goals, 0 helpers in 3 games to me.

Kozak 4/0

Rosen 1/2

Weissbach 1/3

Kisakov 1/3

Kulich 1/2

Rousek 1/2

All unofficial quick addition from the Harborcentre site.

https://www.rinksatharborcenter.com/stats#/1508/game/576241/boxscore

You score 17 in 3 games, it’s pretty easy to pile up the stats. 😁

Edited September 19, 2022 by dudacek

[RochesterExpat]

On 9/16/2022 at 2:16 PM, PerreaultForever said:

The only question on Slavkovsky in Montreal is how he adjusts to North American life (with money) and how he adjusts to a hotbed for hockey like Montreal . There are numerous, shall we say, temptations and unsavory countrymen in that town that can run a young kid off the rails fast if he doesn't have the maturity  and support structure to deal with it. I suspect he'll be fine, but time will tell. 

I'm personally glad to hear that lesser known Sabres prospects looked good, but I'd actually rather read that our top prospects dominated. 

On this note, after Slafkovsky played in two of three games and only recorded the one assist against Buffalo, while also losing the puck multiple times... the Montreal media is already starting to turn on him already based on two scrimmages. That's not fun for him.

Twitter + Google Translate is pretty interesting right now.

[Brawndo]

They are in love with Owen Beck right now 

[K-9]

24 minutes ago, RochesterExpat said:

On this note, after Slafkovsky played in two of three games and only recorded the one assist against Buffalo, while also losing the puck multiple times... the Montreal media is already starting to turn on him already based on two scrimmages. That's not fun for him.

Twitter + Google Translate is pretty interesting right now.

Tough place to play, but you’d think a savvy hockey media market would know better. 

[Flashsabre]

28 minutes ago, RochesterExpat said:

On this note, after Slafkovsky played in two of three games and only recorded the one assist against Buffalo, while also losing the puck multiple times... the Montreal media is already starting to turn on him already based on two scrimmages. That's not fun for him.

Twitter + Google Translate is pretty interesting right now.

I went on the Habs board at hfboards and some fans there were laying out the situation: apparently a lot of fans do not like the new front office there and a lot of fans wanted Shane Wright as the pick. So they see Slafkovsky as the unliked FO’s pick instead of the fan’s pick of Wright and thus some are almost rooting for Slaf to fail. Sounds ridiculous but this is pro sports fandom.

I don’t think he is ready to play this season from a skill and production aspect but when you are 6’3, 238 lbs 1OA pick you are going to play in the league right away.

Hope he does well but Montreal is the last place you don’t want to do well in.

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by Flashsabre

[Thorner]

44 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

They are in love with Owen Beck right now 

Oh the good Canadian boy and not the “underachieving in a prospects game” Euro? 

I’m shocked. 

[Digger]

10 hours ago, pi2000 said:

If the goal is to build a perennial playoff team, then they're on the right path.  

Is that good enough?

I would say no.  Obviously we need to get into the playoffs as a first step forward but it's hard to forget all the 1st round losses the Sabres have had over the years.  It's still too soon for me to see a ceiling but we should be able to get to the playoffs this or next season. 

[Thorner]

11 hours ago, pi2000 said:

If the goal is to build a perennial playoff team, then they're on the right path.  

Is that good enough?

Honestly? 

Yes.

[Curt]

12 hours ago, pi2000 said:

If the goal is to build a perennial playoff team, then they're on the right path.  

Is that good enough?

 

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Honestly? 

Yes.

I’ll say yes too.  That’s the first step.  Once everyone sees that the Sabres are a well run team with real expectations, it becomes a lot easier to improve further.  Players who have a choice will become a lot more willing to choose to join Buffalo.

[Digger]

14 hours ago, pi2000 said:

If the goal is to build a perennial playoff team, then they're on the right path.  

Is that good enough?

1 hour ago, Curt said:

 

I’ll say yes too.  That’s the first step.  Once everyone sees that the Sabres are a well run team with real expectations, it becomes a lot easier to improve further.  Players who have a choice will become a lot more willing to choose to join Buffalo.

But it's a trick question in my opinion (I pictured signing a deal with the devil) 😏.  A perennial playoff team obviously wins more regular season games so is more enjoyable for the fans.  But a perennial playoff team could lose in the first round every year or never win a playoff game.  

I agree that playoffs are obviously the first step but yearly improvement towards winning the Stanley Cup is the ultimate goal.

So I'll change Pi's statement to:  "build a perennial playoff team with year over year improvements ultimately with the Sabres winning the Stanley Cup".

 

[Doohicksie]

Yeah.  Do ya really wanna be Toronto?  (My wish is that the Sabres win a Cup before the Leafs win a playoff series 😛 )

[PerreaultForever]

8 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:

On this note, after Slafkovsky played in two of three games and only recorded the one assist against Buffalo, while also losing the puck multiple times... the Montreal media is already starting to turn on him already based on two scrimmages. That's not fun for him.

Twitter + Google Translate is pretty interesting right now.

It's a tough town for hockey for sure. They will worship you if you're a star there but the critics do come out fast and furiously too. They're just as vocal in Toronto but more forgiving due to the legacy of losing. Montreal still thinks they should be in the final every year. They think it's their right. 

[Brawndo]

 

[matter2003]

This team's pipeline is stocked full of talent and its not only the 1st round picks now...even late round picks like Rousek and Kozak are looking like they are going to be solid NHL players within a few years...something that was sorely lacking over the last decade. Basically if they weren't a first round pick, they weren't playing for us. Hard to build a solid team that way.

Edited September 20, 2022 by matter2003

[LabattBlue]

Cederqvist was really impressive, and hopefully can be a solid middle six winger in 2-3 years. 

[bob_sauve28]

I really wonder how many of these prospects actually play in the NHL for a sizable amount of time. It sure looks like a bunch of them will, and there are even more out there that did not play in the tournament. 

[dudacek]

So many things to like about that tourney.

But I think my biggest takeaway was seeing how complete a player Jiri Kilich was — and this is important — as a centre!

Hard on puck battles, fast in open ice and always in the right position on both ends of the ice. Such an an assertive, smart game. Loved the way he connected with and seemed to rub off on Rosen (who also elevated in my eyes).

And he looked that good coming off an injury, and without really showcasing what we've been told is his elite trait: his shot.

This kid is a player.

Overall, our team looked so much faster and more talented than the competition and fun to watch.

Keep it coming.

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

So many things to like about that tourney.

But I think my biggest takeaway was seeing how complete a player Jiri Kilich was — and this is important — as a centre!

Hard on puck battles, fast in open ice and always in the right position on both ends of the ice. Such an an assertive, smart game. Loved the way he connected with and seemed to rub off on Rosen (who also elevated in my eyes).

And he looked that good coming off an injury, and without really showcasing what we've been told is his elite trait: his shot.

This kid is a player.

Overall, our team looked so much faster and more talented than the competition and fun to watch.

Keep it coming.

I firmly believe that if Kulich played in the a different league last year he would have been drafted well before 28. 

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I firmly believe that if Kulich played in the a different league last year he would have been drafted well before 28. 

And stuff like the Sabres being ready to pounce on Kulich (and a few other guys the past 2 (and maybe even 3 years - Quinn & Peterka say 'hi') is what was so frustrating about the Golisano years.  Rather than building up the scouting department to have a lot of cheap homegrown talent coming in, he & Quinn gutted it & brought in video scouting.  It wasn't just his gutting the most complete team they'd had since at least the early-90's & likely since the mid-70's or possibly ever due to being focused on only today's balance sheet, but his inability to see how his overall goals were completely complemented by building the scouting department rather than tearing it down.

At least there is hope once again, & not the forced kind we've lived with most of the past decade.