GDT: Buffalo vs. New Jersey Prospects Challenge, 7pm

[Flashsabre]

I watched Fleming in warmup and he couldn’t stop a beach ball. I was worried he would get shelled and then he had a great game. Remember though it was just a single game from an invitee.

Panocha struggled and had a couple brutal giveaways but I still really like his overall package for a 7th round pick.

Metsa is 24 but he is so smart and smooth. He will be a mainstay for the Akeem’s at the least.

Johnson is really solid. I don’t know what some are looking for. Both top 5 picks, Nemec and Reinbacher, didn’t standout at all. It is hard for D to impress.

Novikov has so much potential. He will be a Sabre in time.

Rosen and Kulich are goal scoring gamebreakers. So impressed with Rosen. His ability to change the game with his feet and shot are great. Both of them are playing the game the right way too.

Benson and Savoie are waterbugs who are all over the ice and the puck. Really exciting players to watch. Both compete and get their noses dirty. And Benson has the “It” factor of great players where the puck follows them all around.’

Neuchev really competes. He will struggle early in the AHL but I bet he has a breakout after  Christmas.

Kozak is a great 4th line centre. Faceoffs, PK, snarl, shot blocks. Kid is going to work his way into the Sabres down the line.

Everytime I watch Cederqvist the takes a beating but it doesn’t deter him. Interesting size-skill combo.

Nadeau’s feet hurt him but he battles and competes and knows where to go to score.

Kisakov will take more time but the skill is there.

Really like Nicholas Savoie’s game. Much like Metsa he is so smart and calm with the puck never making bad decisions. He will push a couple D out and become a fixture on the Akeem’s blue line at some point this year.

 

[ddaryl]

28 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

 

It was asked before, how did we get Fleming?  

edit:  Fleming is 18, undrafted, from Quebec. Invited to camp to fill a spot. 

I just assumed he was part of the system already. He did look solid... 

[bob_sauve28]

I guess Noah Ostaland will be the star of next years tournament? 

[North Buffalo]

38 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

I watched Fleming in warmup and he couldn’t stop a beach ball. I was worried he would get shelled and then he had a great game. Remember though it was just a single game from an invitee.

Panocha struggled and had a couple brutal giveaways but I still really like his overall package for a 7th round pick.

Metsa is 24 but he is so smart and smooth. He will be a mainstay for the Akeem’s at the least.

Johnson is really solid. I don’t know what some are looking for. Both top 5 picks, Nemec and Reinbacher, didn’t standout at all. It is hard for D to impress.

Novikov has so much potential. He will be a Sabre in time.

Rosen and Kulich are goal scoring gamebreakers. So impressed with Rosen. His ability to change the game with his feet and shot are great. Both of them are playing the game the right way too.

Benson and Savoie are waterbugs who are all over the ice and the puck. Really exciting players to watch. Both compete and get their noses dirty. And Benson has the “It” factor of great players where the puck follows them all around.’

Neuchev really competes. He will struggle early in the AHL but I bet he has a breakout after  Christmas.

Kozak is a great 4th line centre. Faceoffs, PK, snarl, shot blocks. Kid is going to work his way into the Sabres down the line.

Everytime I watch Cederqvist the takes a beating but it doesn’t deter him. Interesting size-skill combo.

Nadeau’s feet hurt him but he battles and competes and knows where to go to score.

Kisakov will take more time but the skill is there.

Really like Nicholas Savoie’s game. Much like Metsa he is so smart and calm with the puck never making bad decisions. He will push a couple D out and become a fixture on the Akeem’s blue line at some point this year.

 

TY for analysis not sure how I feel about Kozak and where he slots but you may be right... love Cedergvist and if the game ever slows down for him he is going to be a beast

[Derrico]

Rosen.  Looks like I'm late to the party on him but wow he was terrific both nights.  From what I had read and limited viewing of Rosen I was expecting almost nothing and felt like he was moving very close to bust territory.  These two games have opened my eyes.  He looked faster than I thought.  He had better vision than I thought.  Its only two games but I thought he looked just as good or slighlty better than Kulich.

Was hoping one of Savoie or Kulich would step up and make the Sabres out of camp.  I think Rosen deserves to atleast be in conversation also.  He's probably Roch bound but wouldn't be surprised if he gets a callup stint later in the season. 

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

Does anyone have an updated height and weight for Rosen and Kulich? 
 

It was asked before, how did we get Fleming?  

edit:  Fleming is 18, undrafted, from Quebec. Invited to camp to fill a spot. 

You would need to draft Fleming.

This roster has updated height and weights based on what I assume is the players physicals when they got to camp. There is a link in here for that pdf.

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-prospects-challenge-roster-zach-benson-jiri-kulich-matt-savoie-isak-rosen

 

[Quint]

https://www.nhl.com/devils/video/highlights-sabres-4-devils-2-6337302879112

2 minute scoring summary.

[LabattBlue]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

I watched Fleming in warmup and he couldn’t stop a beach ball. I was worried he would get shelled and then he had a great game. Remember though it was just a single game from an invitee.

Panocha struggled and had a couple brutal giveaways but I still really like his overall package for a 7th round pick.

Metsa is 24 but he is so smart and smooth. He will be a mainstay for the Akeem’s at the least.

Johnson is really solid. I don’t know what some are looking for. Both top 5 picks, Nemec and Reinbacher, didn’t standout at all. It is hard for D to impress.

Novikov has so much potential. He will be a Sabre in time.

Rosen and Kulich are goal scoring gamebreakers. So impressed with Rosen. His ability to change the game with his feet and shot are great. Both of them are playing the game the right way too.

Benson and Savoie are waterbugs who are all over the ice and the puck. Really exciting players to watch. Both compete and get their noses dirty. And Benson has the “It” factor of great players where the puck follows them all around.’

Neuchev really competes. He will struggle early in the AHL but I bet he has a breakout after  Christmas.

Kozak is a great 4th line centre. Faceoffs, PK, snarl, shot blocks. Kid is going to work his way into the Sabres down the line.

Everytime I watch Cederqvist the takes a beating but it doesn’t deter him. Interesting size-skill combo.

Nadeau’s feet hurt him but he battles and competes and knows where to go to score.

Kisakov will take more time but the skill is there.

Really like Nicholas Savoie’s game. Much like Metsa he is so smart and calm with the puck never making bad decisions. He will push a couple D out and become a fixture on the Akeem’s blue line at some point this year.

 

Akeem’s?  I know you are referring to Rochester, but what am I missing?

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, Quint said:

https://www.nhl.com/devils/video/highlights-sabres-4-devils-2-6337302879112

2 minute scoring summary.

Thanks.  Great snipe goals by Benson and Rosen!

Does anyone know who made the sweet pass from behind the net on Neuchev’s goal?  EDIT:  looks like it was Kozak.  Very nice play.

 

 

[Brawndo]

47 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Akeem’s?  I know you are referring to Rochester, but what am I missing?

Autocorrect from Amerks to Akeem’s I believe 

[PerreaultForever]

15 hours ago, RochesterExpat said:

His skating is impressive and lives up to the hype, but I don’t see him as NHL-ready and I think that’s my knock on him. The expectation people seem to have is that he’s ready or near-ready for the Big Show and I don’t see it. If he were any other 22 year old I’d say he did great. The issue is with my expectations. Not saying that’s the case for you as well, but I recognize that’s my issue with him.

It’s the same reason (although inverted) Fleming was such an impressive goalie. I had zero expectations for him. He exceeded zero by a mile.

Metsa as well. Metsa is on an AHL contract so my expectation would be that he’d be pretty far behind Johnson in readiness, but Metsa, as of today, isn’t.

Johnson can skate for sure. Like many of the guys we draft he skates well and in open ice moves the puck impressively. But he's not a forward, he's a D man, and in front of his own net he was absolute garbage. Gets bodies out and can't take pucks away from aggressive forwards. Right now imo he's somewhere between Jokiharju and Pilut in terms of ceiling and floor and that's just not going to help in terms of NHL play. 

[Flashsabre]

3 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

Akeem’s?  I know you are referring to Rochester, but what am I missing?

Yes autocorrect was not my friend. Amerks 😁

[dudacek]

4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Johnson can skate for sure. Like many of the guys we draft he skates well and in open ice moves the puck impressively. But he's not a forward, he's a D man, and in front of his own net he was absolute garbage. Gets bodies out and can't take pucks away from aggressive forwards. Right now imo he's somewhere between Jokiharju and Pilut in terms of ceiling and floor and that's just not going to help in terms of NHL play. 

I saw Johnson make plenty of good net-front plays over two games.

Not sure if you are dramatically over-emphasizing the 3-rebound goal today, or you think the only way to play defence is to overpower people, but calling his play “absolute garbage” is, well, absolute garbage.

“Can’t take pucks away”? I saw him do this multiple time. He has been strong defensively. His head is always up and he marks his man with consistency. He mirrors the rush with ease, forcing guys wide, and he has a good stick in one on ones. 

The puck rarely stayed in the Buffalo zone when he was on the ice. And this was while learning play on his off-hand.

No idea if that will hold up against men, but against boys, he’s been good.

[Zamboni]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

I saw Johnson make plenty of good net-front plays over two games.

Not sure if you are dramatically over-emphasizing the 3-rebound goal today, or you think the only way to play defence is to overpower people, but calling his play “absolute garbage” is, well, absolute garbage.

“Can’t take pucks away”? I saw him do this multiple time. He has been strong defensively. His head is always up and he marks his man with consistency. He mirrors the rush with ease, forcing guys wide, and he has a good stick in one on ones. 

The puck rarely stayed in the Buffalo zone when he was on the ice. And this was while learning play on his off-hand.

No idea if that will hold up against men, but against boys, he’s been good.

Agree. He was good. I guess if you aren’t body checking, punching and clearing out the front of the net with your fists and cross checks every chance you get, you are just a garbage or mediocre prospect 😂

[Gatorman0519]

The Sabres in a few years have the potential to be really good.

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

The Sabres in a few years days have the potential to be really good.

FTFY.  😉

[Doohicksie]

18 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:

The Sabres in a few years have the potential to be really good.

They are starting to remind me of the early dynasty Red Wings:  They have so much talent maturing on the farm that callups during the year are likely to be revelations to the rest of the league.

[DarthEbriate]

30 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

They are starting to remind me of the early dynasty Red Wings:  They have so much talent maturing on the farm that callups during the year are likely to be revelations to the rest of the league.

Which is exactly what we want. That 23 year-old who would've been forced onto the Sabres at age 20 (Girgs, Risto, etc.) and been given top 6/top 4 minutes, now has to fight and battle just to make it as the 13th forward. And their game will already be polished when they arrive. (I really hope Rousek proves me right this year. Not expecting big scoring, but am expecting him to make opposing coaches say, "Dang, wish we had a guy like him as our 12-13, or even as our 9.")

[PerreaultForever]

36 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

They are starting to remind me of the early dynasty Red Wings:  They have so much talent maturing on the farm that callups during the year are likely to be revelations to the rest of the league.

Wow jumping the gun or what. Let's see it in the NHL before we start crowning them. 

A Sabres dynasty would be nice, but I have to see it to believe it. 

[Doohicksie]

39 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Wow jumping the gun or what. Let's see it in the NHL before we start crowning them. 

A Sabres dynasty would be nice, but I have to see it to believe it. 

I was living in Detroit in the mid-90s.  I'm not crowning the Sabres with anything, just saying there is a similarity there.

[inkman]

21 hours ago, Quint said:

2 minute scoring summary.

My wife calls this “date night”

[dudacek]

16 hours ago, dudacek said:

I saw Johnson make plenty of good net-front plays over two games.

Not sure if you are dramatically over-emphasizing the 3-rebound goal today, or you think the only way to play defence is to overpower people, but calling his play “absolute garbage” is, well, absolute garbage.

“Can’t take pucks away”? I saw him do this multiple time. He has been strong defensively. His head is always up and he marks his man with consistency. He mirrors the rush with ease, forcing guys wide, and he has a good stick in one on ones. 

The puck rarely stayed in the Buffalo zone when he was on the ice. And this was while learning play on his off-hand.

No idea if that will hold up against men, but against boys, he’s been good.

Further to ^^^

Dan Girardi was interviewed between periods in the Montreal game and said that up to that point, he had Johnson rated as a perfect 13 for 13 on puck touches — meaning, every time he had the puck he made a good, safe play with it.

And then there's this from Seth Appert after the New Jersey game:

"I thought he was real good last night, and I thought he was excellent tonight," said Appert following Saturday's victory over the Devils. "Using that great skating ability to defend and take time and space away from people. I think he’s broken the puck out pretty darn efficiently in games that are a little bit chaotic, and I’ve been really pleased with how he’s played."

Johnson isn’t going to be an offensive defenseman, because the Sabres already have Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power who will lead the way there. Appert says there are other things Johnson does well that will definitely help.

"His game starts with his skating," he said. "Is he intelligent? Yes. Does he have talent? Yes. But Minnesota has done a really good job with him, as he and Brock Faber (Minnesota Wild) became their shutdown defensive pair. Now he’s been learning over the last few years to use that great skating for defense."

Johnson has not gotten any power play time in the first two games, but that’s by design.

"He could be running our power play, easily, because he’s got more than enough skill to do it. And he could run a power play in Rochester, but that isn’t his path to the NHL, because we have Dahlin and Power. They’re going to be running it for a long time. So it’s going to be being an elite defender, being a transitional puck-moving defenseman, and getting us on offense 5-on-5 and being a strong penalty killer," said Appert.

The Sabres have been perfect on the penalty kill in the tournament so far.

Edited September 18, 2023 by dudacek

[Flashsabre]

22 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Further to ^^^

Dan Girardi was interviewed between periods in the Montreal game and said that up to that point, he had Johnson rated as a perfect 13 for 13 on puck touches — meaning, every time he had the puck he made a good, safe play with it.

And then there's this from Seth Appert after the New Jersey game:

"I thought he was real good last night, and I thought he was excellent tonight," said Appert following Saturday's victory over the Devils. "Using that great skating ability to defend and take time and space away from people. I think he’s broken the puck out pretty darn efficiently in games that are a little bit chaotic, and I’ve been really pleased with how he’s played."

Johnson isn’t going to be an offensive defenseman, because the Sabres already have Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power who will lead the way there. Appert says there are other things Johnson does well that will definitely help.

"His game starts with his skating," he said. "Is he intelligent? Yes. Does he have talent? Yes. But Minnesota has done a really good job with him, as he and Brock Faber (Minnesota Wild) became their shutdown defensive pair. Now he’s been learning over the last few years to use that great skating for defense."

Johnson has not gotten any power play time in the first two games, but that’s by design.

"He could be running our power play, easily, because he’s got more than enough skill to do it. And he could run a power play in Rochester, but that isn’t his path to the NHL, because we have Dahlin and Power. They’re going to be running it for a long time. So it’s going to be being an elite defender, being a transitional puck-moving defenseman, and getting us on offense 5-on-5 and being a strong penalty killer," said Appert.

The Sabres have been perfect on the penalty kill in the tournament so far.

Yeah but what do those guys know they don’t even post on a message board😜