AHL PLAYOFF GDT - Amerks @ Crunch - Thursday, May 2, 2024 - 7:05 PM (EDT) AHL TV, 950/95.7 WROC

[Andrew Amerk]

I am fairly confused as to what everyone is debating about here. 

The Amerks are a farm team. I’ve been watching them my entire life. 

Maybe 10% of them graduate to the NHL. 

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, Andrew Amerk said:

I am fairly confused as to what everyone is debating about here. 

The Amerks are a farm team. I’ve been watching them my entire life. 

Maybe 10% of them graduate to the NHL. 

Exactly. idk if it's actually 10% but it's a low number. So when people keep going on about how many prospects we have they need to stop and realize most of them are never going to make it, which is why we need more veterans at both levels (NHL and AHL). 

[inkman]

Just a couple of FYIs.  
 

Brett Murray, Riley Stillman and Cale Clague haven’t played in the postseason.  
 

That’s over 500 AHL games along with a couple seasons of NHL games experience not on the ice for the Amerks. 
 

Also, the number of prospects on any AHL roster is related to how many signed prospects are of an age to be eligible for the Amerks.  I suppose they didn’t have to bring Östlund and Wahlberg over for the playoffs but let’s not act like there are only prospects on the roster.  
 

Mersch, Jobst, Slaggert, Richards, Warren, Prow, Davies, Biro, Cecconi, heck Kozak is approaching AHL vet status. 
 

They have plenty of vets, unfortunately they have some injuries so players like Neuchev are getting minutes in a series he’s probably not ready for.  

[Jorcus]

11 hours ago, dudacek said:

Some impressions of those prospects after the 3 games:

Rousek is the probably the best forward on the Amerks right now, but doesn’t look fast or strong enough to play the same game in the NHL.

Kulich is MIA. He just hasn’t done anything noticeable.

I want to like Rosen. His feet and his hands are the most noticeable on the team and he’s not timid or irresponsible. But it’s maddening how infrequently he applies his will on the game, he’s got more to give, but he’s content to let it come to him.

Östlund’s lack of strength means he has faded as the clutching and grabbing has escalated. But he sees the game better and plays it faster than anyone else down there. Based just on these 3 games, he projects the best of the big 3, when you account for his lack of AHL experience.

Anton Wahlberg doesn’t know how good he can be yet. His effectiveness wavers because he’s 18 and it shows. But he is a physical specimen who can skate and he wants to make a difference.

When the going got tougher Ryan Johnson seemed to play better. He’s ability to move the puck to safety shone, rather than wilted under the heavy fire.

Novikov has got some heavy feet, but his attitude is every inch what the Sabres lack. He sees the game very well and pushes first.

Levi has simply been fantastic. Technically poised, cool under fire and athletic. Easily the best player on the ice for either team.

This is almost exactly the way I am seeing it. 

The Amerks can not seem to to put a line together that the Crunch can not handle. I was hoping to see someone on the Ice that is hard for them to stop. Rosen has flashed at times during the games. Like you said not a constant threat. As much as Östlund looks like he is going to be something at the moment he is not really helping that much, because he has not played with the other Amerks enough. By the end of double overtime Wahlburg looked like he was cooked. Bad ice double OT in AHL playoffs will open the eye's of any young newcomer. I know Kulich is better than what he is showing. He gets a lot of attention from the Crunch. Once in awhile he gets his shot off even under duress.

No matter what unless the forwards play better in the D zone they are done. Levi can only do so much. The forwards can not get puck position, they make weak passes to exit when they do. The stick work to stop passes is poor. No one is aggressive on the puck. This is mostly a 5 on 5 problem the PK seems ok but they are playing the older guys on that. 

 

 

 

[Jorcus]

10 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Some AHL teams play few prospects and fill rosters with older players who are good and strong but are not going to the NHL other than in a fill-in role. That is what Hershey is. Syracuse is sort of like that too. Rochester is committed to development so it's a young roster with new players getting added in midseason. So try to take that into account while you watch your highlights.

Seth Appert keeps telling us that Syracuse is is an older team with more experience, Is it true? Not according to Elite prospects. 

Average age Amerks 24.45, Syracuse 24.15

NHL games played Amerks 417 Syracuse 436

AHL games played Amerks 4591, Syracuse 4537

It's true at the moment we are playing young forwards and 1 young D man. But we can not go on with the idea that Syracuse is some old grizzled AHL roster.   

[Flashsabre]

12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Right, stick with that if it helps you, but you're not listening to what I'm saying. We've been fed the full prospect cupboard line for years and "next year" is the year for years and it's all BS. 

We're bottom of the league every year so sure, we have a bunch of shiny first rounders all over but we have only managed to land 3 2nd rounders into NHL players and aside from Victor Olofsson and those 3 nobody from the lower rounds has made it to be a regular NHL player in over 10 years! 

If Rochester was a dominant AHL team I might buy in to the just wait for these guys argument, but they're not, it's all BS. We will never win this way. 

You can have a conversation without the obnoxious attitude mixed in. But you stick with that if it helps you get through your day. 

[inkman]

25 minutes ago, Jorcus said:

Seth Appert keeps telling us that Syracuse is is an older team with more experience, Is it true? Not according to Elite prospects. 

Average age Amerks 24.45, Syracuse 24.15

NHL games played Amerks 417 Syracuse 436

AHL games played Amerks 4591, Syracuse 4537

It's true at the moment we are playing young forwards and 1 young D man. But we can not go on with the idea that Syracuse is some old grizzled AHL roster.   

As I said upthread, the Amerks are missing Murray, Stillman and Clague.  Remove them and the Amerks get a bunch younger.  Now look at who is getting the most minutes.  Kulich, Rosen, RyJo, Östlund, Novikov, Neuchev, Wahlberg all < 22.  

[PromoTheRobot]

11 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

That's easy. 

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/features/washington-capitals-hershey-bears-thank-recent-performance-critical-stretch

 

How is that even a serious question? 

Every training camp we see who comes up and who goes back. 

Every year we see the (lack of) contributions from injury call ups from Rochester. 

How is any of this not obvious???

How is it not obvious to you that you are making cursory judgements on players you know nothing about because you never see them play. NHL players don't descend from heaven on a cloud. They come from the AHL and often take years to fully develop. You're writing people off because they don't score 10 goals during an emergency call up.

[PromoTheRobot]

11 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

You aren’t wrong, but please see my previous post. There has been a shift in philosophy and the Amerks have had positive results (four playoff series wins the last  two years).  Those players are only now aging into roles in Buffalo if at all.  

People also get amnesia about the scorn the Sabres took when they let Chris Taylor go and replaced him with "yes man" Seth Appert. How's that working out?

[K-9]

5 hours ago, inkman said:

Just a couple of FYIs.  
 

Brett Murray, Riley Stillman and Cale Clague haven’t played in the postseason.  
 

That’s over 500 AHL games along with a couple seasons of NHL games experience not on the ice for the Amerks. 
 

Also, the number of prospects on any AHL roster is related to how many signed prospects are of an age to be eligible for the Amerks.  I suppose they didn’t have to bring Östlund and Wahlberg over for the playoffs but let’s not act like there are only prospects on the roster.  
 

Mersch, Jobst, Slaggert, Richards, Warren, Prow, Davies, Biro, Cecconi, heck Kozak is approaching AHL vet status. 
 

They have plenty of vets, unfortunately they have some injuries so players like Neuchev are getting minutes in a series he’s probably not ready for.  

Never thought I’d miss Stillman and Clague from any lineup of hockey teams I root for, but yeah, they are definitely missed. The Amerks D corps has been an adventure in their own zone for most of the season and the Crunch has owned them in this series. 

[PerreaultForever]

7 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

How is it not obvious to you that you are making cursory judgements on players you know nothing about because you never see them play. NHL players don't descend from heaven on a cloud. They come from the AHL and often take years to fully develop. You're writing people off because they don't score 10 goals during an emergency call up.

I'm not doing anything like that at all. When I see development I am more than happy to praise it. I want to see it for real though. Not in terms of future hypotheticals. 

I was skeptical about keeping Benson on the roster but if you have read my posts in the latter half of the season you'll have seen that I gave him much praise.

I did not see good things from the Rochester call ups (the few that there were) unless you count Bryson, who was better than expected but I don't think of him like that since he was a roster player the year before. I'm talking here about the prospects.

[SwampD]

On 5/4/2024 at 6:27 AM, inkman said:

Just a couple of FYIs.  
 

Brett Murray, Riley Stillman and Cale Clague haven’t played in the postseason.  
 

That’s over 500 AHL games along with a couple seasons of NHL games experience not on the ice for the Amerks. 
 

Also, the number of prospects on any AHL roster is related to how many signed prospects are of an age to be eligible for the Amerks.  I suppose they didn’t have to bring Östlund and Wahlberg over for the playoffs but let’s not act like there are only prospects on the roster.  
 

Mersch, Jobst, Slaggert, Richards, Warren, Prow, Davies, Biro, Cecconi, heck Kozak is approaching AHL vet status. 
 

They have plenty of vets, unfortunately they have some injuries so players like Neuchev are getting minutes in a series he’s probably not ready for.  

Didn’t Murray score an OT winner?

[K-9]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

Didn’t Murray score an OT winner?

Ink made that post a day before the game when we had no idea that Murray was healthy enough to play.

[inkman]

1 hour ago, SwampD said:

Didn’t Murray score an OT winner?

Right.  He’s played one game.  The last one, which took place after my post.