The Sabres Prospect Pool 2024 Edition

[_Q_]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

2027 is the most likely. He'll need some time to really understand the NA game and get up to speed. Good news is that he's so young, waiting another 2-4 years doesn't matter much as long as he grows into a good player. 

Crazy that he is only 364 days younger than Benson.

[LGR4GM]

21 minutes ago, _Q_ said:

Crazy that he is only 364 days younger than Benson.

Yuppp. I keep trying to remind everyone, often, that Benson has barely scratched the surface of all that he will bring. Kid won't be 20 until the season ends. Won't be 21 until next season ends. Once that brain of his hits full maturity (around 25) if the skills continue to grow too, there's a really special player there. 

He's already starting to generate bottom end Selke level defensive metrics. Idk when a winger last won a Selke without looking but I don't bring up that trophy lightly. I only hope he progresses as he has this season. 

Edit: Please note I am not guaranteeing that Benson wins a Selke or even that he will be in that convo or that good. He just has some tracking numbers that are similar to guys like Barkov. 

Edited Thursday at 01:58 PM by LGR4GM

[LGR4GM]

Quick note, Barkov had 26 and 36pts in his first 2 NHL years and he came out of Liiga. He is younger compared to Benson with a Sept 2 b-day but still, just interesting. I am well aware they play different positions and one is 6'3" so please again, don't take this as a 1 to 1 comparison. 

[BlowLeafsBlow123]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Yuppp. I keep trying to remind everyone, often, that Benson has barely scratched the surface of all that he will bring. Kid won't be 20 until the season ends. Won't be 21 until next season ends. Once that brain of his hits full maturity (around 25) if the skills continue to grow too, there's a really special player there. 

He's already starting to generate bottom end Selke level defensive metrics. Idk when a winger last won a Selke without looking but I don't bring up that trophy lightly. I only hope he progresses as he has this season. 

I hold out some hope that Benson become at least a Marchand-lite. I don't expect 100 point seasons but could absolutely see him get over 70 points at his peak, all the while providing strong defense and efficient/High IQ play. 

Marchand was still in the Q when he was Benson's age and started in the AHL in his age 20 season.  He was a solid .75 - almost point per game in his season and a half in the AHL. If you threw a 20 year old Benson on Rochester next year, I think he's quite easily close to a point per game player down there. Looking further at Marchand's career stats and from ages 21-26 he hovered between 40 and 60 point paces until exploding to become the over a point per game guy for 6 years in a row, before starting to tail off in his late 30s here.

All in all, I could see Benson getting that extra bit of strength and hopefully improving his skating enough to become that 70-80 point guy in his prime. He's certainly someone you're going to want getting key ice time with his high IQ, defensive acumen and willingness to get his hands dirty. He should be a good fit with a shoot-first center, as he'll do the dirty work for a Tage/Norris type and allow them to get open for shooting opps. To me, he's 100% a core piece and possibly their most important forward for a future build of the team at this point. Put it this way, there's not another forward on the Sabres outside of Tage that I'd trade him for, if that makes sense.

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Quick note, Barkov had 26 and 36pts in his first 2 NHL years and he came out of Liiga. He is younger compared to Benson with a Sept 2 b-day but still, just interesting. I am well aware they play different positions and one is 6'3" so please again, don't take this as a 1 to 1 comparison. 

I'd love to see them on a line together in fact. Barkov is a rare talent in the Bergeron mold where they just dominate the ice. Barkov has flat out destroyed the Sabres over the years. We have almost no chance to counter what he brings with our center group.

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Drag0nDan said:

Instead of having a "shutdown 4th line" that doesn't shut anyone down, why not have a young player line of skill players?  Kulich rosen and quinn for example.  

Because Kulich/Rosen/Quinn will get dominated by good teams 4th line, especially on defensive zone draws, and they would be vulnerable on the road were the home team gets the last line change.   

Instead of using the NHL team for player development, lets have a real "shut down line" that actually does shut the opponent down, and actually helps the team win games instead for blowing leads in the 3rd period.   That starts at center.   Lets improve the center spline, and then we can build the lines out.  

[SabreFinn]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Yuppp. I keep trying to remind everyone, often, that Benson has barely scratched the surface of all that he will bring. Kid won't be 20 until the season ends. Won't be 21 until next season ends. Once that brain of his hits full maturity (around 25) if the skills continue to grow too, there's a really special player there. 

He's already starting to generate bottom end Selke level defensive metrics. Idk when a winger last won a Selke without looking but I don't bring up that trophy lightly. I only hope he progresses as he has this season. 

Edit: Please note I am not guaranteeing that Benson wins a Selke or even that he will be in that convo or that good. He just has some tracking numbers that are similar to guys like Barkov. 

Current GM of Finnish national team, Jere Lehtinen, won Selke three times as a winger, he is 6'0". It was a long time ago, and a bit difficult to compare, but if we got a Lehtinen we got lucky.

[BlowLeafsBlow123]

19 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Because Kulich/Rosen/Quinn will get dominated by good teams 4th line, especially on defensive zone draws, and they would be vulnerable on the road were the home team gets the last line change.   

Instead of using the NHL team for player development, lets have a real "shut down line" that actually does shut the opponent down, and actually helps the team win games instead for blowing leads in the 3rd period.   That starts at center.   Lets improve the center spline, and then we can build the lines out.  

Yes, they most certainly are not a line you want to have for tough road games against elite opponents. The problem with creating a real shut down 4th line is that it would require Adams admitting not one, but three mistakes. You'd probably have to drop Krebs, Malenstyn and Lafferty from the team, or at least your starting lineup. 

[Pimlach]

15 minutes ago, BlowLeafsBlow123 said:

Yes, they most certainly are not a line you want to have for tough road games against elite opponents. The problem with creating a real shut down 4th line is that it would require Adams admitting not one, but three mistakes. You'd probably have to drop Krebs, Malenstyn and Lafferty from the team, or at least your starting lineup. 

Then drop them.  Who cares, all GMs make mistakes and they move on from them all the time.  He can move Eichel and Reinhart and that's ok? 

The goal should be to ice the best NHL roster you can every year.   

[Drag0nDan]

25 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Because Kulich/Rosen/Quinn will get dominated by good teams 4th line, especially on defensive zone draws, and they would be vulnerable on the road were the home team gets the last line change.   

Instead of using the NHL team for player development, lets have a real "shut down line" that actually does shut the opponent down, and actually helps the team win games instead for blowing leads in the 3rd period.   That starts at center.   Lets improve the center spline, and then we can build the lines out.  

I just feel like we brought up too many young kids too early, and now you have one thats... "ready" (200ish AHL games over 3 years, 22 years old) and we as fans are reluctant to promote him because the team is too young.  

I guess my thought and point is that... kulich and rosen shouldn't be blocked because other young players were brought up and the team floundered.  Every team has a spot for younger players to come up, and they usually don't end up on the top 6 wing.  

 

[BlowLeafsBlow123]

57 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Then drop them.  Who cares, all GMs make mistakes and they move on from them all the time.  He can move Eichel and Reinhart and that's ok? 

The goal should be to ice the best NHL roster you can every year.   

Trust me, I agree wholeheartedly with you. People don't like to put much stock into the 4th line having a big impact on the team. That said, if that line were out there tilting the ice in our favor and helping us get offensive zone starts for our offensive lines, this team could be much better off. Remember the days of Girgs Larry Okposo for a bit there. They used to get it out of there zone, cycle in the offensive zone for a minute and get a whistle. That stuff is valuable.

These jokes try to dump it in and fail to retrieve nearly every single time. What is their purpose? Malenstyn is one of the worst forwards I've ever watched, literally can't do anything. Lafferty is a huge disappointment and just doesn't fit here at all. He used to be noticeable any time we played against him, probably why they signed him in the first place. Krebs can continue to be a 4C since he can finally win draws, but man he needs some real wingers on that line. These other two are abominations, while Krebs (imo) is a low end NHL'er/AHL all-star type, who needs the right type of forecheckers on his line.

[Pimlach]

37 minutes ago, Drag0nDan said:

I just feel like we brought up too many young kids too early, and now you have one thats... "ready" (200ish AHL games over 3 years, 22 years old) and we as fans are reluctant to promote him because the team is too young.  

I guess my thought and point is that... kulich and rosen shouldn't be blocked because other young players were brought up and the team floundered.  Every team has a spot for younger players to come up, and they usually don't end up on the top 6 wing.  

 

Ahh, no blockers huh.   That approqch did not work, all it does is keep you the youngest team in the league and a losing team on top of it. 

We could never play all the forwards that we drafted on the same team, so trading picks/prospects was a viable option that Adams did not do (ok, just once with Savoie for McLeod).  If you wait too long the prospects could lose value.  

Kulich looks like he is an NHL player.   He will stick around and if not he will have trade value.  

Tyson Kozak looks like a potential 4th liner.   Rosen has not been given much ice in the few appearances he has had under Ruff, which is puzzling, so I do not know what to think of him.   Murray and Rousek are looking like AHL players only.  

There is no need to call up Helenius or Östlund yet.  They are very young, doing fine, and have a ways to go.  

[Crusader1969]

6 hours ago, Drag0nDan said:

Instead of having a "shutdown 4th line" that doesn't shut anyone down, why not have a young player line of skill players?  Kulich rosen and quinn for example.  

The 4th line is your energy, cause havoc line traditionally

3rd lines would be your "shut down" line. 

[Flashsabre]