Devon Levi loaned to Rochester

[Brawndo]

Per Ruff

[#freejame]

[Flashsabre]

Great. He needs work down there and the Amerks need him between the pipes.

[LGR4GM]

[WhenWillItEnd66]

About time

[inkman]

 

[WhenWillItEnd66]

Just now, inkman said:

 

Does anyone else feel this is a serious "Duhhhh" moment?

[spndnchz]

So … we gave up

[Thorner]

Imo this (finally) ends phase 1 of the Levi experiment. The “don’t be afraid to believe in the hype: this guy is following in Hasek’s wake” (not-hyperbole) stage. The “it doesn’t matter that he’s tiny and that goalies are almost never ready for full NHL workloads at his age - if anyone can do it, it’s Levi. He likes Star Wars.” stage.

The cold-sweat-inducing factor is Adams had Levi pencilled in *last* year. Yes, an all-time narrative sales job on a player, probably the most expansive I’ve seen for a Sabre, but the rub is that the *GM* bought in, and in fact planned it.

It’s time for a more level headed and realistic, divorced from KA fantasy phase 2: a good goalie prospect developing in the minors until such a time as he’s ready for a consistent nhl workload, if ever 

 

Edited Monday at 05:18 PM by Thorner

[tom webster]

1 minute ago, Thorner said:

Imo this (finally) ends phase 1 of the Levi experiment. The “don’t be afraid to believe in the hype: this guy is following in Hasek’s wake” (not-hyperbole) stage. The “it doesn’t matter that he’s tiny and that goalies are almost never ready for full NHL workloads at his age - if anyone can do it, it’s Levi. He likes Star Wars.” stage.

The cold-sweat-inducing factor is Adams had Levi pencilled in *last* year. Yes, an all-time narrative sales job on a player, probably the most expansive I’ve seen for a Sabre, but the rub is that the *GM* bought in, and in fact planned it.

It’s time for a more level headed and realistic, divorced from KA fantasy phase 2: a good goalie prospect developing in the minors until such a time as he’s ready for a consistent nhl workload, if ever 

Someone will have to explain me how playing a lot of games in AHL helps prepare him to be a back up in the NHL. I’ve never hidden the fact that I believe development through any minor league system is old wives tale stuff, however, if you want to tell me he’s staying in the AHL till he’s ready to be a full time starter, I could at least believe there is logic to the move. Being a seldom used backup is more of a mental thing that will not he improved by a stint in the AHL.

[Ctaeth]

3 minutes ago, Thorner said:

Imo this (finally) ends phase 1 of the Levi experiment. The “don’t be afraid to believe in the hype: this guy is following in Hasek’s wake” (not-hyperbole) stage. The “it doesn’t matter that he’s tiny and that goalies are almost never ready for full NHL workloads at his age - if anyone can do it, it’s Levi. He likes Star Wars.” stage.

The cold-sweat-inducing factor is Adams had Levi pencilled in *last* year. Yes, an all-time narrative sales job on a player, probably the most expansive I’ve seen for a Sabre, but the rub is that the *GM* bought in, and in fact planned it.

It’s time for a more level headed and realistic, divorced from KA fantasy phase 2: a good goalie prospect developing in the minors until such a time as he’s ready for a consistent nhl workload, if ever 

The unfortunate thing is I'm not sure he has much more to learn in Rochester.  He succeeded last year with the amerks with flying colors.  His save % was like 930ish if i recall correctly.  Let's hope the coaching staff down there can challenge him creatively in a way that will better prepare for the next opportunity with the big club... whenever it ends up coming.

 

Maybe he just needs to get his confidence back again.  I don't know.  

[Thorner]

8 hours ago, tom webster said:

Someone will have to explain me how playing a lot of games in AHL helps prepare him to be a back up in the NHL. I’ve never hidden the fact that I believe development through any minor league system is old wives tale stuff, however, if you want to tell me he’s staying in the AHL till he’s ready to be a full time starter, I could at least believe there is logic to the move. Being a seldom used backup is more of a mental thing that will not he improved by a stint in the AHL.

It’s not so much about how the move helps Levi: we’ve been missing the mark on that front since day 1.

This move is merely the inevitable whiplash to the reason Levi was up here so soon in the first place (Buffalo was never the best place for his development, not if he didn’t have the requisite ability necessary to start the games at this level necessary to facilitate said development). No, Levi was up here because Adams thought it best for the team.

The importance of this move today, the impetus behind it, is removing a player who’s performing absolutely awful from the roster in the name of what best serves the team: the mindset we shouldn’t have been neglecting from the beginning

Whether or not Levi develops *at all* in Rochester is a distant secondary concern to how Levi being removed from the team helps develop our pursuit of the playoffs this season 

There’s no room for non-NHL players. Sabres aren’t a farm team.

Aside from being run like one most of the time 

 

8 hours ago, Ctaeth said:

The unfortunate thing is I'm not sure he has much more to learn in Rochester.  He succeeded last year with the amerks with flying colors.  His save % was like 930ish if i recall correctly.  Let's hope the coaching staff down there can challenge him creatively in a way that will better prepare for the next opportunity with the big club... whenever it ends up coming.

 

Maybe he just needs to get his confidence back again.  I don't know.  

I think development, tweaking one’s game, is something that ebbs and flows for a lot longer of a time period than some think. Particularly in goal. I’d even draw a comparison in some ways to Golf: over time the swings for even the greats often undergo full-scale changes and revamps over the course of their career, adjusting to various circumstances that change over time. Or a pitcher. Maybe a baseball pitcher is a better comp. 

It’s not just about raw development with a pitcher, golfer or goalie: a pitcher can fine tune his repertoire, win a cy young, and the league “catch on” to his stuff the following year requiring new skill development. Goalie are much the same way: I don’t think a 20 whatever year old could possibly be beyond learning at the AHL level at this stage. He had a season with good numbers, sure. Let’s see him replicate it as shooters adjust 

And that’s just square 1. Free your mind of the idea Levi is pre-ordained for anything. He’s not above the AHL, not if he’s performing as among the worst goalies in the nhl 

Edited Monday at 05:33 PM by Thorner

[shrader]

20 minutes ago, Thorner said:

Imo this (finally) ends phase 1 of the Levi experiment. The “don’t be afraid to believe in the hype: this guy is following in Hasek’s wake” (not-hyperbole) stage. The “it doesn’t matter that he’s tiny and that goalies are almost never ready for full NHL workloads at his age - if anyone can do it, it’s Levi. He likes Star Wars.” stage.

The cold-sweat-inducing factor is Adams had Levi pencilled in *last* year. Yes, an all-time narrative sales job on a player, probably the most expansive I’ve seen for a Sabre, but the rub is that the *GM* bought in, and in fact planned it.

It’s time for a more level headed and realistic, divorced from KA fantasy phase 2: a good goalie prospect developing in the minors until such a time as he’s ready for a consistent nhl workload, if ever 

 

Maybe it’s just a matter of semantics, but expected goals against doesn’t sound like a measure of workload. 

[Thorner]

2 minutes ago, shrader said:

Maybe it’s just a matter of semantics, but expected goals against doesn’t sound like a measure of workload. 

It is sort of an odd choice of term based on the layout of the chart, I agree 

[Doohicksie]

24 minutes ago, tom webster said:

Someone will have to explain me how playing a lot of games in AHL helps prepare him to be a back up in the NHL. I’ve never hidden the fact that I believe development through any minor league system is old wives tale stuff, however, if you want to tell me he’s staying in the AHL till he’s ready to be a full time starter, I could at least believe there is logic to the move. Being a seldom used backup is more of a mental thing that will not he improved by a stint in the AHL.

I look at it this way:  He is likely not at his ceiling and still needs development.  To develop he needs to play.  He develop if he's riding the pine.  When his development is further along, then you can decide:  Is he a backup?  A 1B? or... maybe a #1?

If they keep him with the big team, though, his development will stagnate and his game will never be elevated over its current level.

24 minutes ago, Ctaeth said:

Maybe he just needs to get his confidence back again.  I don't know.  

Maybe it was not having Tage on the ice.

[inkman]

Hopefully Devon won’t speak of this time with the Amerks in the past tense like he did the last two times he was sent here. 

[shrader]

13 minutes ago, shrader said:

Maybe it’s just a matter of semantics, but expected goals against doesn’t sound like a measure of workload. 

I’d also swap the x and the y and flip the direction of the expected goals against, but that’s a story for another day. There’s a few head scratching decisions in there. 
 

But that’s the last attention I’ll pay to these figures for a little bit. I’ll never question their usefulness, I just don’t enjoy looking at them. 

[bunomatic]

Ka’s experiment with having the youngest team in the league is one failure among several that KA has subjected this fan base to.

[pi2000]

[Demoted]

That's more his type of play, he isn't an NHL goalie.

[That Aud Smell]

Adams' vision and plan for Levi can be heaped on the pile of Adams' miscalculations and failures in judgment.

I try not to think of the fact that Levi's anticipated arrival was, I inferred, supposed to take the sting out of losing Reinhart.

Who else did the Sabres get out of that deal -- Kulich?

*le sigh*

[Taro T]

Based on his play in the last 2 games, it isn't surprising.  Wasn't sure if they'd send him down before heading out west or after; guess we got the answer to that.

Guess it was smart of him to go with plain brown pads this year.

He'll be fine, but right now this move should be good for both the Sabres and him.

[Stoner]

Am I OK?

From THN...

The reclaiming of James Reimer off of waivers last week gave the Sabres the opportunity of giving the 22-year-old some regular work in the AHL while the veteran backed up Luukkonen this week during a three-game road swing through California, and on Wednesday, head coach Lindy Ruff announced that Levi was being sent down to the Rochester Americans.

[mjd1001]

3 hours ago, tom webster said:

Someone will have to explain me how playing a lot of games in AHL helps prepare him to be a back up in the NHL. I’ve never hidden the fact that I believe development through any minor league system is old wives tale stuff, however, if you want to tell me he’s staying in the AHL till he’s ready to be a full time starter, I could at least believe there is logic to the move. Being a seldom used backup is more of a mental thing that will not he improved by a stint in the AHL.

I don't think its really about being a backup, but he needs to learn to just be plain better..

The speed of the game is something that I don't think practice can prepare you for. And watching Levi play, a few things came to mind on some goals he allowed recently (or almost allowed):

-The NHL players are a LOT better than what he has played against (obviously).  I'm not saying he can't make the save, but he may have been able to make saves in the past in ways he cannot now.  He is small, but in college, he may never had to come out of the net all that far because guys weren't picking corners over the shoulder on him. He needs game reps to see just how far he needs to come out, and when he does leave the crease to know how far he CAN come out of the net and still recover.

-Reading his D-men.  2 or 3 times in this season he didn't 'face up' to the shooter and the winger coming in on him during 2 on 1s and 2 on 2s, because it was almost like he was preparing for a move to the other direction if needed, but there was either no one in that other direction, or he had a teammate/D-man there to cover that side.  You have a better chance of not getting beat with a great shot from the left if you aren't worried about someone trailing from the right...and if your D has the right covered, come out and challenge to the left.  

-He also isn't tracking the puck behind the net well. 2 times in the last 3 or 4 games, an opposing player had the puck behind the net, faked to one side and went to the other, Levi fell for the fake and almost didn't get back to cover the side the puck was going to.  Again, to me that means he needs to 'adjust' to the speed of the pro game. He needs to try out what he can and can't do in games and I'd MUCH rather have him push his limits to see what he's capable of doing while with the Amerks vs with the Sabres.

It just seems to me there is a lot more to playing goalie than 'making the save'. its reading the play. Its recognizing attack patterns opposing teams have. Its knowing where your D-men are, how to communicate with them and recognizing when to challenge a shooter or not based on the location of your D-men.  You are learning that with in-game experience, and  with watching video after games of what you did correctly, and what you did wrong.  NHL or AHL, there will be more 'in game' video for him to watch and analyze if he plays games. Something you can't have him doing a lot with the big club right now.

Edited Monday at 08:22 PM by mjd1001

[DarthEbriate]

3 hours ago, Thorner said:

Imo this (finally) ends phase 1 of the Levi experiment. The “don’t be afraid to believe in the hype: this guy is following in Hasek’s wake” (not-hyperbole) stage. The “it doesn’t matter that he’s tiny and that goalies are almost never ready for full NHL workloads at his age - if anyone can do it, it’s Levi. He likes Star Wars.” stage.

In my experience, anyone who likes Star Wars should be actively distrusted until proven otherwise.

3 hours ago, Thorner said:

Levi: I don't what this chart is talking about. I'm a young goaltender on a diplomatic mission to Rochester... 

GM Sheevyn: You need to play everyday...  and you're a traitor (for not being the best goalie ever despite my gifting you a starting job after you kept the team afloat with some good games right after college because I couldn't set the team up with a goalie so I need you to cover all of my mistakes, but you still aren't even close to your professional development curve as you're only at 63 professional games played). Bring the shuttle!