What are we hoping for Rest of Season?

[JohnC]

On 3/20/2025 at 2:55 PM, LGR4GM said:

I disliked because until you can tell me what that pick is getting traded for and until the draft lottery occurs, the answer is no. Buffalo hasn't drafted a top 5 forward since Eichel. 

You closely follow the prospects as well as anyone. I appreciate your posts on this matter. Are there players in this draft class that will be ready to play within two years? 

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

You closely follow the prospects as well as anyone. I appreciate your posts on this matter. Are there players in this draft class that will be ready to play within two years? 

To clarify do you mean 2 years from now, so 2027 or are we counting this year as year 1, so 2026? I will assume 2027 for the sake of the discussion. 

The answer is a resounding yes. I am unsure how good they would be as rookies but I think there are several players that could contribute in 2027 to NHL teams. Misa and Schaefer are almost guaranteed to be on that list. I personally would send Schaefer back for 1 more year of jr but I could see an NHL team pulling Misa immediately. Either way both will be NHL players by 2027 barring injury. That's your first tier of guys who I feel really confident about being in the NHL sooner rather than later. 

The next tier is the most likely guys. This is where Buffalo will draft. Martone is probably spending another year in jr and I think I would prefer it. He needs to up his pace and really take charge of games, he's just not quite there yet. By 2027 though, I would expect him in the NHL and ready to go. Martone is also older for the class (October) so he only has 1 year left in jrs before he's AHL eligible. 1yr in jr, 1yr in the AHL is a pretty good dev plan to get him into the NHL in 2027. Next is Hagens who is at college and that means a few things. First is that you could draft and assign him to the AHL immediately. Second is you could let him play in college another year which IMPO wouldn't be bad at all. He also gets that 1yr college, 1yr AHL thing so 2027 makes sense for him to see the NHL. I worry a bit more about him because he needs to find a bit more Benson to get inside but the rest of his game is really good. 

Then we have the next tier which theoretically could run from about 5-12ish or so. Now for the sake of this, let's limit it to players that Buffalo could select at 4,5,6 if they draft there. You have McQueen as the big wildcard and he certainly needs another year and jr, and to say healthy. Stress fractures in your spine seem kinda bad IMPO. He's only got 1 more yr in jr before he's AHL eligible so with his size, AHL year, and overall skill, IF HEALTHY, yes he would be in the NHL in 2027. Then you have Desnoyers who has 2 more jr years ahead of himself, which isn't a bad thing, he can improve his skating and shot there just fine. 2027 seems like a logical year for him to hit the NHL but I think now we're getting into maybe territory with players. Let's call this one 70/30 NHL/AHL. Now you have Frondell and Eklund (who play together too) and they are in the Allsvenskan which is the 2nd tier of Swedish hockey. It is a step below the AHL but looks like both are signed through next year so they probably wouldn't come over immediately. Frondell is bigger and maybe in 2027 you could see him holding down a wing spot in the NHL. I don't love that idea because I think the jump from Allsv to AHL is big and from that to NHL is huge but he's got a lot of the same things that Kulich has so maybe. Eklund I oddly feel slightly more comfortable because from everything I have read and the bit I have seen, he drives play and is Benson-like. He's also only 165lbs so he needs some meat on them bones. His brother plays for SJ and it took him 2 years to get here so I feel that is a reasonable thing for Eklund the younger. Both guys, I would put at a 50/50 chance for 2027 but closer to a 85/15 chance for 2028. 

The last guy to think about is Jackson Smith. He's got the size at 6'3" to be ready physically in 2 years and that would also coincide with his jr eligibility running out. His issue now is refinement in the defensive zone as I think his offensive skillset is really good. 2027 makes logical sense to see him in the NHL and I would again put him at 50/50 with a jump up to 85/15 in 2028 with 1 AHL year under his belt. 

Outside of that, I think the rest of the pack needs more time in the lower leagues. Carter Bear is a darkhorse and some guy I haven't mentioned will somehow make the NHL at 20 and be good but Buffalo is most likely picking one of the players mentioned above. 

Edited March 26 by LGR4GM

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

To clarify do you mean 2 years from now, so 2027 or are we counting this year as year 1, so 2026? I will assume 2027 for the sake of the discussion. 

The answer is a resounding yes. I am unsure how good they would be as rookies but I think there are several players that could contribute in 2027 to NHL teams. Misa and Schaefer are almost guaranteed to be on that list. I personally would send Schaefer back for 1 more year of jr but I could see an NHL team pulling Misa immediately. Either way both will be NHL players by 2027 barring injury. That's your first tier of guys who I feel really confident about being in the NHL sooner rather than later. 

The next tier is the most likely guys. This is where Buffalo will draft. Martone is probably spending another year in jr and I think I would prefer it. He needs to up his pace and really take charge of games, he's just not quite there yet. By 2027 though, I would expect him in the NHL and ready to go. Martone is also older for the class (October) so he only has 1 year left in jrs before he's AHL eligible. 1yr in jr, 1yr in the AHL is a pretty good dev plan to get him into the NHL in 2027. Next is Hagens who is at college and that means a few things. First is that you could draft and assign him to the AHL immediately. Second is you could let him play in college another year which IMPO wouldn't be bad at all. He also gets that 1yr college, 1yr AHL thing so 2027 makes sense for him to see the NHL. I worry a bit more about him because he needs to find a bit more Benson to get inside but the rest of his game is really good. 

Then we have the next tier which theoretically could run from about 5-12ish or so. Now for the sake of this, let's limit it to players that Buffalo could select at 4,5,6 if they draft there. You have McQueen as the big wildcard and he certainly needs another year and jr, and to say healthy. Stress fractures in your spine seem kinda bad IMPO. He's only got 1 more yr in jr before he's AHL eligible so with his size, AHL year, and overall skill, IF HEALTHY, yes he would be in the NHL in 2027. Then you have Desnoyers who has 2 more jr years ahead of himself, which isn't a bad thing, he can improve his skating and shot there just fine. 2027 seems like a logical year for him to hit the NHL but I think now we're getting into maybe territory with players. Let's call this one 70/30 NHL/AHL. Now you have Frondell and Eklund (who play together too) and they are in the Allsvenskan which is the 2nd tier of Swedish hockey. It is a step below the AHL but looks like both are signed through next year so they probably wouldn't come over immediately. Frondell is bigger and maybe in 2027 you could see him holding down a wing spot in the NHL. I don't love that idea because I think the jump from Allsv to AHL is big and from that to NHL is huge but he's got a lot of the same things that Kulich has so maybe. Eklund I oddly feel slightly more comfortable because from everything I have read and the bit I have seen, he drives play and is Benson-like. He's also only 165lbs so he needs some meat on them bones. His brother plays for SJ and it took him 2 years to get here so I feel that is a reasonable thing for Eklund the younger. Both guys, I would put at a 50/50 chance for 2027 but closer to a 85/15 chance for 2028. 

The last guy to think about is Jackson Smith. He's got the size at 6'3" to be ready physically in 2 years and that would also coincide with his jr eligibility running out. His issue now is refinement in the defensive zone as I think his offensive skillset is really good. 2027 makes logical sense to see him in the NHL and I would again put him at 50/50 with a jump up to 85/15 in 2028 with 1 AHL year under his belt. 

Outside of that, I think the rest of the pack needs more time in the lower leagues. Carter Bear is a darkhorse and some guy I haven't mentioned will somehow make the NHL at 20 and be good but Buffalo is most likely picking one of the players mentioned above. 

The Sabres have a surplus of good prospects in our system who we could parlay in trades to strengthen our big club roster. They can be used as trading assets without the necessity of tapping into prospective high-end picks. What's frustrating is that other teams are willing to make smart moves to improve while this franchise stays stuck in the depths of mediocrity. I have too often made the point that a person who is smart in assessing talent in-house and league-wide could in a reasonable period of time quickly make this team competitive. A mediocre GM can't do that. 

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

The Sabres have a surplus of good prospects in our system who we could parlay in trades to strengthen our big club roster. They can be used as trading assets without the necessity of tapping into prospective high-end picks. What's frustrating is that other teams are willing to make smart moves to improve while this franchise stays stuck in the depths of mediocrity. I have too often made the point that a person who is smart in assessing talent in-house and league-wide could in a reasonable period of time quickly make this team competitive. A mediocre GM can't do that. 

A mediocre GM could.

Adams is not mediocre.  (# blame Fury Road)

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, DarthEbriate said:

A mediocre GM could.

Adams is not mediocre.  (# blame Fury Road)

I'm trying to be kind. I have been pummeling him to the extent that I'm being malicious.