SDS Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 There was a lot of eye-rolling about the makeup of our team to start last season. What player was your biggest dud back in October 2005, who is now a stud? The guy who seems to be playing lights out, to me, is Jason Pominville. He cleared waivers a year ago, but now he is a budding star on this team.
kicksave11 Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Brian Campbell easily. I was surprised he made the team and now I can't imagine the team without him!
hopeleslyobvious Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Yeah Marty! Please explain. EDIT: I am not saying Marty is a bad player, but I think most Sabres fans overrate him. He is not the best goalie on the team, and if he moves somewhere else, I would put him in the bottom 3rd of starters in the league.
Corp000085 Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 comparing now to last october has to be campbell. he went from invisible to our #1 guy (we've got 6 #1 guys, just leave it at that...) Looking at the entire body of work from last october till right now you also have to include pominville in there. Right now, i can see signs that vanek will be on top of this list next year though. he's really coming into his own.
Eleven Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Definitely Campbell. I used to cringe when I saw him on the ice.
X. Benedict Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Biggest dud last year - Kalinen Biggest stud - Lydman I had no expectation for Lydman - so he surprised me - especially watching him in person. He does a great job of anticipating the development of the play into the defensive zone.
Doohicksie Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 J.P. DuM........ What? Oh. Nevermind. Pomminstein. And Paille (or however it's spelled). And those Rochester defensemen that have more conference finals experence than regular season experience. Maybe we didn't win with them, but they were thrown into the fire and did okay.
BuffalOhio Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Tallinder. I couldn't stand him early last year. He made some really bad plays early in the year, which I thought was consistent with the way he had previously played. He really picked it up last year and now he's someone we can't be without. Way to go Henrik!
hopeleslyobvious Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Tallinder. I couldn't stand him early last year. He made some really bad plays early in the year, which I thought was consistent with the way he had previously played. He really picked it up last year and now he's someone we can't be without. Way to go Henrik! I couldn't agree more. Early in the year he set up some beautiful goals for the other team.
Stoner Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Honestly, we could put almost all of that team on the list. But here's one: Numminen. No one thought much of that acquisition. I agree with the naming of Biron. He IS a different goaltender than he was in past years. Maybe the backup role just suits him better than being a starter. But the Biron we saw in Ottawa the other night is not the Biron of old.
hopeleslyobvious Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Honestly, we could put almost all of that team on the list. But here's one: Numminen. No one thought much of that acquisition. I agree with the naming of Biron. He IS a different goaltender than he was in past years. Maybe the backup role just suits him better than being a starter. But the Biron we saw in Ottawa the other night is not the Biron of old. The Biron of old could always put together a solid night every now and then. His problem was always consistency.
Kristian Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Connolly. Expected absolutely nothing from him last October, now I can't wait for him to return.
Taro T Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 While Campbell is a very deserving honorable mention, Timmy Connolly has to be the player that most exceeded expectations and changed my mind. Before last season started, I said Timmy MIGHT be able to get the hang of the NHL, but I truly doubted he would. Prior to the lockout he played soft, rarely backchecked, stayed to the perimeter, overhandled the puck, and had a patented drop pass resulting in a 3 on 1 against. He came back stronger, played a much smarter game (except when he got himself leveled in Game 2), and tended to go to where he needed to. He also dropped the drop pass from his repertoire and really started to hit guys on the tape. He was also solid on penalty kill. If anyone doubts what he means to the team, look at the powerplay with him and without him. Night and day. As far as changing your mind, I doubt there is ANYONE on this board who doesn't wish Timmy was in the lineup. Was there ANYONE that WANTED him in the lineup last year? I'm sure there were a couple of people, but most who thought he belonged in the lineup seemed to be of the impression that it's because they didn't have anyone better, not because they actually thought he would figure out how to play in the NHL.
Stoner Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 The Biron of old could always put together a solid night every now and then. His problem was always consistency. Yes. That's the point. The Biron of the past calendar year or so has been remarkably consistent. As backup, he's taken his game to a whole... nover... lever. (MAD TV reference) :)
hopeleslyobvious Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Yes. That's the point. The Biron of the past calendar year or so has been remarkably consistent. As backup, he's taken his game to a whole... nover... lever. (MAD TV reference) :) I see your point, but I still disagree. Even during his streak he was pretty inconsistent.
Stoner Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 You're probably right. I'm probably just very high on Marty after that performance in Ottawa. Or were you not impressed by that, either?
hopeleslyobvious Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 You're probably right. I'm probably just very high on Marty after that performance in Ottawa. Or were you not impressed by that, either? No, I thought it was a great performance. However, it was just one game. Maybe I was just jumping the gun a little bit, but on another board I go to, some have created a huge controversey over who our starter should be. I don't think it's good for the team to flip flop on who the starter should be every time one has a great performance or the other has a poor performance. When that happens I think you end up with 2 distracted goaltenders at best, and a divided lockerroom at worst. IMHO in the long run, it is best for the team to have Miller start and Biron back him up.
Sabresince70 Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Have to go with Connolly. Without his performance last year - can you imagine what fan reaction would have been to the contract he has now? I just hope he heals and comes back. This team with a potent power play should remind some of the late seventies Canadiens. They should dominate lesser teams. If Peters is the odd man out when Timmy comes back, it will again give them 4 lines that can score. (I'm not picking on Peters, I think he has gotten better, but is still the 13th forward-14th if we find a way to bring up Paille)
deluca67 Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Chris Drury. His first 1 & 1/4 year in a Sabres uniform was nothing to get excited about. He is now by far the Sabres best forward annd maybe the most important, other then Miller, factor in this teams quest for the Cup. I will have no complaints when they take Briere's money and give it to Drury in a long term deal. ;)
Larry Playfair Posted October 9, 2006 Report Posted October 9, 2006 Briere - for god sake we got him for that washout gratton. He is now one of the better players in the NHL, provides leadership and stability, and scores clutch goals!
DR HOLLIDAY Posted October 10, 2006 Report Posted October 10, 2006 I started to see good things in Campbell early last year, but had expected nothing from him really, but for the second half of the season and the playoffs he became probably one of the most underrated talents in the NHL.......... B-)
thesportsbuff Posted October 10, 2006 Report Posted October 10, 2006 Teppo and Toni. Personally I hadn't heard much about them and expected them to be no better then your everyday defensemen, and figured the loss of Zhitnik would be more devastating than whatever good may come from them. I was wrong. Both Numminen and Lydman had excellent defensive seasons and definately earned my respect.
LabattBlue Posted October 10, 2006 Report Posted October 10, 2006 Two of my favorite whipping boys at the beginning of last year were Kotalik and Campbell. They both had above average seasons in 05-06 and I wouldn't put them in the whipping boy category for 06-07, but I still have questions about both of them.
nfreeman Posted October 10, 2006 Report Posted October 10, 2006 I agree that Connolly is head-and-shoulders above everyone else in this category. Get well soon, Timmy. I'd also point out that Miller has gone from being a question mark at the beginning of last season to a top 5 NHL goalie today (that is IMHO. FWIW, Buccigross today referred to him as the best goalie in the Eastern Conference).
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