‘The thing Sabres fans may not realize is this: compared to the rest of the 2004 draft class, Stafford stacks up very well. Other than possible future Hall of Famers Alexander Ovechkin and the obvious second choice Evgeni Malkin, not many other players from the class have blossomed at this point in their NHL careers. Washington defenseman Mike Green was drafted near the end of the first round and he was quite the find for the Capitals, but other players in that draft include Cam Barker, Andrew Ladd, Blake Wheeler and Wojtek Wolski, just to name a few. Ask around the league and most general managers or head coaches would take Stafford over pretty much the entire class of ’04.’