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Adams is selling hope. He is looking for something positive to say about the off season and the upcoming season. Sabres tickets are not flying off the shelf and ticket prices are very low relative to the rest of the league. Buffalo is home of the Bills and the Sabres have never been so irrelevant. Adams has to do more than cheer lead to get the fans back. Top D corps in the league? No way. Lots to prove here. Maybe in a few years but they still lack that big steady shut down defensive rock. Maybe he is here and will emerge, maybe they never get a player like that, not all teams have one. I liked Kesselring's game but lets remember that Kesselring plus Doan for Peterka gives you some idea of his perceived value. Expecting him to be an impact player is asking a lot, but he can and should improve the group. Timmins was a rotational 3rd pair guy for the Leafs and did not play in the playoffs. As for Power, I am not ready to give up on him at 22. I do expect that he will take a step forward this year. Mule - he was expected to be physical and strong on the PK. He is not either. He has to be better and do more. Otherwise move him out.

I was asking myself the age question too while reading that. And that goes for both players. In my mind I was thinking that surely Byram is two plus years older, but Google informs me that there’s only a year and a half difference. He’s still developing too.

I just hope this isn't a trap game as they play a team in turmoil. Remain physical and no negative plays.

JFC. Who said anything about excited?

Kimmel canceled? https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/abc-suspends-jimmy-kimmel-live-charlie-kirk-1236374150/

Jfc we're excited about Geersten, really? Really?

stick tap for getting me a new account to follow on Twitter.

Context skews perception a bit. Brian CAMPBELL’s peak season as a Sabre was 48 points. He was a + player once. Byram last year was as good as all but CAMPBELLs peak season in Buffalo, it’s the team around them that creates most of the associated vibe.

Ruff and Adams showing their cards early. That’s an NHL group a prospects group and a looking for an NHL contract group.

agreed... it would be a great place to end up...a bigger version of Campbell... I hope that he can achieve the Campbell balance of Offense and Defense but also be more effective moving people based on his size... thats all I am thinking... but hell if we get to a BC level... I am perfectly happy.

Lindy weren’t kidding when he said camp is about getting the NHL team ready. And look where Geertsen is.

Hate it? It would be a revelation

This is shocking lol

at this point I believe it when I see it... if this continues on into the season and we are like most years out of it in Dec or so, I could see Tuch changing his mind.... So, It could be numbers, it could be Tuchs deisre to wait and see... it could be a little of both

We need that and Geertsen has played for Lindy before

This is a fair and balanced evaluation of both defensemen. Overall, Power is going to be a more balanced player than Byram. (As you point out.) On the other hand, when evaluating each of them you have to accept what their individual skill set is. Byram is more of an offensive player and less of a defender. And that offensive skillset defines his play. The key to each player is to find a partner that will allow each of them to accentuate their strengths and minimize their liabilities. From a broad overview of our defensive corps, I see a lot of our offense generated by the blueline. The key to get the most out of it is get the best match with each pair. It seems to me that right now Dahlin/Byram, Power/Kesserling and Samuelsson/Timmons are the most likely pairings when the season starts. This is a young group that has much more upside to tap into.

I'm not sure why. I'll give Adams credit on bringing in some good advanced stats guys in. Then there's this guy who I have no idea on what he was thinking. He does get a lot of defensive zone starts, but so did Malenstyn prior to us bringing him in and he didn't do jack last year.

I can hold out at least some hope of this in the next few years as long as Goalies dont count as Defense I dont hate this especially if he drops a Rensberger hit or 3

There’s SO much written about the guy here I had to double check his age to make sure he was still 22. After all this time we still seem to collectively undervalue the development time it takes for players to become the versions of themselves they are ultimately most closely associated with (see: Finkle and Einhorn, who we traded at older ages than Power and “aren’t the same guys elsewhere as they were here.”) I feel like this idea even works more strongly against top picks as not only are expectations higher out the gate, we forget sometimes they have a much higher potential runway for development, too. The best players are almost always the adaptable ones - the ones that can adjust over time while picking up new skills and learning to harness the ones they have against the best competition they’ve faced. It just takes time. The fact this is the case even more so with D-men only drives the point home further with regards to Owen.

I think Byram is going to settle in over his career as Brian Campbell.

I think I like Byram better than you do. That aside, I agree with much of this.

This is fair. I continue to think that Power will be a very good NHL player with a long career. Maybe Tyler Myers+? Nice player. But the calls and hopes for him to get mean and nasty are misplaced.

Sabres have lacked “against the odds” guys like him in the system. Over the years, they’ve loaded up on 1st-rounders, junior national team players and guys who have been touted as top players all their lives. Their entire offseason was about underdog guys who paid a lot of dues to make it: Kesselring was a 5th-rounder; Danforth, Lyon and Geertsen are long-time minor leaguers who never quit; Jones never got a fair shot in New York; even Doan was passed over his first draft year, played in an outpost college and was followed by whispers of “he’ll never be his old man.” Just like with big RHD, when Adams commits to a bit, he’s all in.