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From what you saw, can Helenius become a new version of Christian Ruuttu?

A fair comparison. Although Jerry Jones (for all his errors) might be more competent than Terry. There's also that thing we heard earlier that "Buffalo was hard to deal with" in terms of trading. I think that was on 32 thoughts around the time of the Byram rumors or Peterka trade. I tend to forget as I'm less invested these days but it was around there. So you have to think two things. One, Kevyn does not have good relationships with other GMs and two, I wonder if part of that is Kevyn constantly having to get the okay from Terry. Whatever the case it isn't good. We need an experienced GM who already has league relationships and he needs to be given free reign and that won't happen with Terry. Apathy? I guess so. I've been in the prove it on the ice mode for a few years already and now I'm really deeply in the skeptical prove it camp. Even a 10 game out of the gate win streak won't get me out of that. It'll take a lot to get me back on the bandwagon. So I guess I'd say not apathetic (as I will still watch) but definitely cynically skeptical. I will say this is the first year I am not interested in the rookie camp or prospects and I don't plan to watch preseason unless I'm really bored or multitasking. The "future" stuff is a big pile of whatever.

Please delete my quotes. I want nothing to do with this thread. I don't want my job or my family targeted. Please delete this or I'll go to a mod.

It's not even physicality. He's passive. He sits and waits and let's others dictate play which he then reacts to. Some NHL ppl are about to learn Zach Benson.

So, the question becomes, which will come first: the day of alien disclosure by our government or the Sabres making the playoffs?

Benson is literally not old enough to legally drink in this country, has played 146 NHL games (combined total of every single player drafted after him: 40 NHL games) and they have his next season as do or die???? Were these people smoking crack or something?

This is exactly what SS needs, a thread talking about aliens. I actually mean that. Not trying to be jerk.

Power is a tier 4 player at best. Until he gets some physicality to high game, he is a waste. The pro scouts are right to be frustrated with his lack of commitment to improving defensively.

Terry Pegula, the Jerry Jones of the NHL. Apathy. The Sabres players, owners, management and coaches have made many of us apathetic about the team we all once adored.

These are both examples although the JD Vance one probably has more negative effect given politics dominates the media more than homelessness. My advice would be not to accept analysis from platforms or groups. Instead, people should make their own conclusions given information has never been so widely available, unless you live in North Korea. There seems to be an uptick in stupidity and how it manifests in people's actions.

Very good perspective from the Athletic on some of our top prospects. Basically they've taken Wheeler's rankings as a starting point and vetted them through a number of NHL pro scouts and execs to provide insight on what the industry generally thinks of players and where they're likely to end up on an NHL depth chart when they are fully mature. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6562503/2025/09/15/nhl-prospect-tiers-2025-26/ For reference, Dahlin is what a tier 2 guy looks like when he grows up, and Thompson a tier 3. Tier 5 guys include players like Monahan, Fiala, Gavrikov and Rust The 122 players considered to likely be above-average NHL regulars (a little less than 4 per team on average) includes: Tier 1 — MVP A top 10 player. Someone who is very likely to get serious trophy consideration at season’s end and whom championship-caliber teams are built around. The best player on almost any team in the league. Celebrini, Bedard Tier 2 — Franchise A top 30 player. Someone who is the best player on a contending team or second best on a championship-caliber team. An unquestionably elite player. Schaefer, Michkov, Hutson, Fantilli, Demidov, Cooley, Johnston, Carlsson, Misa Tier 3 — All-Star A top 60 player. Someone who wouldn’t be the best player on a contender, but would be an important part of any contending or championship core. A strong top-line forward, above average No. 1 defenseman, or borderline top five goalie. Owen Power (high-end of the tier): "Power is an interesting one, because the NHL people Dom, Shayna and Sean surveyed for Player Tiers who work on the pro side have grown frustrated with his lack of physicality and take-charge, but the amateur folks I surveyed still have a tough time putting prospects over a defenseman who has already played 25 minutes per game in the NHL for years at an early age. One scout did say that he'd have Power a letter grade lower, though, so the two groups may be coming closer together. This feels like a prove-it year for him despite his strong NHL results and usage." Tier 4 — Star A top 100 player. Someone who would be a strong piece within a contending or championship core, but not a go-to option. An average top-line forward, below average No. 1 defenseman, or top 10 goalie. Jiri Kulich (bottom end of the tier) Even though he spent a lot of time high in an NHL lineup as a rookie last year, he looks more like a center than a winger after playing both coming up, and has clear power-play tools because of his shot. Scouts are still in a wait-and-see mode in setting Kulich's ultimate upside. They want to see him produce more than the 20-goal, 32-point pace he played at last year. I don't think 30 goals and Tier 4B is viewed as out of the question at all, but he's not viewed in the same light as an Eklund or Nazar. Zach Benson (bottom end of the tier): Benson fell from Tier 4A a year ago to Tier 4C and nearly Tier 5A this year. He's viewed as a bubble Star/Support guy, and while teams respect his craft and work ethic, the clock has started on wanting to see him score more. Radim Mrtka (bottom end of the tier): Mrtka is a towering defenseman who skates at a high level and was a top-10 pick, which automatically lumps him in with Simashev and Silayev. He has a little more offense and poise than those two, but isn't viewed as the same level of defender. Tier 5 — Support A top 150 player. Someone who would offer strong support to a contending or championship core, but wouldn’t be an integral piece within it. A below-average top-line forward, a strong No. 2 defenseman, or an above average starter. Konsta Helenius (middle of the tier): Scouts are a little softer on Helenius today than they were a year ago, and there was some discussion about maybe moving him down to Tier 5C after his rookie season was just OK. But the AHL is a hard league for 18-year-old centers, and everyone seemed content to wait another year before adjusting his slotting. Noah Östlund (bottom end of the tier): Östlund is a player who is beloved by coaches and scouts alike for his blend of speed and creativity on offense, and his commitment to the little details off the puck. He's also viewed as a comparable player and prospect to the others in this tier. And yet the consensus is that he's a bubble guy for inclusion here. He got enough love to make it, but some wonder whether he'll score enough in the NHL or become more of a Peyton Krebs type.

The lack of hope stems from one central idea and that is that Terry Pegula is stuck on one idea, one vision, and he won't relinquish power to actual hockey people who know better. Terry thinks he knows better and he is the de facto GM or director of hockey operations. As long as that remains this will continue as is with a little up then a little down but all on the outside of the playoffs as players leave or get dumped in rebuilds periodically. Everything else is just icing on a cake that was baked with salt instead of sugar.

This team made me tired of hockey. My passion, which was equivalent to the Bills, has all but disappeared. That never happened, not even one year during the Bills 17 year drought. There is something very rotten about this team from top to bottom and I don't think it ever gets fixed. I didn't lose the passion because the team has been bad, I lost it because from the GM down to the players, they are about as unlikeable as a team can get. They lack talent, heart, and the in-game experience is practically unwatchable.

Remember back in 2019 Trump was thinking about pulling out of NATO and it was b/c of Russia.

I am pulling for this guy.

I would have said the same thing except on the 10 minutes of play I watched, it looked like Rosen and Östlund went on the Quinn/Cozens workout plan this summer. Normally, I wouldn't have even said anything given the extremely small sample size, but their poor play was that notable, especially given the competition level. And from what little I saw of Mrtka, I agree that he could push his development timeline. He seemed a step quicker and stronger than the Rochester D. But small sample size I know.

100% there was. They ALWAYS (well, almost always) had somebody in motion at the snap, and if it was Hill, he'd turned upfield WELL before the ball actually snapped. A bit tougher to cover when he's already fully accelerating at the defender prior to the ball being snapped. Waddle and the others were prone to doing that as well. But Hill was very blatent about it. And that was taken away from them before last season started.

was there some CFL-ation going on with the mcdaniel motion schemes? i don't recall that. i just figured the rest of the league figured out ways to mitigate what he was doing.

His offense has regressed tremendously since the league started to crackdown on players (Hill, cough, cough, Waddle to a lesser degree, cough, cough) in motion turning upfield a step or 2 or 6 before the ball is actually snapped. Since that little cheat code got removed the O has been noticably easier to defend against. The players haven't changed significantly the past year+, but enforcement of the rules certainly has.

I choose to read less than nothing into any of these prospect challenge games. Especially for guys destined for another year in the A. Preseason games against superior competition is more telling imho. That said, I wonder if Rosen is feeling a little pressure of the ticking clock.

Sweet we have 3 backups as our starters unless it’s Levi’s job to lose.

Stock Down Rosen has been non-existent all weekend. Wahlberg has looked awkward out there. He looks slow and is often out of position or making off-target, hurried passes. I was high on him on draft day and after his D+1 season but I am now as low as I've ever been. Amerks players have been playing against men for 1+ seasons and they leave the weekend 0-3 playing against mostly teens. Barely any of them stood out. Östlund had the puck a bunch but still looks undersized and easily moved from the puck by again teens. The awful announcer booth continues to show why they are one of the worst in the league. This is only exaggerated after a game called by Marty and Duff. (Note: this is my opinion before the defenders log on and get upset) Stock Up Mtrka looked physical and extremely sound defensively with his positioning and well-timed stick lifts/checks. Most say he's 3 years out but I think he will challenge that timeline. Helenius didn't do anything spectacular, but his continued evolution as a pest who is hard to play against is a welcomed development.

I needed to add more ever ever evers to emphasize my point. 😇 I do wonder what Adams will try to fix this upcoming season/offseason. NHL-ready #1 centers would be a good target. Trade Norris for one and add two more in the draft. I'd say goalie but they already have nine in the system, so I figure they're already starting to address it.