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Even after all those years of no playoffs, I still clung to a little bit of hope. There was always something to hold on to entering the season to make me think that this could be the year the playoff drought ends. I have never had such little interest entering a Sabres season in many decades. I look at this roster and to me, there seems to be a group of players that has little to no excitement about it. I suppose if the improved defense and goaltending take a major jump, they could be in the mix for the 8 spot, but man, I just don't see it. My friends viewed me as one of the biggest fans out there, watching every single second of every single game. My mood was down when they lost, and I would be thrilled to seem the team victorious. If this organization could take a fan like that and now paint me with apathy, what can the average fan be thinking. It would not take much to get me back on board, but again, looking at this roster, I see no end in sight. I really hope they turn it around some day and bring the joy back to a beyond tortured fanbase that deserves so so much more.

Have to agree on fixing the PP. If they can go from bottom 10 to like 10th - that is like 15 goals which would help offset some of the likely loss of 5on5 goalscoring after the peterka trade. Same with the PK - get that from bottom 10 to 10th and that is 10 fewer goals allowed.

I keep coming back to basics on this: Zach Benson was in the NHL the past two seasons because he was good enough to be in the NHL the past two seasons. People keep focusing on the 30 points part of the equation (which is NHL-calibre) and ignoring the defensive part of the equation: that he is an absolute unicorn for a teenager in that aspect of the game. All the development cliches that people keep leaning into come from players who can't play defence and have games built around overpowering opponents with skill-based tactics that don't work at higher levels; they turn pucks over, get caught cheating and get frustrated when those tactics fail; their numbers drop and their ice time gets cut because their coaches can't trust them.. That's not Benson: he's playing because his coaches trust him. People are confused because what he's doing is extremely rare; most teenage prospects make the league due to their superior offence while they learn defence on the fly; with Benson, its his advanced defence earns him a spot in the NHL while he learns offence on the fly. But there is one obvious comparable: Ryan O'Reilly who had 26 points in 81 games at 18, 26 points in 74 at 19 and 55 in 81 games at 20

As others have said there is no way of proving either side of this debate. The Sabres didn’t have enough talent on the roster to send him back and that is on KA’s watch but credit to Benson for doing well as a smallish 18 year old. Returning to juniors for one season would not have hurt his development but being around pros to practice, work out and travel accelerated the mental part of being a pro for him. His defensive game was good and he had already scored a lot at the junior level so his improvements there would have been some speed and strength by getting a year older. Matt Savoie went back to the same junior club they came from and I don’t think there was much benefit for him except getting traded to Moose Jaw and competing in the Memorial Cup. IMO, the NCAA would have been a great place for him to go, had that option been available at the time. This is now another option for prospects and could help a lot of them. A lot of guys from his draft class will be turning pro this year while he has two NHL years in his pocket. They will be up against a new challenge that he has already surmounted. I think he is ready for another bump up this year.

If you want BIG physical forwards, the 2026 draft has quite a few.

Remember when those crazy MAGA were making fun of Kamala for saying Trump will send the Army after it's citizens... Eyeroll if you like to kneel to Putin.

There are 2 things that can happen and for the most part we are only considering 1. First is what we are talking about, Benson goes back to jrs and gets lots of minutes a night which helps him learn about this or that and practice in a lower stakes and easier environment. The inverse is that by coming to the NHL he doesn't get those minutes and therefore does not get to learn in that lower stakes environment. Second, something we are not talking about much, is Benson could learn a few things in jrs but by mid-season he would be bored and not challenged. He then develops bad habits because for the most part he is better than those he faces. This actually happens a lot, it is why Justin Carbonneau should have moved on from the Q. Now it doesn't just break a player, lots of guys overcome it, but we should consider would Zach Benson have become bored in jrs and developed less because it lacked the challenge he needs? For example the speed of JR is easy for Benson to keep up with, the NHL was not. If Benson spent 2 years vigorously working on his speed to be closer to NHL levels as opposed to being confident in his jr level ability, he would not have developed as much. What about his shot? That is a big criticism around here and if he went back to jr could he have worked on it? Would he have realized where it was in relation to NHL goaltending? I tend to think Zach Benson in particular needs the 2nd development path. The more you push him, the more he responds. Stagnating by being too good for jrs would have been more detrimental to his NHL skillset than spending 2 years refining himself against NHL competition. That's just my opinion though.

I don’t disagree in general and as you say, it depends on the player. Benson has more hockey sense and skill than half of the older players on the team. He certainly has more heart and hustle as well. Instead of his development being stunted by not returning to juniors, his development has been accelerated by having to acclimate to the NHL early on. He will be that much more developed when he reaches the age he would have been by waiting. Perhaps a season or two in the A would have been beneficial but imo, additional time in juniors would have been of little to no benefit to his development. He had already surpassed that level of play.

Would he be better off playing at 18 and 19 in Juniors or in the NHL is the question at hand. It is an argument that either side cant really prove. Depends on the player and the team he is playing for. McDavid and Eichel could make the jump at 18. Reinhart didn't, Tage didn't, very few 18 year old players make that jump. Benson did it but did he get enough ice time and play in enough situations that maximized his development at 18? My opinion is that Adams blew it by not bringing in more veterans that would keep Benson in Juniors for at least another year. Benson making the team at 18 was more about how terrible the Sabres roster depth was. Benson does not have the skills of McDavid/Eichel. I say this and yet I still like Benson a lot. I don't think Benson will get hurt by being rushed because his mindset won't allow it. I can't say that about most 18 year olds.

This notion that an 18 year old right out of juniors can’t develop in the NHL is absurd.

Fascism 101: use the military to police the citizenry: check; defy the judiciary: check; seek to control financial institutions: check; use armed, masked police force to arrest and detain people in “concentration camps”: check; target & harass political enemies: check Need I go on? What will it take for his supporters to say he’s gone too far?

I'm ready to be a sub if anyone drops out. Limiting myself to 3 leagues this year.

36 18-18 And we should all be ok with that. Good season for a kid his age.

I joined; only bad night is Monday, I have another draft at 7:30pm.

“A lot of people” means his big donor and Vance best friend, Peter Thiel, who flat out says we need to get over our fear of dictators. A lot of other billionaire donors feel the same way. Curtis Yarvin is another right wing nut job advocating for the end of democracy as well.

@ExWNYer @JujuFish you guys are on deck if I don’t hear from the two others pretty soon.

If i had to make a prediction I'd say 50. I think Peterka's departure and Zucker's likely regression will leave a hole that almost guarantees a jump for at least one of Kulich/Quinn/Benson and I think Bennie is the one most likely stapled to Thompson.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-dictators-washington-dc-national-guard-chicago-2118785 "A lot of people are saying, 'Maybe we like a dictator.'" This is the guy people voted for... Give me an eyeroll if you like being the servants of a dictator.

Hopefully the DB injuries will force McDermott to use pressure. They have to get off the field. Players like Taron, Bernard and Milano can all be used to get pressure.

I worried we will continue to see McDermott use his 3rd down approach of sitting back and hoping to get pressure with 4 while decent QBs pick us apart. The Bills were atrocious on 3rd down last year. We would get teams in 3rd and 7+ and then just drop into coverage leaving big gaps for running QBs or easy completions over the middle. Jackson will smoke the Bills if they give him time and room on 3rd down. Henry is also a problem, although at least Beane FINALLY started to add to the line, it still isn't good enough. Should be an interesting first game but the 3rd down issues are the thing to watch for me this season.

There's our threshold then, 40.5o/u I think I put Benson at 45pts this season but forget where I put that projection.

Especially w/ the 2ndary depleted to start the year and the 2 DLmen out the 1st 6 weeks for stupidity, REALLY want McDermott and Babich to use an attacking D to both limit the time the DBs have to cover and to get the ball back in Allen's hands as often as is possible, whether that be by a 3 and out (which gives Josh a chance to build a lead) or by a miscue (which lets Josh keep pace and forces them to beat our D another time only to have Allen likely keep pace again if they're successful and gives Allen another chance to build a lead if they aren't). Doubt he does. But do know Harbaugh won't be expecting it should they actually go that direction.

Yea, I said Rapp is decent, not good. He is not fast, he hits hard. Reckless? I am not sure he is reckless but he is a big drop from Poyer. The Bills are counting on more from Bishop than he has shown, he is a big key to the season.

It depends where they deploy him. I've said this before... if he plays top line and PP, I expect somewhere in the 45-55 pt range. If he plays 3rd line and very little PP time then probably somewhere around 35-40pts. I look at a guy like Andrew Cristall, who put up similar numbers as Benson his draft year in the WHL. Unlike Benson, he stayed in junior and put up 132 points in his d+2 season, an NHLe of 48 points. That's a good target for Benson imo. If he plays the full season and puts up <40 points, then I'll considered him damaged goods.

I am good for any evening except Tuesday 9/2 between 7-9. If that is where we end up at, I will just do simultaneous drafts. 😂