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/Skated pick up with multiple nhl and college players in 80's and 90's. Rule one was do nothing to hurt them. Rule two was beat anyone who did not follow rule one. The skill level and power was otherworldly. just amazing.

I helped coach a team Bill Hajt's son was on. Bill was better than anyone on the ice in his 40's.

I always looked at this phenomena like a pyramid. How many high school seniors are there in a given year? What percentage of those can play varsity basketball? What percentage of those can play college basketball at any level? What percentage of those can play pro basketball at any level? That large initial base of the population whittles down to the head of a pin at the top. To provide a first hand account, in college (DIII basketball) we went down the road to scrimmage Army (low-level DI) before our season started. It was eye-opening how different the talent and skill levels were, even within that relevant tier I mentioned above. Army had a kid who was also an all-American tight end on the football team. He was an absolute beast.

One thing lost in that breakdown is how much overlap there is between those three players being out. It’s not just one guy. Ok, the Dahlin impact is obvious. We all know what they lose there.

It’s funny, I had almost this exact conversation yesterday at the meet up. I think we’ve all had friends who played against so and so in grade school and think they were better, or at least equal to the guy that “made it.”

Not you specifically, I think it happens a lot in this whole forum - but getting a solid 4th line contributor in the 2nd round of the draft is not even guaranteed. AI tells me that the average 2nd round forward plays about 210 NHL games. Ol' Becky is at 202 right now. The fact that the pick ended up being Cole Hutson might be a bigger subject of lament down the line, but for now - it was at least marginal value. I found another website that averages 1969-2025: Pick #43 averages 228 GP, 34G and 60A. Sir Beck is clearly lagging in the score department.

I’m sure there’s a “Kesselring hasn’t played, so it’s a bust” article out there somewhere. Just give it some time.

It says they are good players, I guess. Difference makers. The NHL teams are so closely matched that a few injuries tip the balance

I love this thread. It's totally ok for us on these boards to lambaste the players and overly criticize their play....that is part of the gig of being a fan. But every once in a while...it is nice to take a moment and remember the dudes we are watching on TV are absolutely special at their craft.

I guess I would ask: an excuse for who? For the players? Ok, maybe. For the coaches? Much less so. For the GM? Not a chance. The reason we have Power and Byram is to provide puck-moving depth on the backend. And up front, what does it say if we are hapless without the services of a 20 year old kid and a 33 year old journeyman (no disrespect to Benson and Zucker).

I knew this guy once who was like, "Ya know, I think I'm just going to go down and play for the Bills, I'll just be a back up and enjoy the fun of being there, the back ups are just regular guys." And when I was trying to tell him that was impossible he friends agreed with him! He thought us playing tackle football at St Joe's for fun was about the same as NFLers. Like whatever. He also thought this one girl in Playboy was just the girl he was looking for...🤷‍♀️

One hell of a play from all who helped move that puck up ice…….and, of course……..one hell of a high hockey IQ play from Beck. it was glorious to see, it was shivers creating to see it in slow motion. So thank you Beck, Malynsten, thank you so very much.

The 2022 Kentucky Derby winner wasn't even supposed to be in the race- Number 21 in a 20 horse field. He's circled in yellow If Rich Strike can do it, so can the Sabres.

Speaking for myself, we still heat our home with wood and all of it is split by hand. Despite being in my 60’s I can still swing my driver (golf) at more than 100 mph.

They'd feel like love taps compared to NHL slashes.

This trade was lambasted by the national media similarly to how the Savoie trade was. "What is Buffalo doing? This is bad asset management. Savoie is a top line winger, he was a top 10 pick. Peterka is gonna be a 40g guy." etc... and what most can see from all of this is how little the Sabres matter to the national media and how little research or understanding the big names at TSN or ESPN or whatever put into understanding the overall league they comment on. It is just a hot take based on their feels with almost no research or effort. "Oh the Sabres traded Peterka, that was stupid, therefore the return must have been bad. Oh the Sabres trade a former top 10 pick for a 3rd line center, that was stupid. What a bad return." Yet, as we can see, Savoie is struggling to score, Doan is basically equaling Peterka's production, and Kesselring hasn't even made his impact yet. This board was closer to the truth than anything. The consensus was McLeod was better than Savoie is now so we need the now and maybe Savoie won't hit. Kesselring is a big RHD so that might equal Peterka (in terms of team value) plus we got a guy in Doan who quite a few liked his play style and thought he could get more scoring with more TOI. We will have to see how it goes still but neither trade was as bad as the national media claimed.

Winning three in a row has been a real big hurdle for this team in what seems like forever. I agree that there is a sliver of hope, they just need to have more of a sense of urgency than the plenty of runway attitude.

Doan has some Mark Stone in him, strong on the puck, good forechecker and able to steal pucks. I like his work thus far and he should improve as he gains experience.

Reminds me of the time when, several years after he retired, Max Afinogenov was invited to play in a beer league game and he scored something like 15 goals.

He wouldn’t get one lap in due to the hacks and whacks from the forum members.

Totally love your optimism but I'll only believe it when I see it.

I have ESPN+ HULU DISNEY Bundle for $16.99/mo with Ads. I live in Las Vegas. I get every Sabres game unless its on NHLN or the National Game). I also have YouTubeTV for $82/mo but neither of my streaming services allow for NHLNetwork. I can get the TNT NHL games and National games though with YoutubeTV. But overall, its ridiculous the NHL makes it so difficult to get the NHLNetwork. Like, do you want to grow the game or not? It's idiotic.

Not me. I’d just sit on the wall. Can’t skate circles around what you can’t encircle.