Taro T

Am really hoping he sneaks onto that roster. Would really like to get an AS sweater for the Workhorse from WhitehorseTM.

The reason you missed the premise is the final paragraph was only partially complete. The post wasn't supposed to only be a compare & contrast of the development of the 2 players. It was supposed to end w/ a question. Ooops. Like mentioned in the 1st paragraph, was interested in both why Mitts seemingly has stagnated but also what might be done to get him back on track and further if it's worth the effort to get him on track. And before answering those last 2 Q's, they need to ask themselves whether he's showing enough signs of taking a next step to make it worth asking those Q's. Mittelstadt is under contract for another year after this, so if they still believe there's something there it is in their best interest to bring it out of him. (Suppose that's also true of Olofsson but with the extra years under his belt (even though he doesn't have all that much more NHL experience) don't see it as interesting an exercise to look at.) Also, am curious if the thoughts on Thompson's path seem reasonable. Haven't fully fleshed out he thoughts on either player but have been reassessing the thoughts on both. Seperately, something happened between the Bruins game & the Devils game. Mitts got his most usage by TOI & shifts (maybe not absolute most, but definitely top 3 in both) against the B's and looked really good going against the top line (yes, his line was out for the brutal shift when Dahlin was hurt but that was what it was) but then in the game after the Cozterkinn line got elevated to 2nd line, Mitts line was effectively made the 4th line. He had been on a 50 point pace before the demotion, now he's on a 41 point pace. Would really like to have been the proverbial fly on the wall in the coaches room when they were making the adjustment.

The Minny game. (January 7?)

It's possible that he doesn't process hockey well enough, but don't expect it is. Expect it's more of a case of those who said he should've gone to junior rather than stay loyal to his HS were right that staying in HS would hurt his development. It did, he did not learn a lot of the things you only find out when you're being challenged by tougher competition. When he 1st came here, he was flat out horrible in his own end. Would joke to wifey that he looked like a golden Labrador puppy trying to figure out where ball was when the puck was in his own end and that was from never really having faced opponents regularly that he had to understand where to be to make the defensive system work. But he got much better at that. He gets where he needs to be & pretty much stays in that area. Your buddy Risto never could figure that out. A cycle was his kryptonite. Get him & Eichel together against a good cycle & they were toast. And he also was taught to avoid going into the phone booth. He doesn't do that anymore - ever. Thing is, he's ready to get taught how to find & utilize open space. Maybe he can't learn that. Expect he can, but believe there's a real possibility that w/ limited time the coaching staff see spending time w/ the other young guys as better utilization of their time as the Cozterkinn line all has 1st line upside (not saying they necessarily will be that, but it is still each one's ceiling) & Mitts doesn't. And, no, you missed the premise. Will try to expound on it more later, but have already wasted way too much time today on the subject. (Not trying to be dismissive; have a day job and really have been here way too long today.)

Other than his line getting demoted to the 4th line, not sure. Great question though.

Not positive. Thought they get announced 2-3 weeks ahead of time.

Two players who both had strong skill sets prior to coming to Buffalo who had serious issues early on transferring them into success at this level. One has figured out how to make those skills work & one hasn't. Why did the one "figure it out" while the other didn't? And what might be done to help the other to "get it?" Let's look at Thompson 1st. When he came to Buffalo he already had the crazy reach & in practices he had a toe drag that could make people look stupid. He also has good speed for a big man. He'd been a C at lower levels but got moved to W by the Blues & the Sabres brass kept him there. He tried to make that toe drag & shot work at the NHL level but it simply didn't. He couldn't work it quickly enough nor wide enough to make defenders back off and he could still get knocked off the puck relatively easily. It seemed he simply wasn't coordinated enough to make it work at that level. But thinking about it more, in practice he COULD work that toe drag, so it wasn't a lack of coordination that was making him look like a "baby giraffe." There were coordination issues, but they seem to have been more of an adjusting to a high center of balance issue and a young 20's lack of "man strength" issue. There may also have been a confidence issue as not having success at what came easily & naturally has to take a mental toll. He eventually got sent to Ra-cha-cha & was successful again. We all (well most all, there's never 100% concensus around here) thought it was because he'd altered his game & was "figuring it out." But in hindsight it was likely more a case of playing against slower less skilled players who simply weren't good enough to counteract the toe drag. He earned a callup back to the Sabres & promptly messed up his shoulder. He played the next year at age 23 still on the wing and looked like a 3rd liner. That next year he was still on the wing and got low minutes under Krueger & very few results (1g 1a IIRC) he got a bit more ice time under Granato & also better results (7g 5a in ~25 games) which had him back to a good 3rd liner. The next year, Eichel is gone (or on his way out, technically) & the Sabres had a hole at C so Granato gave him a look at the position he'd played on the NDT & things took off. Some of us (raises his hand sheepishly) thought it was almost entirely due to getting moved to C. & the confidence having a coach that believes in you brings. Being away from the boards, he ca use that entire wingspan to keep the puck aeay from opponents & his coach lets him try that move that doesn't work often for normal sized humans. That was a big part of it, but the overlooked aspect of it is by being 24 last year & 25 now, he's entering his physical prime and due to being man strong, he can withstand pretty much any legal check & his hands are just that smidge quicker that keeps the puck out of the reach of opponents. Another thing he did which comes with being a bit wiser is he figured out when & where to just get a quick shot off without necessarily having a great look. Getting the shot off when the goalie isn't fully ready for it can be as, if not more, effective that that cannon of his. He tried to get to the great shot and passed over a lit of good ones. He doesn't do that anymore. Until extremely recently, didn't think he'd have "gotten it" staying on the wing. Now believe he would've but not nearly at the PPG+ he's currently at. Being on the boards steals away a lot of what makes him special. He loses 40% of his wingspan being near the boards. He still has the size & strength & the hands, but a big part of the sandbox he utilizes so effectively is gone when playing there. He's probably still a 60 pt player at W (at least a 50 pt minimum) but he's legit a ppg player at C. When Savoie, & Kulich, & Östlund, & ..., are ready to come up PLEASE coaches don't overthink it and move him back to W. He'll be fine there but he's great at C. Which brings us to Mittelstadt. Casey's go to plan at lower levels was to ignore a lack of space & drive the puck into a phone booth at the top of the house & either skate through it or dish it to a now open winger & reap the rewards. (Or as was often the case of his time as a Gopher, pass to a teammate who then flubved the glorious scoring chance.) He didn't have any fear of a lack of space because he was better than the players around him & he could still win the battles. His hands were quick enough & he was big enough that it usually was unfair odds when it was just 2 defenders against him. Having above average (though not great) speed helped there too. When he 1st got to the NHL, he still had this as his go to move. Get the puck & drive into the phone booth. But at the NHL he wasn't bigger than those around him & he couldn't consistently win that outnumbered battle. He also was not used to not having the puck because at lower levels he always had it on his stick or would go & take it back if the other team had it. But at this level, he was TOTALLY lost in his own end because he couldn't just take the puck back. And, to make matters worse, due to injuries or just decisions, he was often the 2C and playing against really good players for the opponent. He eventually got sent down & Chris Taylor did a good job of both giving him a clue of what to do in his defensive zone & also to teach him that skating into traffic w/ the puck isn't a good thing. He was brought back up initially as a W on the 3rd & 4th line & worked his way back to C eventually being regarded as the 1C coming out of TC last season. He then suffered his injury in that 1st game & has had issues since. He actually is pretty decent at playing positionally sound in his own end and getting the puck away from opponents but he oftentimes can't control that puck that he's just removed from his opponent. Another issue IMHO is he doesn't receive passes as well as he should, paricularly outlet/ headman passes. He's fine w/ receiving lateral passes but those coming from behind him he tends to biff too often. Probably a byproduct of being way better than everybody else when developing, so he wasn't the guy getting outlet passes as he was in the fray recovering pucks & then making those passes. Another thing working against him at present is ever since getting driving to the high traffic areas beaten out of him, he doesn't carry the puck to the net until he is almost to the goal line. Wide & drive we used to teach our Squirts to be able to get around the D; it works but it isn't everything. They (not just Tails) drilled that into him hard and it's stuck. They need to get him beyond just that. But his biggest issue is, he doesn't go to open space enough & he doesn't create open space enough. This is where sitting a game or 2 could help him. He could watch w/ a development coach what the other F's are doing to create space & get to space & ideally figure out how to do that himself. He has come a seriously long way from where he was at. And he does have skills that are still effective on the PP. He's also (sadly, as he's just OK at it) their best faceoff man at present. Work on receiving that outlet pass & work on finding space. If he gets those down (& Granato & the rest must believe he can), still believe he could absolutely be a high end 3C and maybe even a good 2C. Granato has also talked up his work ethic & leadership. Realize many here don't agree he has either, but Granato seems disinclined to lie. (Yes, he puts a rosy spin on things, but he doesn't outright lie.) So, if he says those are 2 of Mitts positive traits, will believe him. He's 24 now. This is the season he has to figure it out. Do agree w/ those that see him getting moved if he doesn't get it to come together soon; there's some good talent that'll be ready to move up soon, if he isn't better than them, he'll be out. And guess the point of this novella is yes Mitts has stuff to work on, but believe could improve in those areas. Thompson made it happen. His issues were more strength related & being deployed improperly whereas Mitts are still getting taught things he should've learned earlier (some of which he has learned since going pro) but Tage had to learn when & where the toe drag works vs just going for the 1 timer / quick shot. You can teach giys new tricks. Thoughts?

Probably more than that when you look at contracts for the rest of the forwards. This is the Sabres MacKinnon contract.

Was going to ask about that too.

There's a good chance you can get a R&B goathead as those are 3rds and should be around for at least 3 years w/ that designation. So they are probably still available now as Adidas shouldn't just have a limited amount of fabric & crests assembled for it. (Presuming they will have the contract w/ the league for a while longer.) Another thought, if your kid really likes the B&G goatheads, and it is a significant downgrade from a real sweater, is getting a sweatshirt or hoodie in that style. (Said it's a huge downgrade.) The butter knife hoodies were pretty sharp. Would guess the B&G goatheads would be too. Wishing you good luck at finding something that'll work.

Just got tix for All Star weekend this morning. Was wondering if both Dahlin & Thompson would be there for certain. Pretty sure we know the answer to that. Hoe-lee chit. What a ####ing game for him.

Not true. The one puck that hit the post & harmlessly bounced away from the twine could've been an inch to the right & would've been in the net too. It was luck that he wasn't perfect, but Glenn Hall used to say he'd rather be lucky than good any day. 😉

Regarding Wood: He was born in Buffalo, because his dad was a Sabre, who happened to be the Sabres NHLPA Rep just coincidently during the only inseason players' strike in NHL history. The Knoxes, being old money, did not appreciate the fact that the players struck, and soon thereafter sent him packing. Randy has never gotten over it; doubt his kid is particularly fond of the organization that traded away his father out of spite, regardless of the Knoxes being gone for roughly a quarter century. As for Chychrun, alao wouldn't mind seeing him in B&G (wanted him to be the pick in that draft held in Buffalo) but believe he isn't an ideal partner for Power. Would like more of another Samuelsson for him. But it would give the Sabres an above average 1st pairing, and an above average 3rd pairing; the 2nd pairing only being average would still overall be an upgrade over where they're at.

A reasonable take. Can't see any situation Wood would ever play for the Sabres, but someone similar might.

We both agree that the team still needs improvements in net & on D among other things.

Like mentioned, it didn't make any sense for it to be vs last year. Vs '19, oh yeah, absolutely believe it. Danke.

Better D-men could help. But when they're healthy, they have 5 competent defenseman. Even w/ just 4 the bigger issue for giving up high danger chances is they are an offense 1st team right now. Even the good D-men are out for a lot of goals against. Fortunately they're also out for a #### ton of goals for too. Until defensively responsible play is emphasized, unless they have a true stud between the pipes they're going to give up a lot of goals. Better D-men would help w/ more W's (which is what really matters), counterintuitively not positive they'd really bring the GAA down nearly as much as you expect as long as the emphasis is still offense now & forever.

Is that drop vs last season or vs prepandemic #'s or some other baseline? Find it hard to believe it's vs last year as they only had really really good home attendance in 3 games plus the Heritage Claasic (which was a "home" game, wink, wink) and attendance was worse in October & November overall last year w/ the border still effectively closed. There is a bigger STH base this year than last. If it is vs last year, that's a pretty good indication that the "Bills effect" is real & attendance will pick up come February.

Very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing. 🍻

After watching what happens to Lyubushkin every couple of games am just happy the rest of them don't flamingo. And after seeing how many pucks got deflected past him, Comrie would probably prefer a bunch of them to not even try to block shots. 😉 Agree w/ those who are saying better D-zone coverage would likely affect not only shots against but also shot blocks.

Really expect that at some point they'll get a 5-6 game winning streak. (Doubt it happens before Comrie comes back, but they're in a stretch of winnable games now, so who knows.) Expect in general, they'll play NHL 0.500 until Comrie is back & NHL 0.600 after he's back. With the youth they have expect them to continue to improve throughout the year which should make those predictions low should other teams still look at them as bottom feeders but expect by the end of the month teams will be playing their top net minder against them & they'll be ready to have a tough game (due to speed, not rough stuff) so so those changes will likely offset each other. They have a great chance to be in the mix for the playoffs. To get in, is obviously a very tall order w/ the current GTing. But likely comes down to can they find a 2nd 5-6 game W streak & can they avoid another 5+ game losing streak. If the answer to both is yes, will say they'll be in the playoffs. If no to either, then no. Really expect they've got a good chance of getting that 2nd W streak. But not convinced they can avoid another losing streak. As we saw last month, all it takes to go on 1 is have a tough stretch of schedule with a stinker game in the gimme sprinkled inside that stretch. If they could find a really good PKer that would help too. The PK is killing them. (GT is your best PKer.)

Not saying there's an expectation of a blockbuster deal. But right now, there are no deals (not entirely Adams fault, he made a trade for a goalie but was then rebuffed & supposedly might also have had 1 other trade worked out that got rebuffed by the player) at all. Expecting that will change this offseason. And we'll see 2-3 middle 6 players &/or prospects that project to that level traded for either GT, #4 D (though that piece will more likely come via FA, hoping he brings in a couple that way), or very good PK C that's a reasonable 2 way player. Granted, that could all be projection, but Adams realizes the team needs to be better & not all the holes will be filled w/ on house prospects.

Is it because they believe their fans are dumb and will watch anything? If that ISN'T the answer, no clue.

Had noticed that lack of younger guys upthread. Watch the WJCs every year but hadn't really paid attention to the ages of the players that much but always thought there were significantly more than just 3 D+1 players in most years. (1 - 3 draft eligible players seemed about right, but not the few D+1's.) Any thoughts on why the roster is skewing that old?

Your best PKer is your goalie. Just sayin'. Yeah, the defensive zone play leaves a bit to be desired fairly often. But 2 of the lines & 1 of the D pairings are "getting" the offensive ideas & really one of the other lines & both of the D pairings seem to get them as well, just not with the same kind of success (& when you look at the players in that mix really only Power & Okposo would be expected to be scoring at a level remotely like their teammates). Would hope that Granato isn't waiting for every skater to fully get the O under their command before focusing some on the D. Which would have that part of the game getting worked on sooner than later.