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Certainly a relatively safe draft, with the exception of the Huglen pick, which I must admit is an intriguing gamble. My overall assessment is that it seems Botterill competently filled most holes in the farm system. I understand the Johnson pick, we do need some fresh D in the pipeline, but would have strongly preferred a more offensively aggressive maneuver. Our core D is young enough where we could have swung for more offense this draft year. I give it a B+.

Two pages and no dossier comment?

Because everyone laid into him for not liking the pick! After all that he invested into the draft! Of course he's going to be pissed that he's not given the same courtesy as those whose reactions are different.

No no. For all of the "I don't trust Botterill" and the like as recent as earlier today, are we expected to throw away that distrust as merely a conversation we had? Do we trust that they had a solid bearing on guys who were expected to go, say 12-25? Because if we distrust Botterill's abilities, then we can reasonably argue he had his team scout guys 25-35 thoroughly but not the 12-25 guys. They had players W,X, Y,Z penciled in, we didn't give the other guys as much thought because we didn't expect them to be there.

I'm happy to cut him some slack since draft night is a big deal to him. I don't know LGR from Adam, but I do know invests a lot of time in the draft. Of course he's going to get jumpy over the picks. I don't find calling it "lazy" obnoxious, especially when he did give his reasons for not liking the pick.

I don't see the issue with what he's been saying about it. I don't like the pick, either. We need to develop some people who can finish. If they had this guy penciled in as an option at 31, did they bother to consider the forwards on the board? You can argue they did...but do you really know?

I think you guys are being too harsh on LGR. His negative opinion of the pick is no less valid than anyone's positive opinion of the pick. Come on. You might value picking a D here, obviously the Sabres do, but not a one of you can say you always agree with every stinking move they make. I give you the ROR trade. When is the logic of "you don't know what was happening behind the scenes" applied to that around here? LGR is owed his opinion just like anyone else.

That's "meth", we're talking about "math".

Reads like another Montour. If they were going to pick a D man, can we not get a big hitter? Not thrilled, but I'm willing to give the guy a chance to surprise me. What choice do I have?

Just watch the interview with Duff. He did well in math in school and likes "math". Just a little - I say, little - insight into his psychology.

Have to agree with this take. The guy might turn into a solid defender, but we know what it's like to be scraping out the cupboards looking for scoring.

I'd say the take-aways from that are the math, prefers documentaries, and likes Country music.

You know what, watching these interviews, he strikes me as a tall, thin Sidney Crosby. Obviously not as a player, but in looks, sound, and demeanor.

If for nothing else, he's a monster-sized center. If all of the positive attributes pan out, he'll be a hell of a good pick for the Sabres.

I've seen equal 4th overall and 7th to the Sabres in mock drafts. I just finished watching the video from earlier in the thread. Nothing flashy, but positionally sound with a solid shot. Too bad his buddy Jake Elmer is signed to the Rangers. In the scouting reports there's some disagreement on his hockey IQ/sense. Some say it's great, others say it's lacking. I think the video makes it look like his hockey IQ is fine.

I need details on this opinion. Please.

Sounds like ROR 2.0

They said his hockey IQ needs work. What does that mean (I know what it means generally)?

Explain what's good about this guy. Why was he your guy? I know this info is buried in the draft thread...let's start fresh.

If I'm being honest, I can't get past he compares to Sheary.

I don't blame you. I'm pretty much there myself. However, I don't know if I can handle yet another idiot GM for this team. I don't want that to be true. So, until the off-season moves are complete, I'm trying not to look at it that way.

I see more value in a pick - any pick - than I do in Vesey. I could see a 1:1 trade Scandella for Vesey as interesting and likely useful as a means to manage the cap. In fact, if they did that trade and then dumped Vesey in Rochester for the rest of his contract, I would applaud Botterill. This is quite unlikely to happen.

I guess that's a fair metric. I fail to see how this translates into Botterill seeing value in trading for Vesey, unless you think part of the reason for the team's place in the standings is because Botterill is an idiot. And I sincerely mean that, no snark. Because, if we do trade anything for Vesey, I will fully and completely agree that Botterill is a legit idiot.