dudacek

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.

David Bedkowsi has continued his terrible play from the 1st game.

Novikov looked solid, Komarov was very much in command, although he was the weak link on the PP. Very impressed with Mrtka: assertive at both ends.

Östlund frequently has the puck, or is always around it. He was the team’s best two-way forward. Wahlberg was a bit in and out, but there were some puck protections, takeaways and board work that looked very good.

Rosen made one terrific goalmouth play that should have been buried but just didn’t have the puck much, or much impact on the game. Helenius was better, and more involved, but again not much in the way of playmaking.

From the lesser lights: Bedkowski and Brunet were each directly responsible for goals against and were the weak links back there. Laberge is a terrific skater, kinda like a bigger Bryson. Kopf, Savage and Fiddler-Schultz lack skill. Kucharcik looked big and smart

First time, I’d ever watched Leinonen play a full game. He sure looks the part. Marty picked apart a few details, but to my less-educated eye he looked athletic controlled and massive. The goals werent his fault and he made some big saves. It was a good first impression.

The place to talk about Terry Pegula, Kevyn Adams, droughts, ***** announcers, ***** players, ***** coaches, ***** prospects and how ***** the Sabres are in general.

This has no place in the hopium thread. Plenty of of other places to talk about this.

Nothing would be better for the Sabres than Levi making his Ryan Miller move.

Well that makes this signing a lot easier to understand.

I did not know his nickname was Four-giev 😁 Best goalie name since Warren Scoragainstme

See this thread works! Even @PerreaultForever is talking about possible success! 🎇

I suspect the market showed no one else was signing Georgiev to an NHL contract to be a backup, so chances are good he will clear.

Doesn’t change the fact that Georgiev isn’t good and doesn’t really have the temperament of an AHL backup. I also kinda wonder why he signed here to be a #4? Best contract offer? Thinks the other 3 don’t offer much competition? This was definitely the last news I thought I’d be reading today.