dudacek

It would be nice, but after watching what Adams had to say I think all of this stuff is more about player evaluation: I think they picked Quinn and JJ because they thought they were the best players available. I think they signed Tage to the deal they did because they thought he was good value for the contract. And I think they didn't qualify Kahun because they don't want to pay him what they think he will get in arbitration and they are betting they can get either him, or a reasonable replacement, for a figure they like better. Doesn't really matter if you or I is right on this though, it only matters that he is.

I didn't come to the same conclusion you did, if you follow his answer though to the end. I think the answer was a little confusing because he was responding to the suggestion implied by the question: that he didn't take a centre because he was happy with what he had. And I think he kinda chuckled because he's used to people saying he needs to fix centre, and he knows he needs to still replace Larsson. And then he says of course you pay attention to positions BUT it's about how they project as Sabres down the road. And the LAST part of that is who else is on your roster. So we love Cozens and we want him to be a centre, but what don't know how long that will take to play out. And we love that Staal fills a big hole BUT "the winger/centre/D thing in the draft, you're really focused on the best player you can possibly take and what is their trajectory." Other's mileage may vary.

Another interesting thing out of that presser is the Sabres had certain minimum metrics that a player would have to meet before they would consider drafting them, and those metrics became the starting point from where they would rank prospects. Would love to hear what those are, but that will probably never happen.

I haven’t watched this yet, still working my way around the media I missed, so Im not sure of the context. But in his presser after the Quinn pick last night, Bill HopPe asked Adams “There were centres out there. Why did you guys feel you needed a winger?” He replied “I don’t think we needed a winger, I think we were looking for the player we thought was going to be the best player we were projecting moving forward.” Is he contradicting himself? https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/kevyn-adams-after-round-1/t-277437090/c-6792879

Have we heard that?

So how about we accompany this with a running account of immediate reactions? Is the following fair?

Long list of players not qualified with names still rolling in. Kahun definitely one of the more interesting names, but here are some more: Remi Elie, Matthew Spencer, Brandon Hickey Vinnie Hinostroza Brett Ritchie Mark Jankowski Slater Koekkoek, Malcolm Subban Devin Shore, Madison Bowey, Brendan Perlini Andreas Athanasiou, Matthew Benning, Mirco Mueller Anthony Duclair, Jayce Hawryluk Dominik Simon, Jake Dotchin, Derrick Pouliot Carter Verhaeghe Jeremy Bracco, Frederik Gauthier, Evan Rodrigues, Troy Stecher Nick Cousins

Interesting Quinn write-up from OHL hockey blogger and scout for Mckeen’s hockey Brock Otten. (it should be pointed out he had Quinn behind Perfetti and Rossi) As stated, Quinn has seriously closed the gap for me between Rossi, Perfetti, and he. It wouldn't shock me at all if he was drafted before one or both. NHL scouts love this kid. IMO, Quinn was actually the better and more consistent OHL player in the second half for Ottawa, if we're comparing him to Rossi. My write up for Quinn is going to focus a lot on those who downplay his abilities for various reasons. The first is his age. Yes, he only missed last year's draft by a few days. I don't care. Human development is non linear. Quinn was playing AA hockey and was well under 6'0 before his minor midget year. Physically, this kid is a late bloomer and is the exact reason why we have the September cutoff. That extra year has allowed him to fill out his growing frame (now over 6'0), and improve his overall athleticism and skating ability. The second is the team he plays for. Quinn doesn't play with Rossi at even strength. He plays with Mitchell Hoelscher (a late round NHL draft pick), and either a converted defenseman (Belanger) or a rookie (Jack Beck). Yet, he led the OHL (with Nick Robertson) in even strength goals. He plays with Rossi on the powerplay, on the penalty kill, and when protecting a lead late. But he does not ride piggy back. Quinn is terrific at creating his own scoring chances. He is such a deceptive player in transition. He has such a high level shot that defenders have to try to be aggressive in taking away his space, so he exploits that by cutting to the middle, using defenders as a screen. He is also exceptionally intelligent without the puck. His anticipation as a goal scorer is outstanding. And his play away from the puck as a defensive player improved by leaps and bounds this year. This kid has to be considered one of the most complete wingers available this year. The third is the quality of the team he plays for. This is an easy one to refute. Maybe the 67's are as good as they are because of Quinn? Ottawa had more injuries than any team this year, and to key players, yet they found themselves on top because of kids like Quinn. Look, I won't pretend that Quinn's game doesn't have limitations. I don't necessarily think that he's a high level playmaker. He is great working the wall to prolong possession. However, in transition, he's usually very driven to score. And while his skating has improved a lot, it's still not elite. Likely equates to being slightly above average in the NHL. However, IMO, it's rare to find such a quality goal scorer, who also happens to have good size and plays a 200 foot game. This is a kid you can have on the ice if you need a goal, or are up a goal. His minutes won't have to be sheltered. For that reason, he's a candidate for the top 7 IMO

Is it just me, or should JJ Peterka be a quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes? Jack Quinn is a top-tier Hockey name; Constantini? Jake Konecny? Crowe and Nightingale really hit this year out of the park according to my player name analytics.

Yes. Is this being smart and tough, or is it being Shortsighted and cheap? Right now, I’d lean to the latter, even though I think this board’s love of Kahun has yet to be earned. I could never picture Botterill doing this.

Four months and a half-dozen moves was all the grace period Adams deserved.

Johanssons on a two-way contract, we need a 3G and I don’t see any evidence of us robbing from the Sabres to prop up the Amerks.

No, in my scenario you’ve agreed to the Killorn deal and told Tampa you just have to get your budget in order. You want Killorn and Kahun, but you might have to make a value judgement between one or the other. Im not suggesting this is what is happening, just that Adams is juggling a number of balls and probably has them prioritized. We should be worried that Kahun isn’t priority, but let’s see where it goes.

Johansson got minimum wage and probably won’t affect the NHL cap at all. Thorny’s point about Tage elsewhere is much more relevant. I think we are going to have to wait until it all plays out. Right now the roster is worse than it was, but there are a lot of shoes to drop

Possibly, but not necessarily. Say he’s got 12 million budgeted for RW and great deal on the table for Killorn. Sam gets 6 and Killorn gets 4. You’ve got two left for Kahun. He wants 3. Do you rob 1 million from the Goalie budget, or do you sign Dominik Simon for 2 instead?

So if I read this correctly, Adams is playing chicken. He’s made him an offer which is below What he thinks Kahun might get in arbitration because he is not willing to pay him what he might get in arbitration. Kahun either takes the offer (or a counter-offer) tomorrow, or he walks betting he will get more on the open market. Its the old bird in the hand/two in the bush argument. What happens depends on how fair the offer is, how much Kahun likes the situation in Buffalo, and Kahun’s reading on the market for his services under a flat cap. Ballsy by Adams for sure, whether it’s stupid or not depends on the offers.

This. The other thing that might make sense is there is a more expensive player coming in and this is essentially a space creator. The Sabres still have more than $32 million in cap space with another 10 players to sign.

Erod not qualified either and Sheary won’t be re-signed. Talk about a nothing trade, all the pieces gone after what a dozen games?

Be interesting to see what these guys get in the open market. But I don’t see the sense in this at all.

What no one upset about Remi Elie also being cut?

Oh, I have strong opinions on your other opinions. 😁

I seriously have no opinion on this pick, or on anyone’s opinion of this pick. These guys are all Mark Adams to me until I start hoping they are Victor Olofssons before they turn into Tom Morrows. And I get your disappointment that the past two days haven’t re-lit the torch of hope.

I wouldn’t be so sure. From what I’ve seen there are a ton of 3rd-line arb-rights players around the league getting the same news. GMs would rather sign a UFA replacement for $1 million than risk paying them $3 million in arbitration.

So I was right? 😄

What was his QO?