DarthEbriate

So... a mcavoy? 😇 Definitely an option at 28 if they've already nabbed a couple forwards.

And Rosen can see it for himself as well. The Rasmuses and VO can give him guidance on the transition in gameplay and living situations. VO dominated in the SHL and still needed AHL time for the ice surface and increase in suddenness.

Nope, you're correct. To @Brawndo you must listen, not me. For timeline: Leading ROC D-scorer Redmond left 4/26/20 for the DEL. It was reported Pilut signed in KHL on 5/27 and it was confirmed he was gone 6/9/20. Now, you could argue that Pilut could've easily been given a 1-way contract as our 7D because the 7th D that 2020 season was Matt Irwin. Down in ROC, Samuelsson had signed his 3-yr ELC earlier in the spring. JBott signed Laaksonen to his 3-yr ELC on 6/15. JBott was fired the next day as part of the great purge.

Aren't you a little short(er) than your team's roster had you listed? I'm wondering if he makes it past Ottawa's pick.

I knew Hodgson led the team in scoring once and he was definitely near the lead when he was healthy in other seasons. But I couldn't tell you if that would have been the 12-13 or 14-15 season.

Counterpoint: Pilut correctly identified that Coach Krueger was garbage and that any NHL franchise for which he was head coach was a bantha poodu franchise as well as a dearth to any offensive defensemen and their future earnings potential. His leaving the team in the 2020 summer offseason was the 2nd step (actually, Zach Redmond was the first to get the hell out of here) in GM Sheevyn and Donny Meatballs confirming that Krueger could not be trusted with the future of Dahlin and any other offensive-minded player. Pilut helped save this franchise. He's been beaten out by Bryson. But for the Amerks, he's good. One engaged season and he can be a free agent. That's good motivation.

None of these are developmental: I'd definitely look at re-signing Jankowski and Malone. Heck, see the Amerks would offer a rich AHL contract to Malone. Don't forget Bjork after he passes through waivers if either JJP or Quinn make the Sabres out of camp or soon after.

Fitz is signed next season. He has to make it through waivers, but that's pretty likely as every team has a tweener or two and GMs rarely pluck each other's tweener except in COVID/injury bugs (as we did to get Wolanin, and then he immediately went back to his old team). He'd be the top-pair RHD. Ryan Johnson's camp should be clamoring for him to sign. No NHL franchise is just going to hand him NHL minutes, but here in Buffalo the only person he has to currently beat out to get to the NHL is Bryson. In the AHL he'd be able to start out battling for top pair minutes.

Contract spots and playing time. I don't want to end up with 2 goalies still on 3-year ELC deals down in Cincinnati without trade value because I felt good about them the previous years and now they've been supplanted by a new pick/someone coming up from NCAA/Europe to Rochester. Every other year keeps a full pipeline as long as I find one NHL-caliber goalie that I re-sign his RFA years. Now -- all this to say, the Sabres have nothing in the pipeline beyond UPL right now (Levi and Portillo aren't even on ELCs yet). If there's ever a stretch to draft 2 goalies in the same draft or to do a back-to-back this year and next with the surplus of picks... now's the time.

I cheated and looked it up because I was worried it was going to somehow be Risto by a point. It's not Risto.

If a planet country does not appear in our records, it does not exist. I subscribe to the goalie-every-other-year (unless one knocks your socks off) draft policy. There are only so many contract spots available.

That's William von Barnekow-Løfberg. 😇 The man needs his Løfberg. Looking at the 2021-22 numbers at J20: Rosen had 9 pts/8 games 1.125 ppg. WVB-L had 31 pts/27 gp for 1.148 ppg. The difference would be Rosen scoring 9.2 points in those 8 games. That's negligible in the sample size. For their entire J20 careers, Rosen has 0.98 ppg (58 gp) to WVB-L's 0.92 (60 gp). In the SHL in 2021-22, Rosen had 4 points in 28 games; WVB-L had 0 points in 27 games. Neither of them are getting meaningful minutes or linemates. I'd spin it around and say, it's pretty cool that William von Barnekow-Løfberg is performing as well as a 1st. He could be a diamond in the Løfberg.

He's been out-flown (ha, pilot puns!) by Antipin Bryson as the nifty smallish puckhandler guy. But if Pilut is game for it, the Amerks could use a PP guy if Prow is only on the one-year contract plan. And he could always catch on elsewhere after waivers.

They're coming in! Two markers late in the second.

As others have said, Lambert is a no go for me at 9 or 16, or even 28. He doesn't appear to model the culture that GM Sheevyn and Darthy Meatballs are trying to establish. If the 9 is a homerun (somebody you love falls because Detroit goes against the grain like they did with Seider), then maybe you take a riskier pick (Miroshnichenko) at 16 or 28 (if he's there). I doubt he makes it to 28 because you'll be amongst playoff teams who are good and will be good and can afford to take a mid-to-late 1st flier on him.

+The goals... they've stopped. -Stabilize your rear deflectors. Watch for shooting McDavids.

Yeah, he's already Weissbach-sized. Now... he's 5 years younger than Weissbach and so I don't expect him to produce for the Amerks like Weissbach did in his rookie season (16-21-37 in 67 GP) because he'll need to adapt to new ice, a new life, etc. But with a couple years of AHL grooming and filling out as he becomes an adult, I expect he'll start looking really good in that Amerks sweater and the fans of Rochester will be sad to see him go.

This is one I know! Brad Navin is from only 45 minutes from my hometown. Never amounted to much of anything in the Sabres org. But as a 7th that wasn’t a surprise.

It did not. It did however help me research through Eliteprospects and find him. Now I feel bad... he was a T-Bird and I've seen him play back in the day. But even in EA NHL14 and the Sabres/Amerks lack of center depth I don't think his avatar got much playing time.

I wrote that in first... but then deleted it and spelled it out because I didn't know the story behind the nickname. JC.... No idea. Armia, Catenacci. Was Jerome Gauthier-Leduc a 2011?

Star Wars Celebration is teasing everything and yes I'll watch them all. Willow, too. Because I don't love her; she kicked me in the face. But tonight...tonight is Goodfellas. RIP Ray Liotta.

A communications disruption can mean only one thing.... Invasion! (or hopefully the Amerks scored and the place went insane with joy)

I walk away to make dinner for 10 minutes (5 minutes of game action) and... what the what!

Catenacci?