French Collection

Thanks for the correction. Sam was a bit older than his draft peers due to the late birthday. The majority of the picks in his draft year were 1996 kids, that is where I got mixed up. I was looking at Kirby Dach’s stats, 7G 7A this season with the Blackhawks. He was comparable to Cozens in junior. Many people would be complaining if the Sabres had kept Cozens and he was producing those numbers.

Reinhart was 19 for most of his draft season, November birthday. Cozens turns 19 more than halfway through his draft +1 season. Different playing styles but they do have similar numbers.

Cozens scoring rate in the last two years: 137 pts in 101 games, 1.36 ppg. Reinhart scoring rate in his last two WHL years: 170 pts in 107 games, 1.59 ppg. Dylan Cozens scoring rate should continue to climb this season and approach Sam’s.

Byfield didn’t dress. Pekar had a goal and two assists. He was on the 2nd line but PP1. He has a good shot, hustles and draws penalties. He wasn’t the high energy guy that I had watched before, but his team was cruising to an easy win. He’s not big but is stocky looking compared to a lot of these junior beanpoles. He is a possibility as a bottom six winger for the Sabres.

Going to watch Sudbury tonight. I’m interested in seeing Byfield again and how Pekar fits with a top C on his line. I’ve seen Pekar play, but not with an elite line mate. He has impressed me as an energy and PK guy. This role will be more offensively orientated. I’m still hoping for a Sabres playoff run but if they fall short I hope they get lucky in the lottery and have a shot at Byfield. Lafreniere would be excellent but there are some other good prospects in this draft.

I hope that whatever direction they go in, they are not tight up against the cap on opening night. Leave some wiggle room to make a move if necessary. Too many teams are at the magic number and it hampers any movement.

Finish off the Dad’s trip with a bang, Trash Nashville! They are not the Preds of years past, stay with the plan and play hard. Let’s go Buffalo!

Way to go boys! Only had the Dallas feed here, they said that club had not given up 3 goals in their last 9 games. That was a great effort, love it. Lazar with another strong showing. Size and skill.

Again, all I ask for is a strong effort. A win is great and keeps us interested in the playoff hunt. Let’s go Buffalo!

I’ll probably watch that one soon, love Deadpool.

The entire Tkachuk family has a history of playing on the edge and sometimes crossing the line. They don’t play for the Sabres so I don’t like them. Their type of toughness is face washing after whistles in a scrum that they initiated with questionable hits and trash talking. That is toughness in this version of the league, where there are no more hired guns. I do not want to go back to the gunslinger era due to player safety concerns and 3:00 players using cap space. I hope the DOPS is watching those kinds of hits closely. I love big hits but they need to be ‘clean’. The game is fast and the point of contact can change in a split second. Matthew T. needs to keep his head up because someone may return the favour in a similar fashion. I think the first hit was vicious because Kassian’s head was targeted. Raffi Torres’ hits were often like this. Kassian’s response was way over the top and rag dolling him without the multiple punches would have been enough to show the world that a big tough guy like MT won’t stand up for his actions. Calgary scored the game winner on the ensuing PP and that rubs salt into the wounds, which the Tkachuks love. They won, end of story in their minds.

Winning this one would be a building block to getting their confidence back. It has got to be Linus in net or we have no chance. Dahlin with 1G 1A on the PP. Let’s go Buffalo!

Best Austrian since Vanek.

This is where he belongs, the ECHL is clearly not enough of a challenge for him. Let’s hope JBOT makes the right goalie moves to give him plenty of games.

Too bad he didn’t play in the WJHC, Austria is not exactly a world power. I thought he was Swiss, but that is where he played before the OHL.

Dahlin with continued growth, 1G & 2A. Let’s go Buffalo!

Good, maybe Johansson will get a call to the big club and Hutton will...

Trying to sell it I guess.

Mojo elbow to the head by Pearson. Canucks broadcast says you need to watch who you’re out there with, Pearson plays a heavy game.

No problem, they are a much better team after the trade deadline, so their record should improve. Another solid addition is Brad Chenier, a Sudbury kid who is in his last year and was captain in North Bay. I’m not an OHL expert, just have season’s tickets for the North Bay Battalion, so we see a bunch of OHL hockey. My brother in law has ST for the Sudbury Wolves so I may check out more of their games.

Tanks for that info.

Just put in an effort and entertain me. Let’s go Buffalo!

Playing with Byfield will definitely help his stats. He is also an excellent PK guy, so if they use him there he will get tons of ice time. BTW Sudbury is not a very good team, just first in their division at 21-18. They have a great chance to advance to the Eastern Final which is why they are going for it. They are fourth overall in the East, Ottawa 67s are first at 30-6. You never know what can happen in the playoffs, Ottawa lost the OHL final last year against an underdog Guelph team.

I am not sure about the no trade clauses but I believe there is some protection for kids who are in high school. They and their families have a say. There could be similar protection for guys who attend university or college. I know a 16 year old kid who got traded from Saginaw to Barrie, he’s from near Barrie so it is a good fit for him.

Should’ve loaded up last year when they had UPL in net.