French Collection

I saw Nylander go into a corner once. He is the reincarnation of Inge Hammarstrom.

I have now tabulated results for 32 mock drafts. The majority of them are from known sources and some are from obscure sources who have been putting these lists out for a while. I am just trying to get a broader spectrum than say Corey Pronman and Bob McKenzie. Some of them have 32 players while a few go 100+ players deep. I am more concerned with the first round and then potential first rounders so players I track need to be on half of the lists to date (16/32). I have around 49 players on my list so that gives me a decent feel for the range of the Sabres potential first three picks. Anyway, I check out this app occasionally, which does a similar thing. https://piyer97.shinyapps.io/NHLDraft2023/ Most of the players are very close to my data but there are a few discrepancies. The largest ones are: App. My data E.Sale 13.4 17.2 B.Yager 13.5. 18.1 R.Leonard 13.6 8.2 D.Reinbacher 16.1 10.9 G.Perreault 21.1 15.7 T.Willander 30.7 20.5 K.Halttunen 33.5 40.6 We obviously use a lot of similar lists but these few stand out. I’ll see what happens when a few more come out and others like McKenzie and Bukala update theirs.

Leafs core 4 is the reincarnation of Bob Baun.

He falls a lot during battles but he engages and wins a lot of them with shiftiness and deception. Once he gets stronger he will physically hold his own and win the majority of battles.

Listened to a segment of Kyper and Bourne. I used to dislike Kypreos when he first joined the media, he struggled with vocabulary and seemed like a loudmouth trying to find an audience. He is way more polished now and has some thought provoking depth to some of his conversations. He is in the Toronto market and is not afraid to criticize the Leafs as well. He was talking about the character of Vegas and how they have cultivated it in their short time. He said you can bring outsiders into a strong group and get more from all of them. I immediately thought of Eichel. He said the Leafs have the wrong approach because their core has a certain mindset and then management brings in character guys at the deadline year after year (Spezza, Giordano, O’Reilly etc..) who are great guys but can’t change the culture in that short of a period and are unable to make a large impact because of that. Bourne said the same thing bout Winnipeg, there is something off about the culture in their room. Kyper said it takes character to find character. I like the fact that KA is cultivating a culture with the Sabres that the players love. I think this is a big part of sustainable success. This seems to be taking forever but there is progress and future looks brighter. I’ll again point out that some great young players signing long term for less than the maximum amount is great for the team in multiple ways. More money for others, more talent can be acquired and more of a team mindset than 20 peons looking at a high priced superstar as the saviour.

The rain and cool weather have kept the forest fires in check. That weather has provided perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes.

You are right about the physical toll on Florida. They came out hard vs Boston and actually set the tone, physically in that series. Maurice said that the majority of their injuries were sustained in that series. Hitting hurts both the hitter and the recipient. Vegas doesn’t back away from any physical contact but they didn’t go round chasing people. They seemed to have that marathon vs sprint mindset to pace themselves and last through the war of attrition. Their cup winning veterans were key elements in keeping their heads in the game and looking at the big picture.

The three long time core guys have probably opposed going anywhere else to win one last Cup. They figure they are lifers in Pittsburgh and can stay and keep winning there. Reality bites sometimes.

And Dahlin’s buddy. Maybe he takes another developmental bump this year and we see what his ceiling is.

Dubas said he was going to be GM for a while. I think he hires 3-4 AGMs and promotes one down the road. He’s just as big as Shanny now, he wants to keep the power for himself as long as possible.

Benson is super talented but fits into the Rosen, Savoie, Östlund and Kisakov group, size wise. I would probably take him but then at least one D at 39 & 45. Could trade some of those little guys for 4D types later.

I just watched the Jackie Redmond interview with Kessel. “I hope I don’t throw up”. He is still a kid at heart, wanting to party hard.

I don’t see him as top four. He stays back and is very physical but has lost a step. He’s also 33, risky for anything beyond 2 years.

That one is on the media, trying to stir something up. I’m sure not all of the sports media at the time were in favour of the surgery he chose.

Willander has been moving up some lists, he could go earlier than I expect. I wouldn’t take him at 13 either. I agree on ASP, the Sabres need more Simashev/Reinbacher types. They may not score as much but they take care of the defensive part of the game allowing Dahlin and Power to roam freely.

Thee are a lot of unknowns with Simashev, most of the scouting has been done by video. I doubt any GMs, AGMs or head scouts have gone to Russia for any firsthand views. I like the size and the potential. It sounds like he is already a really good skater so there is a solid foundation in place. The analytics people and video interviews will help determine where he goes. There are a variety of forwards available at 13, it will be interesting to see who the Sabres take. C, W, high skilled, power, 200’, fast?

Jack’s two turns at the World Juniors, 2014 and 2015, were non winning teams. They were knocked out in quarterfinals both years by Russia. Finland won gold in 2014 while Canada won in 2015.

Another example of a different way to build a winner. Vegas had a lot of guys with Cup experience. Tampa and Colorado had 1 or 2 but were mostly homegrown cores with some trades for grit, depth. Pietrangelo, Martinez, Stephenson, Kessel, Barbashev, Quick and McNabb provided tons of experience and knowledge in how to get it done. Vegas has a short history so the draft was not their chosen route, Hague being their only pick on the roster. Vegas was always going to be a popular destination for players and now they have a winning organization to add to the attraction. The way they cast aside Fleury and Pacioretty seemed cold but no one seems to bring that up now.

Smasher!

So far KA’s long term contracts have been fair, even leaning towards team friendly. We shall see what Dahlin gets but my guess is like most, 8x$10M. This, imho, would be another fair deal. Rasmus could play hardball and get close to $12M. It is his team and there is a good chance he gets the C to go along with the biggest deal once KO is gone. Power’s ceiling is Norris contender but Dahlin will get there first and anchor PP1 which means he will get the lion’s share of points for Dmen. Points are still the biggest factor in Norris voting and that may hold Power back. Power could fit into the Pronger, Doughty category where not just points but possession, physical play and defensive dominance gets him some serious consideration. The other thing that can happen is an injury to Dahlin where Power takes over PP1 and gets a pile of points. I can see a scenario where no one makes more than Dahlin, even with the cap going up. It can be an artificial ceiling for a few contracts, that players abide by, to build a contending team. Eventually, someone will pass that amount and it could be Power. I want to see these guys get fairly compensated but keep the big picture in view. You can have more good players and championship runs if the almighty dollar is not the ultimate goal. I will once again use the Leafs as the poster team for giving max $$ to a few and finding scraps to fill in the rest.

Ryan Kennedy from The Hockey News top 120 list. https://apple.news/AgkjVADkUQtODf1AbkaG4-g

This takes the sting out of being dumped at the deadline for Quick.

Brady Tkachuk has his brother and Mark Stone in his wedding party.

His pass leads to the SH goal. Eric Staal on PP2?

The existing rink for sure, I don’t know if LeBreton Flats was to be part of it. I think that has a different owner that was going to partner with Melnyk in developing it.