Curt

Reports are that Sabres have been looking into the goalie market pretty heavily.

Realistically, I think it’s pretty certain that he is going 2 or 3. I’m not convinced that he should rated so highly as to command such a steep trade price that you propose. I wouldn’t have him ranked any higher than 5th.

Some nice Sabres targets for 38 overall in there. Brisson (probably already gone), Foerster, Colangelo, Mysak, Kushnutdinov (my boy), Finley

Yeah, I agree, which is why this is so strange. Bob is very reputable, the most connected guy out there, and on the verge of retirement. He didn’t tweet this just to stir the pot and get a few followers. He doesn’t need that. He did his homework before tweeting this out. I guess the takeaway is just that he wanted fans to know that teams have called about Eichel. Even if the Sabres haven’t shown interest in making a trade. Not shocking with a new GM in charge that he might get calls just inquiring. I suppose it is newsworthy though.

The thing is, Bob didn’t tweet out the rumor, look into it further, then later clarify that it wasn’t anything of substance. He tweeted the whole thing, rumor and nothingburger, out all at the same time.

What do you like more about Holtz than Seth Jarvis or even Rodion Amirov? Im just going to answer my own question and say, the shot, it’s elite. I have several concerns about Holtz though. 1) His shot is elite, but I’m concerned that he does not create his own scoring chances and will be upon someone to create for him. 2) I think part of the reason he has been good as a prospect is that he seems to have been pretty physically mature for his age. He still has some growth left in this area, but probably not as much as a lot of other guys. 3) I don’t think he has any other standout skills apart from shooting. I worry that he will end up being a one dimensional player. 4) The Sabres already have a couple long term, top 6 wingers who are pretty one dimensional. I think that they should look to acquire more diverse skill sets. 5) I think the Sabres need to play with more determination and intensity. I don’t see Holtz as weak in these areas, but I don’t think he stands out either. For these reasons combined, I question what Holtz will be as a final product and I question his fit for the Sabres.

My point of view on Sabres picking at #8: Im going to assume, safely I think, that Lafrenière, Byfield and Stutzle are gone at 8. If you get to 8 and Rossi-C or Raymond-RW/LW are on the board, just run up and pick them. I don’t question anything about them as players. If those 5 are gone, it gets murkier for me. My top candidates at forward would be Perfetti, Lundell, and Jarvis. Perfetti, LW/C- highly skilled dynamic offensive player, great goal scorer and passer, great dangler and decision maker with the puck, fairly strong on his skates but on the slow side, Steve Kournianous described him as “a gentlemanly player”, I’m not certain how willing he is to really engage in the more grinding aspects of hockey Lundell, C- quintessential 200 ft C, smart responsible player in all 3 zones, considered a leader wearing an A this season as an 18yr old for his men’s league team, good passer with a great shot but does not flash as much dynamic high end puck skills as you might want to see from a top-10 pick, skating stride could improve a bit. Jarvis, RW/C- excellent goal scorer, creative playmaker and good decision maker with the puck, great skater who plays fast with the puck on his stick and with a lot of intensity in all 3 zones, but a little on the weak/slight side right now, made a big jump up this season and doesn’t have the years of sustained excellence that you usually see from top prospects. These are the guys I would target at #8. Other options that are reasonable but I don’t favor for Buffalo are Holtz RW, Drysdale RD, Sanderson LD, and dark horse top 10 option Rodion Amirov RW, I like him a lot.

I think it’s pretty strange that Bob tweeted this out at all. He tweeted the rumor and refuted the rumor all in one sweep. It’s not like the rumor was out there from other sources and Bob refuted it. Why did he tweet out a rumor that he investigated and found to not have merit? Like Dudacek said, Bob doesn’t need the clicks, so why is he even tweeting it at all?

Yeah, it’s definitely an issue that would affect his value, but players are able to come back from such things. Crosby for example went through a similar stretch in his career and came back good as ever.

I think you got your numbers mixed up. He does have some concussion health issues. Having a bad one in juniors and also missing all of 2019-20 with post concussion/migraine issues. Before that though he played 73 and 72 games in 2017-18 and 2018-19. He scored 30 and 31 points those years. Having 18 months off from competitive hockey could be just what he needed to heal.

I think it is. Some people are definitely better at it than others.

That’s fine, but “It’s not the team’s biggest problem. They’ll figure it out.” Isn’t really an opinion on what they should do to fill out the D group.

Things like work ethic and attitude are really important. A guy who isn’t willing to work as hard, off ice or on, is probably not going to improve or maximize his other skills as much as a harder working guy. Its really important and it’s why teams interview these players and scout their background, in addition to watching them play. Whats playing with an edge then? Point plays hard and works in all 3 zones, in the corners, in front of the net. He isn’t afraid to go to the tough areas.

Ok, maybe not the most pressing need, but it’s what we were talking about.

Yeah, any guy taken in top had better have work ethic, but I bet not all of them do have a great one. I would argue that work ethic, attitude and competitiveness are skills. What’s the relevance of Brayden Point? He does play with an edge, IMO.

Who are the 3 guys you want to play at LD then? Dahlin, McCabe, and ...............? You want to play Montour out of position again? Bring Scandella back? Play Jacob Bryson? Right now, there are only 2 LD on the roster.

I don’t get your meaning. Will Lundell end up a better passer than those more dynamic passers that I listed?

Who are the 3 LD who you would like to play?

Yeah, he is. He just isn’t as dynamic a playmaker as some other top prospects, such as Lafreniere, Rossi, Raymond, Perfetti, Stutzle, Jarvis.

Ugh, I’m sure he put thought into it. With a 10 team list and 30 other teams, you can’t put on every team that might make a trade.

Lundell you are talking about? He was 18, really 17 most of the season. Was he the #1 C on his team? He sure wasn’t the top scorer. More like the 7th leading scorer.

I think if Raymond was playing in the CHL, he would lit it up while playing a good 200 ft game and producing a cool highlight reel. He would have been able to show more impressive skill against 16-20 year olds instead of the 30 yr old men he played against. And of course, produced more inspiration.

I think in situations like this, the player makeup and hockey IQ really comes into play. I do think that Lundell has a little less playmaking skill and skating than some others guys. The question is, will his hockey IQ be good enough that he will be able to keep making all the right decisions as the game speeds up around him? Will he have to work ethic to improve that skating? If the answers are no, you end up with a Lazar or Zacha. If yes, you end up with a O’Reilly or Kopitar. In my opinion, drafting Lundell is betting on his hockey IQ and work ethic.

Going off this theoretical idea of what Adams wants: I don’t know if any of the projected top-10 type picks have shown themselves to have work ethic issues, however, I do think certain guys stand out for their on ice work ethic/edge. Lafrenière, Rossi, Raymond, Lundell, Jarvis are the Forwards I would highlight as excelling in these areas.

Why? His best skills are PP, which Buffalo doesn’t need. Buffalo needs someone steady on defense who can contribute on the PK. I don’t see him as a good fit.