Curt

You can add Thompson at RW, Pekar and Ruotsalainen at LW, Borgen at RD

We are now less than two weeks away from draft time. I have been looking into the players at the top of the draft and the possible Sabres selections at #7. I wanted to share my top of the draft rankings with everyone. I stopped at 13 because after that I was going to be getting into the defensemen who I haven’t looked at very deeply. So without further ado, here is my top 13. Love it, hate it, discuss it, enjoy it. TIER ONE 1) Hughes 2) Kakko TIER TWO 3) Byram 4) Turcotte 5) Dach TIER THREE 6) Zegras 7) Cozens 8) Newhook 9) Krebs TIER FOUR 10) Podkolzin 11) Boldy 12) Kaliyev 13) Caufield

That's entirely possible. I don't really know his KHL market. However he produced quite well during his time in the KHL, so even though his reputation in the NHL is not strong, he may still be highly regarded in Russia.

Big Dach fan here to chime in a little about the consistency issue. The origin of this issue/perception is that he didn’t produce hardly anything for a roughly 20 game stretch in the middle of this past season. I don’t think he was inconsistent on a game to game or shift to shift basis. I don’t know what was going on with him for that 20 game stretch. It could have been a health or personal issue, or he could have been putting too much pressure on himself, or it could have been mostly bad puck luck. Just wanted to clarify that he doesn’t have a long standing issue with consistency in his play. That makes a difference for me.

Hate saying it, because I don’t want Buffalo to draft him at #7, but maybe Caufield.

Yeah, if he goes to AHL or is loaned to another team, the cap relief is only partial (like in Moulson’s case). However, I believe that if Buffalo tries to send him to the AHL, there is a good chance that he decides to quite on the Sabres and go play in the KHL instead. This would void his contract and Buffalo would be off the hook. Right?

Do you know how much Sobotka was making in the KHL before he decided to return to the NHL a couple of years ago? The answer is $3M. The better players over there make a lot of money.

That’s only if he actually reports to the AHL. If he leaves for KHL instead, cost is $0.

Seems to be up in the air a bit. I can see why some think the skill set fits better on the wing. Personally, I think it could go either way. I don’t think he is going to be much of a playmaker though, so at C he would be a big 2-way guy who can score but not create at a high level. I’ve seen Ryan Kesler as a comp.

To ditch Sobotka, a better move would probably be to just waive him to the AHL. He would most likely just head back to Russia rather than report to Rochester.

I think you would need to send Nylander just to get a team to take Okposo’s contract. Nylander+Okposo starts you back at zero, then you need to add enough to trade for Zucker.

Personally, I have no idea. My hope is that the relationship between Jason and Ralph will be a highly collaborative one where input is passed back and forth freely, and respected. A partnership rather than two guys doing their jobs in silos.

Somewhat random thought: At the time of the Eichel signing, it was more than a lot of people wanted/expected, myself included. However we have seen the top RFA guys really get paid since then so it looks pretty good by comparison. I’m taking the optimistic view on the deal. One good thing about the team captain and #1C have that nice even $10M AAV, is that I think it sets the ceiling for the team. Especially if they can win some games. Dahlin’s contract may approach Eichel’s but will not surpass it. I’m doubtful that any Sabre will surpass it for the next 7 years. There is a certain value to that.

That’s how I took the statement as well. Smith didn’t really impress, but sometimes guys surprise. Looks like a AAAA guy, those guys do occasionally make good. Not expecting much from him, but not opposed to giving him another 15-20 game look in the bottom 6 if the opportunity is there. Worst case scenario, he is a good AHLer and occasional NHL fill in for the next few years. That’s nice from a player the team got for free.

Podkolzin maybe? I would not take him there, but some would.

Well......it’s done What I like about it: -Jeff Skinner is a Buffalo Sabre. -Jeff Skinner wants to be a Buffalo Sabre. That is important on so many levels. Important for the team and for the fan base. What I do not like about it: -The term and the $ are both a little more than ideal, but not terrible and I think that was just the price of business in this instance. -The full NMC for all 8 years. That could become a big deal at some point. But hey, Jeff Skinner is a Buffalo Sabre!

I think it depends on how you define “driving play”. Sometimes people define that as a player who can pick up the puck in the defensive/neutral zone and carry it into the offensive (which is super valuable btw). Sam does not do that a whole lot, certainly not as much as Eichel. I think people also need to keep in mind that Eichel is one of the very best players in the league at entering the zone with control. Reinhart makes plays in other ways that help the team move the play forward. If you look at a more statistical definition of “driving play”, Reinhart shows much better than just seeing who carried the puck into the zone.

I’ll give my 2 cents and ranking of these guys just for fun. 1) Turcotte - Top pick for me, but doubtful he falls to us, but I've 2 mock drafts where it happens. Great all around player. Great skating. Pushes the pace. Is tenacious. Good shot. Good playmaker. Good 2-way player. 2) Dach - Slightly bigger but slightly slower version of Cozens I have him right there with Turcotte and Byram. May have the highest upside in the entire draft with his combination of size, good ( but not great) skating, excellent playmaking, good shot, and even solid defensive play. 3) Zegras - More speedy playmaker then goal scorer. A smaller, slightly better skating, slightly more creative version of Dach. 4) Cozens - We need size, speed, skill and a physical player or two and Cozens fits that description. I don’t think he has the playmaking upside of those above. More of a power 2-way C or maybe power winger who goes hard to the net. Nice size, speed, and shot. 5) Boldy - Not a speedster, but we need scoring and he can bring it, but does everything else well as well. Skating is ok ( but not great). Does everything well. Pretty good shot, passing, size and D. Just doesn’t have the flashy skills though. 6) Caufield - best pure sniper in the draft. Fantastic shot. Great at finding the open space to be open to shoot. Ok skater. Ok passer. Size limits his effectiveness in some areas. Mostly a one dimensional player. Will he be able to find space and time against NHL players? I would have Byram up with Turcotte/Dach. I would have Krebs, Newhook, Podkolzin in there before Caufield.

I’m not a prospect expert, but I think that list by Button/TSN is pretty terrible. Not close to what my top 20-30 would be.

Agreed. I would be extremely surprised if either player was not on the 2019-20 roster. Honestly, they are both good enough to play on a good NHL team in a bottom 6/3rd pair role.

The entire NHL will begin tracking player movement this coming season. It’s not a question of IF Buffalo will do it. It’s a question of HOW they will use the data.

I’ve really come around on Dach lately. I initially thought his skating was only ok and that he played pretty slow. After watching more I think it’s mostly just an illusion caused by seeing a 6’4” guy take big long strides. I think his skating is quite good, with very good edges. He isn’t passive in the O-zone and does attack the defense. He forechecks and backchecks well. There are guys in that 3-12 range who play with more temp (Turcotte, Newhook, Podkolzin), but I think Dach plays a similar tempo and style to Zegras and faster than Boldy. I just see a really great package in Dach and I think he can play an up tempo game no problem. If Buffalo passes on Dach to take Boldy, I would be disappointed. If it was for Turcotte/Zegras/Cozens/Krebs/Podkolzin, then ok, I kind of get it. Note: I agree on Krebs. I like his solid all around game and leadership/motor. I think that he could have shown more high end skill on a better team. Turcotte is like a supercharged version of Krebs, but Krebs could be closer than I even realize.

I would be happy with Dach. Sky high upside. He has the potential to be a true #1C. 6’4” excellent playmaking center with good skating and a good shot. Having him and Eichel down the middle, plus Casey, could be something special. I have him ranked right there with Turcotte and Byram in the 3-5 range.

He didn’t participate in any of the physical testing. He was there for interviews only. It’s a little weird, but no big deal as far as I can see.

I listened to Bob McKenzie’s most recent podcast and heard something a little disappointing from him. He walked back his previous comments about the Skinner contract being close to complete a little bit. Clarifying that he just meant that this week the two sides have been meeting a lot and he thinks that the outcome will be decided soon. The outcome being either a contract agreement or a decision on Skinner’s side to go to UFA.