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OhMyDahlin

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Posts posted by OhMyDahlin

  1. Sheldon Keefe.

    He wins everywhere he goes, and he continues to win with the Marlies despite constantly losing his best players to the Leafs.


     

    “I’m a guy that asks a lot of the players, expects a lot of the players,” said Keefe. “But at the same time, (I) try to focus on my role and focus on the individual player, and recognize my role in development. Sometimes the two can counteract one another and you have to keep things in perspective. Sometimes it’s a little more individual than team philosophy and I try to find that balance, but ultimately you want to respect your guys and at the same time give them the freedom and ability to be themselves and let their skill come out and try to help them find their way.”
    https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2017/05/14/marlies-coach-sheldon-keefe-tries-to-balance-minor-league-life-with-major-goals.html

    Players love playing for the guy too...
    https://theathletic.com/686504/2018/12/03/current-and-former-marlies-on-how-sheldon-keefe-develops-players-and-set-a-franchise-record-along-the-way/

    "Today, Keefe’s players and colleagues, past and present, characterize him as an intense coach, a master of offence and detail, and someone who knows the game as well as anyone."
    https://theathletic.com/233808/2018/02/16/the-marlies-master-of-detail-how-head-coach-sheldon-keefe-has-led-the-leafs-ahl-affiliate-to-historic-heights/

     

    “I’ve been around for a little bit, but I feel this is probably the most I’ve grown in the seven years that I’ve played,” said Brennan, 27. “To me, that’s all the credit towards the coaching staff and Sheldon. He’s done a great job. He demanded respect right away and never settles for less than the best out of us. He’s always expecting a little bit more and has high expectations. He’s a great coach and I’ve really loved playing for him.”

    Added Frattin: “He’s very knowledgeable in games and he can kind of sense how the game is going (and) switch things up.”

    https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/jrhockey-buzzing-the-net/sheldon-keefe-brings-winning-touch-to-marlies-job--leafs-system-165851668.html


    “The biggest change for the Greyhounds was in the style of player which was appealing to Kyle. The way it worked out, it’s become the same type of player I’m attracted to and see value in. So our visions aligned,” says Keefe.

    “For us, the value of speed and skill and hockey sense would far outweigh any physical attributes. We wanted people who have the ability to make plays and have speed.

    “The foundation is the understanding that when we carried the puck over the blue line offensively, we created more offence,” he says. “Within that, we understood there was a correlation between carrying puck over our own blue line and how it influenced what we could do at the other team’s blue line, so we worked on different schemes and mechanisms to do that. After that, it just made sense we had to try and prevent the opposition from doing the same. I’ve enjoyed watching it a lot. It’s been fun to see the whole thing develop.”
    https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2015/03/27/sheldon-keefe-builds-second-career-out-of-second-chance.html


    There are so many articles about him that I could post...but the guy can develop players, he relates to young players, he is all about creating offense and he knows how to accomplish that with his teams, and he's always trying to prove the people who hired him right.

    “Much of my motivation on a daily basis is to prove those people right.”



    (Someone is going to hire this guy and get a great, young coach...I wish the Sabres would jump at the chance.)

     

  2. On 3/14/2019 at 3:27 PM, sweetlou said:

    Interesting conversation on Instigators this morning...so who in the locker is there to hold other players accountable. I believe Okposo and Hutton are the only vets willing to step up and say something. Their play on the ice has diminished and productivity has slipped lending to their voice not having much power any more.

    Larssonand Sobotka to me are still  bums and need to go.

    Girgensons shows signs of being a solid 4th liner, but not much else.

    Wilson I believe can be a voice that can demand respect because he plays every shift hard and is fearless.

    ERod plays hard but is soft on the body.

    Sheary hustles but sometimes puts himself out of position.

    Tage and Mitts show flashes but are too inconsistent to be in the NHL right now.

    Skinner, Eichel, Reinhart, and Pomminstein are who we expect them to be.

    Risto plays the body well on rushes and after the whistle but is often out of place in the defensive zone.

    Bogo and McCabe are solid but get hurt because no one else sacrifices their body like them

    Scandella is soft, doesn't tie up players or play the body.

    Montour and Hunwick seem solid but haven't seen enough to judge.

    Nelson plays positionally well defensively but also does not play physical.

     

    UFA options-

    another physical stay at home d- replace Scandella. (MCQuaid would be an interesting 1 year 2 million idea)

    Need another veteran grinder for 4th line. (Tanev for 2 years at 3 million AAV)

    Physical RW to play with Jack. ( I would overpay Simmonds on a 3 year 6 million AAV, or Ferland on a 5 year 5 million AAV)

     

     

     

    Throw Bogosian, Scandella, WIlson and Hunwick in with Larsson and Sobotka...Hutton too.

    I can't stand any of them, and I can't wait until they are replaced...they're not good enough.

    On good teams, Bogosian and Scandella would be 6th/7th defensemen...Wilson, Hunwick, Larsson and Sobotka would be in the AHL, or depth players that sat in the pressbox at best. (Hutton would be nothing more than a backup.)

    EDIT: Throw Okposo in that group too.

  3. Where is Johnny Walker from ASU? Kid is a natural goal-scorer. I'd love to pick him up. He's 2nd in the NCAA in goals, right behind Diego Cuglietta.

    Josh Teves, the defenseman from Princeton, is another one.

    And Erik Brown from RIT would be good depth for Rochester in the playoffs if they could get him to sign an AHL deal. (46 goals in his last 70 games.)

    The Sabres should try to get a goal-scorer and a goalie, at the very least.

  4. On 3/5/2019 at 7:43 PM, dudacek said:

    All I've been reading here lately is Housley is awful. Scandella is awful. We have to trade Risto. And Botterill is sleeping.

    Scandella, yes, he's awful...I think Bogosian is too.

    But I think Ristolainen could be a very good 2nd-pairing defenseman...the problem is, Housley overuses him because there are not enough good defensemen on this team yet. (Being paired with guys like Gorges and Scandella hasn't helped either.)

    I think in a couple years Dahlin-Borgen, Pilut-Ristolainen, Samuelsson-Montour could be a very good top-6.

    Eventually Laaksonen could replace Ristolainen when his contract is up...Dahlin-Borgen, Samuelsson-Montour, Pilut/Bryson-Laaksonen.

    It'd be nice if we got lucky like Nashville and Anaheim (among other teams) have in the past with our defensive prospects turning into quality players.

  5. I think next offseason will be the "we're ready to go for it" offseason...

    Coming off the books: Bogosian, Scandella, Sobotka, Sheary, Wilson, Hunwick, Nelson.

    2020 projected cap space: $53.6M (Minus: Skinner, Rodrigues, McCabe, Ullmark, Smith, plus maybe O'Regan, Malone, and Dougherty.)

    2020 RFA's: Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Montour, Thompson, Olofsson, Pilut. (Maybe: Oglevie, Hickey, and Johansson.)

    *Dahlin will be one year from the end of his ELC, so he will be extended long-term.

    At that point, all of the core players will be locked up long-term, and the dead-weight will be gone...it will (SHOULD!) be the team Botterill wants.


    (***The rest is me just kind of thinking out-loud.***)

    Decisions are needed this summer on prospects: Fitzgerald, Brown, Hurley, Chukarov, and Willman. (The only decision is Fitzgerald, I think he leaves.)
    Decisions will be needed next summer on: Bryson, Glotov, and Nyberg. (The only decision is Bryson, I think he signs this summer.)
    Decisions in the summer of 2021 will be needed on: Davidsson, Laaksonen, Murray, and Weissbach. (Davidsson and Laaksonen will be signed before then.)
    Decisions in the summer of 2022 will be needed on: Cronholm, Kukkonen, Samuelsson, and Kreu. (Samuelsson will be signed before then.)

    So, let's say in the summer of 2020 the players under contract will be:

    Forwards: Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Thompson, Rodrigues, Nylander, Olofsson, Asplund, Smith, Davidsson, Pekar. (Maybe O'Regan, Oglevie, and Malone.)
    Defense: Dahlin, Ristolainen, Montour, McCabe, Borgen, Pilut, Samuelsson, Laaksonen, Bryson. (Maybe Hickey and Dougherty.)
    Goalies: Ullmark, Luukkonen, Hutton
    (*I think they find a way to get rid of Okposo within two years, probably to Seattle with a draft pick...or, simply, a buyout.)
    (**Cronholm and Weissbach sign in the summer of 2021...all the rest of those unsigned prospects walk.)

    That's 25-30 players, depending on O'Regan, Hickey, Oglevie, Dougherty, and Malone...so they have a lot of room to make additions between now and next summer.

    EDIT: No trades were taken into account, obviously those would play a factor too. (Ie. Ristolainen, Nylander, etc.)

  6. The lack of quality prospects on this team is scary.

    They're going to need cheap talent once they extend Skinner, Dahlin, Reinhart, Mittelstadt, Montour, and whomever else they get.

    People killed Murray for trading 1st round picks, now it's okay for Botterill to do it? And saying it's okay because it's in the 20's is an easy excuse, given some very good (some great) players have been found in the 20's in recent years. Shea Theodore, Anthony Mantha, Andre Burakovsky, David Pastrnak, Kasperi Kapanen, Nick Schmaltz, Robby Fabbri, Colin White, Brock Boeser, Travis Konecny, Anthony Beauvillier, Jack Roslovic, Jacob Larsson (who made Montour expendable in Anaheim), Dennis Cholowski, Henrik Borgstrom, Max Jones, Brett Howden, Sam Steel, Robert Thomas, Filip Chytil, Ryan Poehling, Henri Jokiharju, Eeli Tolvanen, Klim Kostin (who made Tage Thompson expendable in St. Louis), and it's a guarantee that some from the 2018 and 2019 drafts will join this list. (I would take any one of these players.)

    I'm happy to get a decent RHD. I'm okay giving up Guhle to get a decent RHD. But I am not happy giving up a 1st round pick for a decent 2nd-3rd pairing RHD.

    • Like (+1) 2
  7. 17 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

    This first post is post the Montour trade. Status at end of 2019-20 in ( ), except unsigned players ( ) shows current status.

    Forwards signed (7) - Jack, Wilson (UFA), Samson (RFA), Sheary (UFA), Sobotka (UFA), Mitts (RFA), and Thompson (RFA) - $23,050,000

    If KO plays that's 8 forwards for $29,050,000.

    When Skinner re-signs (I'm thinking 8 for $68 mill) - That's 9 forwards for 37,550,000.

    Unsigned players other then Skinner - ERod (RFA), Z (RFA), Larry (RFA), Smith (RFA)

    Other internal players of note - Olofsson (RFA), Nylander (1 year left)

    Defense signed (8) - Ristolainen, Bogo (UFA), Montour (RFA), Scandella (UFA), Hunwick (UFA), Dahlin, Pilut (RFA) and Nelson (UFA) - $21,917,857

    Unsigned - Baloo (RFA) and McCabe (RFA)

    Others - Borgen  (1 year left)

    Goalies signed (1) - Hutton - 2.75

    Unsigned - Ullmark (RFA)

    I'm going to assume KO is done and he and his cap hit go to LTIR.  That puts us at 8 forwards (with Skinner ) for $31,550,000, 8 D for $21,917857 and 1 G for 2,750,000 which totals $59,372,857 for 17 players - with 6 "key" RFAs to re-sign.  However if Baloo and McCabe are re-signed, that means two currently signed D have to go.  No team is carrying 10 D.  

    This points to someone like Baloo, Scandella or McCabe being traded at this deadline because of the 10 D, 6 are LHD which is 2 to many.

    The cap also has plenty of room to add a quality forward/center and still re-sign guys like Samson and Montour at the end of the season.

    Also it should be noted that for 2020-2021 we only currently have 4 players (without KO) under contract; Jack, Dahlin, Hutton and Ristolainen.

    Skinner isn't signing for anything below $9M per year...especially after Stone just got $9.5M on an 8-year deal.

  8. 1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

    With just a couple of days til the deadline what will Jbot actually do?

    Is he a buyer or seller at the deadline or both?

    Will there be a blockbuster deal?  Or Will we only see a couple of small deals? Nothing at all? Deals to bolster the Amerks? 

    I think the answer comes down to his mindset.  Can he salvage this season? If he thinks so maybe he actually makes a big deal for a Kevin Hayes or Coyle to get us the center we need. Maybe he’s also thrown in the towel and will start bringing up kids to see if they can contribute.  This means he’s a seller and guys like Baloo or even Nelson could be traded. 

    Its funny but I really have no idea what he is going to do.  Scandella’s and KO’s injuries changes the situation somewhat.  I thought Scandella or Baloo might be traded but now I’m not so sure. 

    The good news is that the next couple of days have some drama for the Sabres.  It will give us a clue as to what Jbot thinks about this team.  Also with back to back games at the deadline I suspect any moves with the Sabres need to be done ASAP.

    Coyle was traded, so take him off your list...Botterill should've traded for Coyle and Neiderreiter, who were traded for peanuts.

    As for the Amerks, they don't need help...they will get it in the form of Mittelstadt, Thompson, Smith and Pilut. (Plus Nylander, Criscuolo, and Malone will be back from injuries.)

  9. I think we'd be much better with O'Reilly...Kane, I loved his game, but he wasn't sticking around here.

    O'Reilly would be much happier on this team since it's more competitive. Anybody who thinks this team is better because O'Reilly is gone, is crazy. This team is better because Eichel and Reinhart have taken steps in their development, Skinner is here, the goaltending is improved, the defense with Dahlin is improved, the special teams are better, there's an actual 4th line on most nights that plays well, Bogosian and McCabe are healthy, the defense is scoring goals, there is more depth, Rodrigues has started to break out, and they can win in shootouts and overtime.

    Skinner - Eichel - Reinhart
    Sheary - O'Reilly - Pominville
    Smith - Mittelstadt - Rodrigues
    Girgensons - Larsson - Okposo

    McCabe - Ristolainen
    Dahlin - Bogosian
    Scandella - Nelson/Pilut

    Ullmark - Hutton

    I think that would be a much better team.

    (And if Thompson was a player that Botterill really wanted, find another way to get him and put him in Rochester.)

  10. 13 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

    This might be the most played out argument on hockey forums. Go look at Edmonton, they have a bunch of guys who "hit". How's Vegas doing this year? They have the top 2 hitters in the league. The team isn't whimpy. They lack talent not toughness. 

    Vegas is in 2nd place in the Western Conference with 58 points, 2 points out of 1st place. (Tied for 3rd place in the entire NHL.)

  11. People are going to pick Skinner because they simply don't like Kane.

    But, Kane can and does stick up for his teammates, and he plays a heavy game...while scoring the same amount of goals.

    I'm worried this team is going to get pushed around.

    (In an ideal world, you keep Kane and bring in Skinner/Sheary.)

    • Like (+1) 2
  12. Kane and Skinner is a wash...but I'll take O'Reilly over the package they got for him every single time. (*Tage Thompson better be VERY GOOD.)

    They should've tried giving O'Reilly a winger like Skinner or Sheary before they gave up on him.

    (It's just weird how soon people forget that O'Reilly was mentoring the kids every day after practice, then they found their egos and stopped showing up.)

  13. For what it's worth, here's some tidbits on Jack Hughes that I've seen in a magazine...

    A write-up I saw on him said, "Supposed to be with the U-17's, but such an offensive dynamo that he centers the top line on the U-18's. He's too fast for opponents and he's torching the USHL."

    A scout said, "He's electric, the next Patrick Kane. Undeniable vision and creativity. Best player on the U-18's. Overcomes his lack of physical strength with his skating and smarts."

    As for the 3 first round picks, I would either keep our pick and trade the other two to move up, or just use all three.  My targets would be Nolan Foote (LW), Kaapo Kakko (LW) or Alex Turcotte (Center) in the top-10. Nobody is trading the right to draft Jack Hughes. Peyton Krebs is another LW, but I like the other two due to their size. If I was going to trade two of them, it would be to move into the top-10 for another one of these kids, assuming the Sabres' is in the top-10. I wouldn't mind a top-pairing RHD either, a future partner for Dahlin.

    (I'd also love to see the Sabres snag Spencer Knight (G) next year, in the 2nd round...I think he's going to be an absolute stud.)

    Either way, I'm excited how the future is shaping up...I look forward to watching this all come together.

    (And I'm REALLY happy to see that the Amerks are mostly going to be a young team like Toronto and Syracuse, I'm thinking about getting season tickets again.)

  14. Some of you are jumping way ahead of yourselves...

    Reinhart having a good tournament didn't translate to the NHL, because after two very solid years he's having a bad year while being screwed around and inserted all over the lineup?

    Nylander having a good tournament hasn't translated so far because he had one uninspiring season as an 18 year old in the AHL, and he hasn't blown the roof off after a long-term injury as a 19 year old?


    Should we want expectations to be met immediately? Sure. But not that many players do such a thing, and most don't fully show what they are going to be until they are 23-24 years old.


    As for our past draft picks, most of them aren't even old enough to be in the AHL yet, or they have now just gotten there. Guhle and Asplund seem like great 2nd round picks. Fitzgerald and Pu could be very good 3rd round picks. Borgen in the 4th round. Hagel in the 6th round could be a steal. Olofsson in the 7th could be an even bigger steal. Cornel, Johansson, Stephens, Budik and Glotov are all still too young to truly make a call on them.

     

    We won't know for 2 more years or so who they really are as NHL players.

    William Karlsson was a 2nd round pick in 2011, and now in 2017 he is finding who he is and has become a hell of a player...up until now he had not really done much with 50 points in 183 NHL games and 33 points in 61 AHL games.

    Vladislav Namestnikov was a 2011 1st round pick who just now, at 25 years old, is breaking out into being a top-6 player. (He only had 79 points in his first 201 NHL games before this season.)

    Give these kids time...and in the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

    (The one thing this team does need to do better is find the next Panarin or Donskoi, or the next Zaitsev...keep mining for players overseas.)

  15. I was watching Alex Iafallo play for LA the other day and I was wondering why we didn't make a play for the Eden NY native.  As we have learned this season (and last). you can't have enough depth in your system.  In recent years we have signed college FAs like Smith and Nelson while making offers to Vesey and Caggiula.  It seems that Iafallo, a 6'0" center with a very similar college career to Caggiula, didn't even get a look from Jbot this past summer despite our lack of any pro level center prospects and Jbot's affection for college players.

     

    This lead me to wonder again if we scout enough locally. It's a question I've wondered about ever since DR drafted a Swedish D in the first round when local kid and son of Sabres legend Mike Foligno, Nick Foligno, was still on the board in 2006.  WNY has produced it's share of excellent NHLers.  Kane, obviously tops the list, but Orpik, Dustin Brown, Callahan, the Gionta Brothers, the Foligno boys, Stempniak, Eric Cole, Tim Connolly, and Marchant are all from Buffalo to Syracuse, yet none of these players, except Marcus Foligno was ever drafted by the Sabres.  With so much good local youth hockey from Erie PA (the OHL Otters) to South Ontario and WNY you'd think the local team would uncover a local gem or two, but that has never happened.

     

    Admittedly we have had local kids on and off over the years such as Kaleta, Connolly, Tim Kennedy, Rory Fitzpatrick and Nichols boys Peter Ciavaglia and Scott Thomas.  Connolly's 464 games with the Sabres tops the locals with Kaleta edging Marcus Foligno 348 games to 347 for 2nd and 3rd.  Gionta played 230.  

     

    While I understand the place a prospects/player is from can't be the primary factor on whether or not to sign, draft or otherwise acquire someone, I think it should be part of the Sabres's process. In fact, when drafting, when deciding between two players, maybe the local ties should be significant factor in breaking the tie.  Since college FAs are a bit of a crap shoot anyway, the local ties should also hold some sway.  Why do I think this?  The Sabres are a significant part of the identity of the Buffalo community.  TP's emphasis on making Buffalo one of the top hockey destinations for the world is working.  From the Combine to the World Jrs, TP has done a masterful job.  Now the NHL franchise needs to succeed, but wouldn't it be nice if local kids like Malone and Bailey are part of the that success.  Also the Sabres serve as a goal for the local youth hockey player.  

    It's going to happen again since Jason Botterill took Oskari Laaksonen over David Farrance.

     

    Laaksonen better be a stud, because I would bet that Farrance turns into one.

     

    (And it's no surprise that, of all the teams, the Predators drafted Farrance four spots after the Sabres took Laaksonen.)

  16. This team does not have enough offensive talent. When Nylander or Mittlestadt start having 40+ point seasons then maybe, until then absolutely not.

    Agreed.

     

    The top two lines of this team in 1-2 years should be made up of some combination of Eichel, O'Reilly, Reinhart, Okposo, Mittelstadt and Nylander.

     

    Nylander - Eichel - Mittelstadt

    O'Reilly - Reinhart - Okposo

  17. Even if Borgen stays all 4 years, the Sabres still have the ability to sign him (should they want to) after that senior season is done & free him of 1 year off his ELC. There is a large value to that which all but a handful of college players find worth giving up FA for.

    Like everyone says...if they get that far, there's no point in them not going to free agency.

     

    Cal Petersen signed with the Kings for 2 years, so he got a year taken off an ELC as a free agent.

     

     

    I just don't think it's something that should be ignored.

  18. I don't think Borgen or Fitzgerald are worth losing sleep over. Are either in their top 15 prospects?

    I would say Borgen is...The Hockey News has him as the Sabres' 7th best prospect, #2 among defensemen.

     

    He was also voted as a top-31 NCAA player this season by the college scouts at SB Nation College Hockey...above Vecchione, Brickley, Pionk and some other high quality players.

     

    https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2017/3/22/15015850/2017-top-100-nhl-prospects-in-the-ncaa-31-35-brickley-lindgren-foley-novak-borgen

     

    31. Will Borgen, Defenseman, St. Cloud State(Buffalo Sabres)

    After a breakout freshman year, Borgen had a bit of a difficult transition in his sophomore season. With the departure of all-American and Hobey Baker finalist Ethan Prow on the SCSU blue line, Borgen got off to a very tough start to the season by trying to do a little too much of everything. He settled down as the season progressed and played much better by letting the game come to him rather than trying to force plays

    Borgen’s skating ability and athleticism is excellent for a defender that plays a physical, defense-first style of hockey. He’s able to win one-on-one battles for the puck and skate his way out of tight situations to start transition offense. He sometimes struggles with discipline, but his refusal to not back down from opponents, even if it means sometimes crossing the line, likely won’t be seen as a negative in the pro game. He doesn’t project to provide much offense at the pro level, but he moves the puck well enough that he won’t be a liability. He has potential as a good second pairing defenseman at the NHL level that provides a nice stay-at-home complement to a more offensive-minded defenseman.

  19. I have him very comparable to Anthony Florentino, though I'm probably penalizing his size too much. The past 3 years he averages at about 30th best D in his draft class. Let me change my answer, Rochester? Sure, sign him up.

    What? Florentino never had more than 16 points, while Butcher had above 30 the past two seasons. Florentino is more of a defensive defenseman, Butcher is an offensive defenseman.

     

    Florentino - 54 points in 131 games.

    Butcher - 103 points in 158 games.

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