OhMyDahlin

I don't know where else to put this, so I figured it at least relates to this discussion... Will Borgen told Paul Hamilton that he plans on staying in school all 4 years to finish his degree because, "You can't play hockey forever." Also, Casey Fitzgerald is related to Ryan Fitzgerald, Kevin and Jimmy Hayes, Matthew Tkachuk, and his father Tom Fitzgerald is the AGM of the Devils...he's also good friends with Jimmy Vesey. I'm not the least bit concerned about Casey Mittelstadt getting anywhere close to free agency, but I think there's a good possibility we could lose Borgen and/or Fitzgerald. Borgen I'm almost resigned to the fact that he'll be gone after reading that interview, but Fitzgerald I at least hold out hope that he knows and thinks highly of Botterill through his father. Losing one would hurt, losing both would be devastating...I'd rather keep Borgen, even though Fitzgerald was drafted higher. (Borgen spoke of Jack Ahcan, who I wanted the Sabres to take in the 7th round...that could've helped sway him to stay with Buffalo, or at least it wouldn't have hurt.) *As for Will Butcher, I'd love to get our hands on him...as I posted before, Botterill and the Penguins were consistently pulling in NCAA free agents and I hope that trend continues with the Sabres. (Daniel Brickley, too!) http://www.wgr550.com/articles/news/sabres-borgen-feels-playing-college-important

Tier 1: Eichel O'Reilly Ristolainen Kane Reinhart Okposo Tier 2: McCabe Lehner Tier 3: Beaulieu Antipin Tier 4: Bogosian Foligno Larsson Girgensons Ennis Moulson Tier 5: Fedun Falk Gorges Deslauriers Prospect Tier: Nylander Guhle Ullmark Fasching Bailey Rodrigues Baptiste Nelson Smith Malone

Only thing I really hated was Oskari Laaksonen over David Farrance, who went four picks later to...the Nashville Predators, who know defense better than anyone in the NHL besides Anaheim. I believe Farrance will be a top-6 defenseman in the NHL, hopefully he pulls a Jimmy Vesey (another Predators 3rd round pick)...and goes to free agency to sign with the Sabres, his childhood team. I was also hoping that, at the end of the draft, they would find a way to obtain a 7th round pick from someone to draft Jack Ahcan...I think he will be a highly targeted NCAA free agent in the next 1-2 years. Ps. I'll take Mittelstadt over Vilardi every time...and I'm pumped to be able to see all of his games with the Gophers on The B1G Network this winter.

We did? What players did we add that were highly paid and near 30 years old, that cost us any pieces of our core? Certainly wasn't O'Reilly, Kane, Okposo, Bogosian, Kulikov, or Lehner...when we got them, they were all 25 years old or younger. Some of them might be highly paid, but you could argue we won every single one of those deals, especially O'Reilly and Kane. Some people hate Lehner and Kulikov. But some people, like me, think it was worth the shot. That's a different debate, but they weren't close to 30, nor were they highly paid, and they didn't cost what I would define as "core" pieces. Gorges? I wouldn't say a 2nd round pick was part of our core. Moulson? We got assets for him, and then re-signed him when everyone still thought he had something left. In fact, besides Ristolainen and McCabe, whom he got under great contracts, Tim Murray gave us the entire core we are so excited about...Eichel, Reinhart, O'Reilly, Kane, Okposo, Guhle, Nylander, and you could arguably throw Antipin in there. (And I think when we are really good the bulk of our depth will come from him as well, with kids like Asplund, Pu, Fasching, Smith, Hagel, Borgen, Fitzgerald, Nelson...and I wouldn't sleep on Nyberg, my pick for a surprise late-round prospect.) * Tim Murray did a solid job, especially when you consider he oversaw a massive, full-blown, top-to-bottom rebuild.

Jake Muzzin was 58th in scoring for defensemen. He's on a team with a defensively friendly system. He was a 5th round pick who Pittsburgh didn't sign, then he became good next to Drew Doughty. I don't want to trade Evander Kane, but if we have to I want somebody better than a 28 year old Jake Muzzin, who will be 29 this coming season...I'll glady pay an extra $1M-$1.5M per year for a younger, better offensive-defenseman. This season Muzzin had 8 more points than McCabe in 6 more games, 9 more points than Franson in 14 more games, 17 more points than Bogosian in 26 more games...would you trade Evander Kane for one of them? Not a chance. Career Regular Season PPG: (While Muzzin has been on a way better team than the other two guys.) Muzzin - .40 Franson - .38 Bogosian - .31 (Franson has been a better playoff performer, and Bogosian has never been on a playoff team.) EDIT: For the record, I think Muzzin is better than them...I just don't think he's so much better than them that he's worth Evander Kane. Let's not forget that Lucic has played with Bergeron, Krejci, Kopitar and McDavid.

Thank you, Thorny. Also, as I sat here watching the game, it popped into my head...Jason Botterill is a former NCAA player himself, he obviously has an appreciation for college hockey players, and who knows how many connections he has in college hockey.

Not sure what they have to do with drafting/signing college players...but okay. (Crosby and Malkin were drafted before Botterill got there, and Kessel, an NCAA player, was acquired in a trade.) Was he not part of that organization, in a high role that included scouting...and wouldn't any of that be influential to him? So, again...there's nobody of Cal Petersen's caliber in the Chicago ranks. They also have Matt Tomkins, who is decent...but nowhere near Cal Petersen's level. Lehner was very solid, on a bad team...let me know when you think of the last goalie to come out of college or juniors and immediately claim an NHL starting job. Even the Ben Bishop's and Devan Dubnyk's of the world were passed over and traded a couple times. (Holtby, Murray, Anderson, Rinne, Allen, Gibson, Talbot...they all had to bide their time and earn their way.) Thank you.

Thank you. I've become disgustingly obsessed with this stuff. I have a notebook where I keep track of prospects and signings. I really don't know why, but I guess it's a hobby of mine. (I know, it's freaking weird.) It all started when I was in high school and college, I would keep track to update rosters on the NHL video game (and Madden too)...I don't play video games as much anymore, but for some reason this stuff still intrigues me. Thanks, GoPre. I try to post whenever I see something I feel like I can add to the conversation. I had some bad experiences here before, so I stopped visiting. But this time of the year is what I like the most, especially when the Sabres aren't winning much lately...I follow every team closely, I really enjoy the building the team aspect of sports. My friend (former high school football teammate) just got promoted to Director of College Scouting for the Kansas City Chiefs, I told him I wish he worked in hockey instead. Lol. I'll try to come around more often. (To be honest, I sometimes forget I even posted something here or on TwoBillsDrive.)

As for how draft picks have been used in that regard...I kind of have the break-down of numbers, since the 2000 NHL draft. (Granted, this isn't just limited to Murray or Botterill.) Buffalo ranks 3rd drafting Major Junior players at 52.1%, 20th in NCAA players at 27.1%, and 25th in European players at 20.7%. Pittsburgh ranks 22nd in drafting Major Junior players at 40%, 1st in NCAA players at 42.4%, and 28th in European players at 17.6%. But Murray definitely leaned heavily towards CHL and European players, while the Penguins continue to lean on NCAA players in the draft and undrafted free agency. In his three drafts, Murray drafted 6 NCAA players...Eichel, Fitzgerald, Borgen, Murray, Nyberg and Chukarov. (Nyberg was scouted out of the SuperElit, so he could be considered a European...all the others were in the United States.) Right now the Penguins currently have just one unsigned CHL player in Connor Hall, two unsigned euros in Gustavsson and Almari, and nine unsigned NCAA players in Bjokqvist, Pavlychev, Masonius, Jones, Lafferty, Angello, Byron, Tiffels, Birks, and they just signed Taylor who was a draft pick...they also signed Zac Aston-Reese as a free agent to an NHL contract, as well as NCAA free agents Troy Josephs and Dylan Zink to AHL contracts. Long story short, I think we will see quite a shift in how we draft, and Botterill will begin to lean heavily on the NCAA with his draft picks. Just a few others NCAA players they've brought in throughout the last few years... Thomas Di Pauli - Signed as an free agent, after he "Vesey'd" the Capitals. Ethan Prow - Undrafted NCAA free agent Conor Sheary - Undrafted NCAA free agent Carter Rowney - Undrafted NCAA free agent Teddy Bluegers - NCAA draft pick (2nd round) Bryan Rust - NCAA draft pick (3rd round) Jake Guentzel - NCAA draft pick (3rd round) Sean Maguire - NCAA draft pick (4th round) Josh Archibald - NCAA draft pick (6th round) Scott Wilson - NCAA draft pick (7th round) Ian Cole was an NCAA draft pick in 2007, which is when Botterill started working as a scout. Brian Dumoulin was an NCAA draft pick in 2009, when Botterill was working as a scout. Justin Schultz and Chad Ruhwedel were NCAA players, whom Botterfill could've/would've scouted. Lol, again, needless to say...I think Jason Botterill really likes NCAA hockey players, whether it's in the draft or free agency. (***Sources for the draft numbers are from the Hockey News draft preview magazine...all other information is through my own research.)

I think the Sabres know he won't (or doesn't want to) sign with them, and that they could also possibly lose Ullmark in the expansion draft...which is why they signed Jonas Johansson earlier than they had to. I also think that Cal Petersen will want to go "home" to where his career started, in Chicago, and play for the Blackhawks. Stan Bowman went to Notre Dame, and certainly has connections to those guys there. Vinnie Hinostroza grew up with Cal Petersen, as they both played together for the Waterloo Blackhawks and at Notre Dame, and he is now a prospect within the Blackhawks system. Most importantly, the Blackhawks don't have any good young goalie prospects, and there's literally nobody behind Corey Crawford right now, who will be 33 years old this December. A trip from Waterloo to Chicago is four hours or so, and a flight is just over an hour...so his parents can easily get to every game he plays. (Waterloo to Rockford is a three hour drive, and less than an hour flight.) I think the kid ends up signing in Chicago, but I really hope I'm wrong. (Dennis Gilbert, his Notre Dame teammate, is also a prospect in the Blackhawks system.)

Wrong. The person says he has potential and given the stats he put up, why can't his potential be Drouin-esque? "I would say that shows ‘potential’…as good potential as Drouin? why not." That's not even close to "literally said he's going to be Jonathan Drouin." *There's no reason the Sabres shouldn't have signed this kid, and it just looks bad on Botterill..."Hey prospects, bust your ass and improve every single year, and you still might not get a contract." This team lacks centers, they lack goal-scoring, they don't have many prospects as it is, and Rochester desperately needs someone with his kind of skills. He seems like a better Evan Rodrigues, with slightly less speed. He was the highest scoring Sabres prospect the last two years...and he missed a full month last season. And I don't think many people get their information from message boards. Personally, I read magazines like The Hockey News, I search for articles on a specific player, and occasionally when I can find games I watch those. This kid started out producing on an really awful team and he was a cornerstone of which they built their program around. He played on a line with two undrafted players, and they were one of the most dynamic lines in the CHL, and completely turned around their program, after being a "laughingstock" to become a winning team in just a couple years while he was there, as a big part of it. I've read a lot of positives attributed to his game... http://buffalonews.com/2016/08/05/estephan-pay-big-dividends-sabres/ http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/giorgio-estephan-quietly-one-sabres-best-prospects/ - Stepped into a tough league at 16 years old. - Has the potential to play anywhere in the top-9. - He's smart and uses his knowledge to dissect situations. - Plays heavy and creates space for himself. - Plays hard on both ends of the ice. - Hard and accurate shot, good passing and stickhandling abilities. - Anything from the circles down, he has a chance to score. - He was a leader for his team, and wore the "A." He's very determined to be a good player and has a chip on his shoulder, to prove he should've been drafted higher. "He’s going to play,” Kisio said. “He’s going to be a really great player for the Sabres.” The only knock on the kid was his skating, which he worked on after practice every day and dedicated his free time to improve it...going as far as actually staying in Buffalo during the summer to work with skating coaches. “He’s going to get it right,” Kisio said. “One thing I don’t do is doubt him. He’s determined.” He was drafted 4th overall in the 2012 WHL draft, one spot behind Brendan Guhle...so he has obviously always been a very good hockey player, that dominated at every level he's played at so far. I get it, he's gone now...but you know who else was a 6th round pick with less than ideal skating? Mark Stone, and how's that working out for Ottawa after they stuck with him and developed him? He's become a player we'd love to have. (I couldn't care less about Gustav Possler.)

Linus Ullmark, Hudson Fasching, Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste, Casey Nelson, Eric Cornel, Sean Malone, CJ Smith, there will be plenty of solid players in Rochester this year, and they're all still really young...Giorgio Estephen, Rasmus Asplund, Cliff Pu, Brandon Hagel, Will Borgen, Casey Fitgerald, Philip Nyberg, Brett Murray, Victor Olofsson, Jonas Johansson, they could all see time in Rochester in 1-2 years too, and become good players. The whole entire organization has been being rebuilt, this stuff takes time...especially the development of players drafted after the 1st round.

Malkin? Size, speed, skill. That deal is not making the Sabres any better...and Vatanen is probably the 4th-5th defenseman I'd want from them, behind Fowler, Lindholm, Theadore and Montour. (And maybe Larsson.)

McAvoy, Carlo, Zboril, Pastrnak, Forsbacka-Karlsson, Frederic, Senyshyn, Debrusk...therefore, it's not going to happen because they won't be trading any of those kids. (Or Krug, I guess.) But, I'll be pissed if they trade Evander Kane...this team will get worse without him, not better. He's said he wants to be here. In an interview with Barstool, Eichel said he and Kane are very good friends and that Kane is liked in the locker room. Kane's father has said that he feels like a part of the team for the first time, and really likes the way he's treated by the Pegulas. Anything I've ever read about Kane and the Sabres, I haven't seen or heard anything to suggest he's unhappy in Buffalo and wouldn't want to stay here. Will he really find a better center to play with than Jack Eichel, whom he already has chemistry and a friendship with? He's no fool, he knows he's in a great position, with a very good center, in an organization with great ownership. We need to re-sign him.

Guhle is one of those defensemen and Nylander is the top-6 forward. There are no good "young veterans" in free agency that will provide you with anything more than some of our prospects would provide...those players don't make it to free agency. It's time to get Nylander with Eichel, not third line plugs. It's time to get Fasching on the 4th line with Carrier. It's time to give Bailey and Baptiste a legit shot. The Amerks will have Estephen, Cornel, Karabacek, Smith, Malone and Dupuy, (plus other youngsters like Kile and Crema) and they all need to play as much as possible. Eichel, Reinhart, O'Reilly, Okposo, Kane, Nylander, Bailey, Baptiste, Carrier, Fasching, Foligno, Girgensons, Larsson, Rodrigues, Ennis...make me a team out of those guys. It's time both teams live and die by the young kids, like the Leafs and Marlies have done this season. (I really wish we could fire Dan Bylsma and get Sheldon Keefe.)

I just wanted to stop by and say I hate Dan Bylsma...I'd take him to the ocean and feed him to a shark. THERE IS NO REASON NIC DESLAURIERS SHOULD BE PLAYING OVER CJ SMITH OR SEAN MALONE!!! :censored: :censored: :censored: (I feel bad for the Smith, he probably chose Buffalo because they promised he would play in these games...if he can't beat out Deslauriers, then why even sign the kid?) PS. Really hope Murray works out a deal to keep Vegas from taking Ullmark or Carrier...I think Petersen goes to Chicago, for several reasons.

Might as well trade the guy. He keeps the Sabres in 95% of the games he plays, and they give him no support. Fans hate him because of the price the GM paid to get him, therefore he never stood a chance here. I'd love to see him go elsewhere to be a #1, put him on a good team and he would be an elite goalie. Out of the goalies who have faced 1,000 shots, Lehner (.921) ranks tied for 6th in SV% with Gibson (.921), behind Dubnyk (.930), Bobrovsky (.930), Holtby (.926), Murray (.923) and Price (.922), and all of them are on much better teams. He's by far the least of the Sabres problems, and in his first year as a starting goaltender he's improved as the season has gone on...and the more he plays, the better he is.

Sign Daniel Brickley...I'd really like Murray to be able to pull this kid in...I'd really like to see him pull in NCAA udfa's more often, period. Brickley came to camp with us last summer, he knows Nelson, he likes the area, and he has to know we DESPERATELY need help on defense. If he has a good camp, he could easily make this team...he's already 22 years old, 6-3, 205, and he has as many points as most college forwards. (Another one I'd keep an eye on is North Dakota's Tucker Poolman, who apparently doesn't want to play for Winnipeg and "could pull a Vesey.") Brickley: http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=216251 http://www.msumavericks.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6622&path=mhockey http://www.ncaa.com/news/icehockey-men/article/2017-03-03/college-hockey-utah-minnesota-state-daniel-brickley-creating Poolman: http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=118006 http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=209625163 http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2016/12/1/13717412/tucker-poolman-north-dakota-scouting-report-winnipeg-jets :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: *EDIT: A third one is Neal Pionk, a Hobey Baker nominee... http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=196583 http://umdbulldogs.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2321 https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2017/02/teams-interested-college.html http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2017/1/12/14221856/top-ncaa-nhl-free-agent-prospects-for-2016-2017-aston-reese-brickley-pionk-kelleher 2. Daniel Brickley, Defenseman, Minnesota State Last year, Minnesota State’s Casey Nelson was one of the top free agent defensemen available out of the NCAA, eventually signing with the Buffalo Sabres and jumping right into their lineup. Brickley is an extremely similar, if not slightly more polished, prospect. Brickley isn’t a lightning-fast skater, and is still developing on the defensive end, but his combination of size—listed at 6-2 205 lbs.—and tremendous offensive abilities give him a tantalizing amount of upside. He missed time this year with a fractured wrist, but his time out only increased his value as Minnesota State’s power play struggled without him running things from the point. What he lacks in straight-line speed, he makes up for with a shiftiness laterally which is really impressive for a big defender that allows him to create his own passing and shooting lanes. He’s aggressive in looking for his shot which helps generate a lot of offense. He’s still a bit of a project, but could develop into a second pairing defenseman that is very good on the power play at the NHL level. 4. Neal Pionk, Defenseman, Minnesota Duluth In his sophomore season, the Duluth-area native has developed into the top defenseman for the Bulldogs, who have spent much of the season as one of the top teams in the country. Pionk is a very good two-way defenseman thanks to his excellent skating ability and agility. He moves the puck up the ice reliably thanks to an ability to spin his way out of traffic and is an excellent outlet passer. His quickness also gives him the confidence to hold the line in the offensive zone, rather than giving up ice to give himself more cushion defensively. He’s just an okay defender one-on-one against the rush, but has an above average amount of toughness and physicality for a guy that will classify as a smaller defenseman at the next level. (***I understand this doesn't "fix" the defense, but it helps and it's cheap.***)

I'm not saying Kulikov is some kind of elite defenseman, but... I played once with a bruised back and could barely skate, that was high school hockey...I can't imagine what Kulikov has dealt with all season in the NHL, it's undoubtedly hurt his performance. (Just REALLY wish we drafted Chychrun, McAvoy or Sergachev over Nylander...in that order.)

I'm a huge fan of Tim Murray, I'm a huge fan of Evander Kane and wanted him long before we got him...if GMTM trades Kane, I'll lose a lot of faith in him as our GM. We have a lot of young depth at forward, use some of that and draft picks to get a young defenseman, not our best scoring winger who does everything for this team. Eichel, Reinhart, O'Reilly, Okposo and Kane should all be the forward core you build around...add Nylander and that's your top-6 for the next bunch of years. Kane (25) - O'Reilly (26) - Okposo (28) Nylander (18) - Eichel (20) - Reinhart (21) You'd have Foligno, Girgensons, Larsson, Ennis, Bailey, Baptiste, Carrier, Fasching and Rodrigues to build a bottom-6 or deal in a trade...plus our draft picks, including an extra 2nd and extra 3rd. And there's kids like Asplund, Pu, Estephan and Malone to use either way as well...plus 2nd round picks in Hurley, Cornel and Karabacek.*** Trading Evander Kane would be a massive mistake...he's everything we hoped we always had, and everything we hoped we got when we acquired him. ***(You never know what someone sees in one of those 2nd round kids, like GMTM saw in a 4th round pick like Hudson Fasching...someone could want one of those kids.)

Just stopped in to see what the conversation was about...quickly noticed people still have no respect for Evander Kane's game, although he's our most consistent scorer in the last dozen games. I'd hate to see him get traded, but if he does I hope he explodes and kills the Sabres every time they play. He's been the best player on the ice for the Sabres in the month of December, yet the fans (and Bylsma) want him playing with scrubs on the 3rd line? Lol, what a joke. *Happy New Year. EDIT: And not only that, but fans/Bylsma want Foligno and Moulson, a 4th liner and a power-play specialist who ONLY contributes on the power-play, to be in the top-6!?! :doh: :wallbash: :sick: Larsson and Moulson on the top line, Kane (and Reinhart) on the 3rd line...this is a joke, right?

Is this where one comes for group therapy? I'm literally devastated. The events that led up to this for me are so surreal. Someone texted me asking what's going on with all the Sabres injuries? I thought he meant O'Reilly, Okposo, Kulikov, Bogosian, etc. The next notification on my phone was a twitter friend who messaged me, "Eichel is down." My heart dropped through my arse. :cry: Really frustrated about the Bills fans comparing this to Shaq Lawson, Reggie Ragland and Sammy Watkins...they were never expected to carry their team and be the superstar. (Maybe Sammy, to an extent.) My only hope is that this does not effect his future...McDavid hurt his collarbone, hardly an issue, I've done that and it never made a difference in me playing football or hockey when it happened. But, an ankle...for an explosive hockey player? That worries me. This is probably the worst possible news we could get the day before the season opener. It's just downright heartbreaking stuff. Someone talk me off the ledge...because I truly don't think this team can withstand this kind of loss.