GASabresIUFAN

Of course they knew. That's why he only cost a 2nd. They had a qtr of the season to work him into the culture by a coach Greenway respects. This season he knows what the brass expect and he's been given a new lease of his hockey life in an excellent situation. The Greenway trade was always about this season.

Considering he's a RW, he's not expected to be a center. His skating is universally stated as an issue, but according to his coaches, it's improving. “His skating just kept getting better,” said Didmon. “So I don’t worry about his skating because it has just been on a steady incline and progression over the last three years.” https://theathletic.com/4457512/2023/04/29/nhl-draft-matthew-wood/ I doubt KA drafts Wood, even if he is available, but I think the "skating issue" is way overblown. This kid was the youngest player in the NCAA last season and was still basically a pt a game player. I watched some UConn games and he was able to physically beat older players and his speed never looked like a major problem.

Your right. He’s a more highly thought of prospect in his draft year. Thompson was taken 26th in 2016. He had 14 goals and 32 pts in 36 games with Uconn his draft year. Wood is a consensus top 15 player, many have him as a top 10 player. He had a similar pt total at UConn this year as TNT, but was dominate at U18s with 13 pts (7 goals) in 7 games.

…. And now back to our regularly scheduled thread. I’m ok with trading the pick in the right deal, but Adams has a clear emphasis so far on building the pipeline and I don’t see that changing given the talent down to the 19th pick. I can see him trading up if Michkov falls or him trading down a few slots for the right extra assets.

That's what we all said about TNT.

https://www.nhl.com/nhl-draft I did a mock draft on FC and this is what happened. No way this comes true where I was getting 2nd rd talent so late. However, It's time to predict what KA and his team do with our top 4 picks. DRAFT RESULTS 13 FC RANK 22 LEONARD RYAN C U.S. NATIONAL U18 TEAM 39 FC RANK 43 BONK OLIVER D LONDON KNIGHTS 45 FC RANK 57 LINDSTEIN THEO D BRYNäS IF SHL 86 FC RANK 96 WAHLBERG ANTON C MALMö REDHAWKS SHL (I have Wahlberg 52 on my board) 109 FC RANK 99 NELSON DANNY LW U.S. NATIONAL U18 TEAM ( I have Nelson 55th on my board) 141 FC RANK 152 PEKARCIK JURAJ LW HK NITRA SLOVAKIA (I have him 87th on my board) 173 FC RANK 179 WIKMAN ALBERT D FäRJESTAD BK SHL (I have Wikman 92nd on my board) 205 FC RANK 291 CLARA DAMIAN G BIK KARLSKOGA My Mock Draft 1. 13th Moore - KA likes speed and Moore has it. 2. 39th Bonk - R shot defensive D 3. 45th Lardis - Young talented LW 4. 86th McCarthy - KA gets his neighbor who is a talented D that maybe underrated in this draft.

Heading to the Cure on Wednesday and BareNaked Ladies on Friday. Should be a great week.

It might even happen here soon.

I think that's too late. They wasted last year's 2nd on a mediocre goalie. The top 6 this year are all better players. We need to develop a good goalie behind Levi, with 4 picks in the top 86, this is an opportunity to get a talented goalie our system needs. That's an interesting development, but he is still under contract in Russia for two more years.

It really depends on how the draft falls. At worst Ratzlaff at 86 (if we are lucky). There are things to like about all the guys I listed and really even Fowler and Gajan would not be a huge reach at 45, especially as they'll be gone by 86. If the Sabres draft Willander or Reinbacher in the 1st, I'd maybe grab Augustine at 39, Lardis at 45 and KA's pal McCarthy at 86. If they go Moore/Wood/Danielson/Honzek in the 1st, then maybe 2 D at 39 & 45 and take Ratzlaff at 86. The depth at good Goalie ends with those top 6, although McKenzie also likes Damien Clara (83rd on McKenzie's board), no one else listed him in their top 100.

When it comes to 2nd rd picks, the rankings vary wildly. Take for example Max Strbak. He is 51st on my board and his rankings range from 25 to outside the top 100. Ten rankings have him from 41 to 60. This is a very solid defensive D and if he is available at 45 and the Sabres take him, don't be upset. A forward I also really like in the 2nd is Nick Lardis. He is young for this draft (He's still 17) and IMHO will be a steal for anyone who drafts him. He's 54 on my board, but if the Sabres take a D in the first, I'd be pleased with Lardis at 45. I also really like D Bonk (35th) and Lindstein (44) on my board. FYI: All the players listed 44th to 51st are D and have similar rankings. How they go in the 2nd rd (and some could slip into the 3rd) will be based on each team's criteria. For example, Morin (46) has compete questions and could easily slip because of it. I'm also interested in how the goalies play out. Hrabel (33) has a near 1st rd grade. Augustine (41) and Bjarnason (58) have solid 2nd rd grades. Fowler, Gajan, and Ratzlaff have solid 3rd rd grades. I like Augustine and Ratzlaff from my reading and Augustine's U18 and U20 play. Augustine is heading to Ryan Miller's alma mater next year, MSU. Ratzlaff has excellent for Canada at the Hlinka.

Reinbacher - if available. The most likely available candidate 8-11 is Moore. I would not draft ASP. I also really like Wood and Danielson in the 12-18 group. I'd actually take Willander over Simachev. I also really like Honzak in the 19-24 group. He won't be a reach at 13. Pronman has him 13th, Bukkala, who does a scout survey, has him 12th, and McKenzie, who interviews scouts and execs, has him 17th, so don't be surprised if he goes higher than listed here. His numbers (goal and pts per game) and his physical size are very similar to Cozens' draft year in the WHL. This is a very tall and talented LW. Moore is the fastest player in this draft with McDavid-type speed and good skills. Danielson, like Honzak, is a Cozens kind of player. I've seen a couple of reports making the comparison. Woods' gets compared to TNT. It's the size, goal-scoring UConn thing I guess. Recent reports say his skating has improved. Willander over Simashev. Willander is an excellent skater, has a good O skill set, is a decent size, is willing to be physical, and is an extremely effective defender. Actually, he reminds me of a little smaller (he's 6'1") version of Power. I also like that he is coming to NA next season to play NCAA hockey for a stacked BU team. A really strong second-half and his breakout U18 elevated his draft status. Button has him 8th, Pronman 15th, and Bukala 15th. https://www.nhl.com/news/tom-willander-turns-down-sweden-pro-league-for-ncaa-before-2023-nhl-draft/c-344874284

Final Consensus Update - 17 different rankings utilized including TSN (2), Athletic (2), McKeens, Elite prospects, Yahoo (Kennedy), Hockey News (2), Smaht, Flo Hockey, Dobber, Shane Malloy, Recruit Scouting, Daily Faceoff, Sportsnet (Bukala), and FC Hockey. 1. Bedard, 2-Fantilli, Tie 3rd, Michkov and Carlsson 5-7, Smith, Benson, Leonard 8-11, Dvorsky, Moore, Pelikka and Reinbacher Gap 12-18, Wood, Barlow, Perreault, Danielson, Sale, Simashev, Yager 19-24, Willander, Musty, Honzek, Cristall, Brindley, Stenberg 25-28, Ritchie, But, Gulyaev, Heidt There is a huge cliff after Heidt. No one has consistent 1st rd grades after 28 29-32, Nadeau Dragicevic, Gauthier, Edstrom 2nd Round 33-35, Hrabel, Molgaard, Bonk, 36-39, Haltunnen, Molendyk, Perron, Stramel 40-42, Sawchyn, Augustine, Ziemmer Gap 43-48, Hameenaho, Lindstein, Brzustewicz, Morin, Cagnoni, Akey, Morin 49-53, Minnetian, Price, Strbak, Wahlberg, Whitelaw 54-55, Lardis, Nelson 56-59, Rehkopf, Ciernik, Bjarnason, Kantserov, 60-63, Cataford, Dvorak, Dower-Nilsson, Barkey Large Gap - Round 3 64-66, Lind, Pinelli, Suniev, Gap 67-69, Strathmann, Pitre, Kiiskinen 70-71, Cam Allen, Cowan. Gap 72-74, Fowler, Myatovic, Gajan, 75-76, Nordh, Jarventie 77-80, Rykov, Terrance, Bertucci, Unger Sorum 81-85, Gibson, Burns, Misiak, Mania, Nilsson 86-90, McCarthy, Pekarcik, Ratzlaff, Kumpulainen, Nurmi, 91-98, Mukhanov, Wikman, Karki, Cleveland, Touirigny, Fink, Peddle, Shaugabay Others: Sothern, Ludkte, Forsfjall, Miedema, Levis, MacKinnon

Doesn’t kicking the tires mean asking what he wants. I agree 7 years is to long for a 32 year old D, but a 5 year deal with an average cap hit of 6 would work.

If by some miracle Michkov is available at 13 the Sabres have to take him. Given our young forward group and deep forward pipeline, we can afford to wait on a potential franchise talent. If I’m honest, if Michkov starts to fall, I wouldn’t mind if KA traded up to 7th to get him as I don’t see him falling past Wash at 8.

FYI: https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/analyzing-oliver-ekman-larsson-and-if-he-can-be-effective-on-a-new-team/

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhls-top-12-ufas-of-2023-latest-rumours-reports/ Orlov to Buffalo? He checks so many boxes for us, KA has to be kicking the tires.

https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/stanley-cup-final-2023-golden-knights-prove-that-envy-is-only-problem-with-nhls-new-expansion-model/ FYI:

https://theathletic.com/4637928/2023/06/24/nhl-trade-grades-avalanche-ryan-johansen/ Ryan Johansen to the Avs for Alex Galchenyuck. Nash retains 50% for the next 2 years $4 mill per season. Galchenyuk is a UFA July 1st.

I wonder if Connor Clifton would be a more KA style signing.

Didn't the great TM trade a 1st for Lehner and a cap dump? Saros has to be worth more than that.

Are we giving up on UPL? Maybe, but it also maybe an acknowledgement that Levi has already supplanted him as the top goalie prospect in the system and that UPL’s NHL future is best cultivated elsewhere. It’s also an acknowledgment that putting a playoff caliber team in the hands of two raw goalies isn’t a smart way to proceed if you want to make the playoffs. There is also a compromise between the scenarios you mentioned. That compromise is a 2-3 contract for the veteran goalie. Ideally, you sign or acquire a vet, waive Comrie to Rochester and go with Levi and the vet.

I think you are misreading me. In OEL people were dismissing the idea out of hand. I took the other side of the argument because there are few ideas that should dismissed out of hand. I made that mistake on Bogo and others and given our need to upgrade the defense I think KA would be smart to kick the tires on any D capable of upgrading our D especially someone as talented as OEL. All you have to do is look at Karlsson, who rebounded significantly at 33, after two straight injury plagued seasons. Here, I certainly have a definite opinion on what should done at a minimum this off-season, but I’m completely open to other ideas of what can be done to improve the team. However saying that you don’t have an opinion until after the season is not completely honest. Weave admitted he wants new goaltending. Why not say, I want KA to get a new goalie, or this is my wish list. I think your idea of saying lets grade him as the season progresses, but doing nothing is out of the question is a good one; although I’d still like to see which moves you want made.

Every move has risk as does doing nothing, because there are no guarantees nor can you expect them. Would you rather KA do nothing and go with the current status quo roster or would you prefer he make changes to the current group such as acquiring a new defenseman or two and/or a new goaltender to pair with Levi? That’s the real question this thread is asking. You clearly want KA to go get better goaltending.

Do you think Jordan would sign here after Eric’s experience or does he like Adams enough to disregard Eric’s opinion?