GASabresIUFAN

Yep. He'll also probably represent Canada at higher level Int tournaments. Levi played for Canada in his D+1 season at the U20s and went 6-1-0 with a .75 and a .964.

WHL standout with Seattle. 25-8-0 with a 2.15 and a .918. Represented Canada in the Hlinka Gretzky last season 4-0 with a .50 gaa and a .976 save %. This is a very athletic goalie. Sound familiar?

Another 6'0" goalie. I love this pick. I had him as a late 3rd rd pick.

McCarthy lost 8 weeks of last season because of an injury. This pick could end up being a huge bargain.

“He knows he’s a strong defenseman that’s a pass-first guy, gets the puck out and is efficient defending, and then his offense is secondary,” Rud said. “Not that he’s not concerned about (offense), but I think he takes care of everything in his own zone first, and then if he can join the offense and lead in any way, he certainly likes to do that.” https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/11080821-2023-nhl-draft-profile-maxim-strbak-a-warrior-defenseman Sounds a great deal like Samuelsson to me, although Samuelsson because of his huge size maybe even more aggressive physically.

He says that but doesn't always follow that rule. No other way to explain that goaltender pick last year. He clearly wasn't the BPA.

I had him 102 on my board.

This maybe the deepest I’ve ever seen the Sabres forward prospect pool. 5 1st rd picks - Benson, Savoie, Kulich, Östlund and Rosen 3 2nd rd picks - Wahlberg, Kisakov and Poltapov 1 highly thought of 3rd rd pick in Neuchev. Now add in intriguing later rd players Nadeau, Kovak and Rousek and you have depth like never before even without considering 4 guys under 23 in the NHL in JJP, Quinn, Cozens and Krebs. It will be interesting to watch this sort itself out.

Even if he wasn’t KA’s neighbor. I really like the player. Every write up I’ve seen said this kid is very talented. One article said he compared favorably to guys with much higher ratings. If I find it again, I’ll post a link.

Just thought I’d add that I like the player just don’t love the pick.

Akey finally drafted at 56.

4 goalies so far in the 2nd.

Gavin McCarthy at 86. Like Sotheran as well.

Finally. This is a Sabre. I love this pick. He is going to be a possible top 4 D to eventual compliment Power if he fully develops. Think a slightly smaller Samuelsson.

The are only 2 legit prospects (Johnson and Novikov) on that list and two very maybes (Komarov and Lindgren). That’s it. The new Strbak pick instantly is our 2nd best D prospect

Don’t count on it.

Need both. Need D in the pipeline.

Sabres are allergic to defense apparently

Sabres next up Wahlberg? Seriously?

Gajan first goalie to Chicago. Interesting.

Myatovic drafted a little early.

Lousy news. Thanks. Opens an opportunity for Savoie, Benson or Kulich?

I missed Sawchyn when I typed in the op. He’s right after Perron. Akey, on the other hand, is right where he belongs. He’s 47th on the consensus list. His average ranking is 54. McKenzie’s survey has him 61. 10 of the 17 rankings I used have him 57 to 95. This doesn’t mean some team doesn’t love him, like Toronto loved Cowen, but it’s a great indication that there is disagreement on his game. I personally think Akey will go in the top half of the second and at 39 or 45 he’d be a reasonable pick. That said he is an excellent skater who is smart at preventing zone entry. However the critics say he struggles with in zone physical play. He does have O. Seems like a smaller version of Willander without the strength yet.

I guess we should have projected Benson to the Sabres given Patrick as coach and he was Savoie's linemate.

Top forwards available: 1st rd grades: Cristall, Brindley and Heidt. Forward with high 2nd rd grades: Gauthier, Molgaard, then Haltunnen, Perron and Sawcyn. Gap to Ziemmer and Hameenaho. Other forwards of note: Lardis, Nelson, Wahlberg and Whitelaw. Top D available: Near 1st rd grade: Dragicevic (RD). Next group: Brzustewicz, Morin, Cagnoni, Akey, Minnetian, Price and Strbak. (all players have a similar grade) Top g available: High 2nd rd grades: Hrabel and Augustine I'm hoping for 2 of the "next group" D at 39 and 45 or one of the D and a goalie.