GASabresIUFAN

Why are some teams bad? Well just looking at the 1st rd results and it's clear again why the Yotes are bad. Two lay-up picks and they reached for both. I like both players, but to take But over Honzek and Wood is simply stupid. Simashev is a solid player, but isn't close to the 6th best player in this draft. I'd argue that he isn't in the top 3 of D in this draft. Also what the heck is Toronto thinking? Talk about a reach. Cowan is a late 2nd rd player at best. G-d I love to watch Toronto implode. I think the consensus board did alright this year. The top 21 players on the consensus board were all taken in the first 26 picks. Of the top 28 (the only 28 with an average 1st rd grade), 25 went in the 1st rd. The 3 guys with 1st rd average grades that didn't get drafted were guys whose stock seemed to fall over the last few months in Cristall (22), Brindley (23), Heidt (28). My guess is all 3 go early tomorrow. Guys 29-32 on the consensus board actually had an average ranking of 35 to 38. Of this group only Nadeau (30) and Edstrom (32) got drafted in the first, with Edstrom receiving much more hype in recent weeks. I'm disappointed Lindstein and Bonk are already gone, but not overly surprised either. McKenzie had Lindstein at 26 and Bonk at 28. Overall I'm happy with Benson, although it maybe time to trade a young forward or two to bolster the D.

This is probably the player they had scouted the most in the this draft. Not a huge surprise he fell because of his height, but he is a great hockey player. Better bargain than Savoie.

At the Cure, but Simashev 6th. Nuts!

It was the Crossroads. The team made the wrong turn.

Didn't KA talk today about Mitts' leadership inside the room?

I have said for weeks that this draft is at least 22 players deep with legit excellent to high-end talent. That said we got Kulich last year at 28. Snuggerud went 23rd last year. Those guys would easily project into the top 20 this year as well. The top 8 or so of this draft look better, but the depth in the first seems very similar.

Of the guys who may be available at 13, Danielson, Willander, Honzek, Simashev and Moore seem like the best organizational fit. Willander is the one player, if available, that I think is a perfect fit for the Sabres.

Hall was an inflection point. It was the straw that broke the camel's back on the TM build-out. This is also an inflection point. I honestly believe that the Sabres are 2 players from Cup contention( @Taro T is probably glad to hear that 🙂 ). If KA gets a top-4 caliber D and a vet to mentor Levi this team has the horses to go deep into the playoffs. I'll be so bold as to say if we get those two players, we might even be good enough to win the division.

He is playing NCAA hockey in the fall for BU. https://www.nhl.com/news/tom-willander-turns-down-sweden-pro-league-for-ncaa-before-2023-nhl-draft/c-344874284

1 CHI - C. Bedard 2 ANA - A. Fantilli 3 CBJ - W. Smith 4 SJS - L. Carlsson 5 MON - Leonard 6 AZ - Reinbacher 7 PHI - Dvorsky 8 WASH - Michkov 9 Det - Sandin-Pellikka 10 STL - Danielson 11 VAN - Willander 12 AZ - Benson 13 SABRES - Simachev (although hard to pass on Moore or Wood or Honzek)

It's a pipe dream to think KA is going to make a major move at forward. He is going to re-sign Jost and after that, trading VO is the most likely move and that isn't a sure thing. Even if VO is traded, all that does is either open a 3rd line wing or a 4th line center position. Either job will most likely be filled with some like Rousek or Kulich or Savoie. The team scored 300 goals last year. KA is expecting further improvement from JJP, Quinn, Krebs, and Greenway. I agree with him that not much needs to done upfront after the vets were re-signed. The defense and goaltending are another matter and this is where he should be concentrating his efforts. I admit though that I'd love to see him move up and grab Michkov in the draft. He is a franchise-level talent. Sign Orlov, Sign Fred Andersen or Korpisalo or Varlamov, re-sign Dahlin and Power and trade up for Michkov. If he does all that KA will have had an amazing off-season and the Sabres will be contenders for years to come because of those efforts.

I'd love to see such a bold move from KA. We certainly have the assets to make such a move. My guess is we'd have to get in front of Det and Wash for it to be a realistic possibility.

Exactly. Getting a veteran goalie should be on KA’s to do list right after getting a partner for Power. I do think UPL is tradeable and Comrie waived (he’ll likely clear) to Rochester as the no. 3.

And starts singing “won’t you be my neighbor?”

Fyi. Nearly 2/3 of NHL teams have already made at least one trade already this summer. Colorado, LA, NJ, and Philly have been very active so far. No trades from Sabreland so far. When does the first shoe drop?

Stats and advanced says they are very similar. Borgen is younger and cheaper.

And there was much rejoicing. Make it so Mr. Adams.

Similar to Lyubushkin.

I’d love love to see a comparison between Willander and Simashev. Simashev seems like a clone of Samuelsson, who maybe skates a little better. While certainly a valuable player, I don’t see any offense there. Willander maybe a few inches shorter, possesses the strong D attributes but also brings a solid O skill set. He reminds me of Orlov. I’d rather spend 13 on a complete 2 way D vs a D only D. Also add the Willander will be in NA next season and Simashev still has 2 years in Putinland, I prefer taking the guy I have access to now.

Why isn’t Don Edwards on the list? If Ruuttu is on the list he should be 5th and Soupy 3rd. Donny played 307 games as a Sabre over 6 years won a Vezina and was a 2x all-star. He’d be 4th on my list over both Audette and Ruuttu.

Probably saved the Sabres some money on his new contract.

https://theathletic.com/1798463/2020/06/12/by-the-numbers-revisiting-the-true-value-of-a-draft-pick/ Modern research actually shows that value can be obtained by trading down. Sorry! Even using Dobber's numbers you can see where the value might be obtained. In the model you quoted, 74% of picks 6-15 make the NHL, 65% of picks 16-31, and 35% of 2nd rd picks. Even using simple math, trading down from 13 to say 20 and picking up a 2nd rd pick would work to the Sabres advantage mathematically. Also, I think his data is flawed. The results of picks 16-25 are significantly better than picks 26-31(32). To be measured properly picks 1 & 2, then 3-5, 6-10, 11-15 and so on to truly understand the tiers within the 1st rd.

Just wait until they trade him again at the deadline.

I’m not against trading the 13th or even trading down to gain other assets to make a move for a top 4 D or goalie. There is not a huge difference in quality between the guys I have listed at 12 down to 21 or so. Stenberg, who I have at 24, has some real advocates as well.