GASabresIUFAN

But it also means we don’t have a forward on the level of say Dahlin or Power, although I kind of think Quinn is the most likely player we have drafted recently who might achieve that level.

I think that is generally true which is both good and bad. The bad part is that it is an admission that there really isn’t a proven core piece up front that isn’t replaceable. No Kane or Stamkos, but also no Drury or Briere. The good news is that one gets the feeling that a couple of the young guys, like TnT, Cozens or Quinn, have a real shot at becoming indispensable in the near future.

This will all shake out over time and is a great problem to have. If all these guys reach their potential this will almost guarantee the Sabres are competitive for the next decade. We can’t forget that even though the 3 guys were drafted in the same class they are somewhat staggered in when they’ll reach the Sabres. Odds are that Savoie jumps to the NHL after next season, Kulich the following season and Östlund still has 2 more years on his deal in Sweden, so it’s probably 3 years until he joins the team. As these guys come up, management will have a much better idea on the highest and best use of Cozens, Krebs and Mitts. I’m worried less about playing center as DG seems to like position less hockey. Having multiple guys on a line who are comfortable in the middle seems like something DG would encourage. The bigger issue is where are we going to put everyone if they develop as hoped? Our current longer term top 9 type players (based on skill, age and contract) are Skinner, Tuch, TNT, Cozens, Mitts and Krebs. This year we are adding JJP and Quinn. Then comes the next wave of Rosen, Savoie, Kulich and Östlund. If others blossom like Bloom, Nadeau, Kisakov or Poltapov, then the log jam gets even “worse.” Tough decisions will have to be made as kids force their up from below. I don’t envy KA those decisions.

The answer is going to be simply yes. This coming roster is certainly better then last year’s opening night and in general. Sub replacement hockey players, like Caggiula, Hagg, Butcher, Eakin, Hayden, Pysyk, Tokarski and Miller, are gone. They have been replaced by younger and more talented players. Tuch, Power, Comrie, Samuelsson, Krebs, Lyubushkin, Quinn, JJP and even Bryson are superior to the guys who they replaced regardless of experience. The next question is will this translate in the standings given the strength of the Atlantic division and the aggressive off-seasons of teams like Ott, Det and Mon? I think it will, but as others have said, goaltending will be the key. If Comrie can give us Ullmark level goaltending then the team is destined to show significant improvement. also @LGR4GM in the original post, I’d have listed Comrie as Anderson’s replacement as the No 1 goalie and Anderson as Tokarski’s replacement as the backup.

From a prospect standpoint, Rochester is thin on defense. Outside of Laaksonen, there won’t be any Sabres draftees on the blueline for the Amerks next season. One caveat is the possibility that Fitz gets sent down. As of right now there could be 8 or more Sabres drafted forwards playing for the Amerks next season including Rousek, Malone, Murray, Pekar, Weissbach, Cedarqvist, Kisakov, and Rosen, with Kozak, Kulich and even possibly JJP or Quinn joining the squad.

Starring Darren McGavin Kojak starred Telly Savalas Kozak is the 30 goal scoring 7th rd pick who is eligible for the AHL by about a week. Are we clear?

Yep, my quote was long before we knew how ill CoHo really was.

While I agree 60 pts would be a fantastic result. I went and looked at how other guys who were approximately as effective as Quinn in the AHL at 20 years did the following season in the NHL when I made may 50 point projection. Most of the guys, like Briere, Couture, Satan, Savard and Strome, were quite good the following year in the NHL. Briere was on the low end with only 22 pts, but Satan hit 35 pts, Couture had 56, Marc Savard 45, and Ryan Strome had 50. I think Quinn is at least as talented as the guys on my list.

Is he? Making phone calls to the other GM's is his a large part of his job and it's a results business and he hasn't completed any of those deals. Since he moved on from TM's core, his acquisitions have been bargain basement. No serious move to upgrade the goaltending. Maybe the Comrie will work out, but that is far from a sure thing. The defense, like the goaltending, needed to be upgraded and the best he brought in was a Toronto cast off, who would be a 5/6 on a good team. That is the definition of not being aggressive. Don't get me wrong, I like the direction the team is heading. I agree with the general movement to the kids, but he hasn't really given the kids the proper support in goal or on defense to aid in their development.

No but it will be close

What aggressive move has he made to build this team since the tear down?

I almost posted that myself after reading @Doohickie post.

Quinn contends for rookie of the year with 22g 28a 50 pts. He'll be playing in our top 6 by mid season and blossom from there.

15 goals 25 assists with a diminishing role as the season progresses.

Since he got burned by Hall, KA has shown zero interest in being this aggressive.

Are we a little disappointed in how Rosen and Kulich have played so far?

Where is the Anderson thread?

3 pages on Riley Sheahan who will likely be an afterthought once the season begins. Talk about summer doldrums.

1) Getting a team 2) Making the Cup finals early in franchise history 3) Beating the Soviet Wings 12-6 (1976), one of the only 2 games the Soviets lost in 1976 out of 8 games. 4) Beating the Red Army 6-1 (1980). 5) Pominville's SH OT winner HM: The day RK got fired.

Who would have thought that Buffalo's goaltending situation would be better than LV's. The guy on the NHLNetwork suggested acquiring Anderson from the Sabres. I'm not sure that's 100% accurate. Honestly it's kind of similar. They have 25 year old Logan Thompson who played 19 games last season pretty well for them with a 2.68 and a .914 but has only 1 other game of NHL experience. Plus they have journeyman Hutchinson. Our situation is slightly better, but Thompson, like Comrie is a legit hope.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/golden-knights-goalie-robin-lehner-expected-to-miss-2022-23-season-hip-injury-163844839.html I wonder what Jack is thinking?

The history of late round picks of making the NHL is not great to say the least. I’m happy they are prospects but I would have liked to seen a commitment to a better defensive prospect earlier in the draft that has a higher chance of contributing. Yes I accept that we have a young D group with 3 really solid kids, but that’s only 50% of the group and I don’t really see any internal help for them for years to come, especially when Johnson bolts for allegedly greener pastures.

I would hope so, but I haven’t seen that reflected in who they are drafting, especially early in the draft. Getting Novikov and Komarov seem like intelligent late rd picks, but I’d have liked to see at least one defensively responsible D taken in the top 3 rounds in the last 2 drafts.

It all sounds great for scoring forwards, but what about preventing goals?

It depends on the talent. Are players is specific roles, are certain players much more talented or are they like the Sabres are now at forward with pretty even talent spread across the roster? Most great teams seems to have a core of 6-7 or so guys who hold down the key positions on the team and play the most minutes. Teams like of 05/06 Sabres where you had scoring talent throughout the lineup are much more rare. Teams like the current TB group have a mix of stars plus great depth are the exception. The Sabres are pretty set lineup wise. The camp battles, especially at forward, are who plays with whom? How does DG set the lines? How does he integrate the rookies? We have a forward group with 7 potential centers, all of which also have NHL experience at the wing. Also all of our wingers also have pro experience on their off wing. I literally have only one forward written in pen and that is TnT as the No.1 center.