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I think these are two different groups. Mitts and VO have passed their evaluations with their play since the calendar turned to March and they got healthy. Bryson has also passed and I can see him being re-signed to a 3 year extension. Asplund, Fitz and UPL are a different story. Quinn and JJP are pushing Asplund down the lineup and maybe out. Fitz is Rory Fitzpatrick 2.0 and UPL has next year to prove he belongs. Otherwise, he will be replaced.

I think athletes are hard wired to want to win championships. I think most of these kids would relish an opportunity to go to Rochester to try to win a championship regardless of level. They would all benefit from playing playoff hockey. I doubt any of the kids would take it as a demotion, but as an opportunity. They might be annoyed at missing NHL money for a couple of games.

The minimum age for the AHL is 18. However the CHL and NHL have a side agreement that keeps CHL kids in the CHL until basically they are 20. The cut off is 12/31. In our recent draft class Kozak was born 12/29/02 and therefore is eligible for the A next year, while Nadeau, born 1/15/03 isn’t. The exceptions are a CHL player can suit up in the A upon completion of his CHL team’s season and if they are foreign players on loan to the CHL. Alex Nylander was one such player on a loan. The last exception is a player under 20 can go to the A if they have completed 4 CHL seasons. Of course, a signed player can skip the AHL altogether and go straight to the NHL. There are no age limitations.

That’s what I thought when I looked it up for the Rochester thread. If I remember correctly only Kozak of the CHL players from Bloom’s draft class is eligible for A next season. I’m happy for Bloom. I thought he was drafted to early, but Bloom has really blossomed this season. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Bloom, Nadeau and Kozak build on their excellent junior seasons. We could really use the forward depth over the next couple years.

What about having one more chance at a National Championship?

I’m glad he is signed, but is he eligible for the A next season, or will this contract just slide next season?

That’s not a fair comparison considering the surgery Jack is recovering from. Assuming both are healthy next season, that will be a more reasonable comparison. I like the ROR comparison better. I also would ask knowing what we know now, would we be better off with Thomas, Kyrou or Thompson as the compensation for ROR?

No, but he does have a more lethal and accurate shot. Jack has been a pt a game player since age 22. Tage, 24, even with his breakout season still isn’t there. He is a good passer but not on Jack’s level. He also isn’t as fast. Ultimately, if Jack can stay healthy, I can see Jack putting up a 90 - 95 pt season. I don’t see Tage reaching those heights.

15 goals 45 assists. Since the calendar changed to March, Casey has 14 pts in his last 23 games (a 50 pt pace) with 18 of those games against playoff teams. Now add a Quinn to his line and the sparks will fly.

Actually it’s 6.5 mill under the cap floor. Typo. Sorry!. However don’t forget it’s actually more than that. If Hinostroza, Pysyk, and Anderson aren’t retained, that’s another 4 mill under the Cap Floor. Waive Bjork, that opens up another 1.1. The way I look at it is there are 4-5 open jobs for next season; starting goalie, Okposo line center, veteran RHD (upgrade over Pysyk), and extra skater (could be either a 14th forward or 8th D). The 5th opening is the backup goalie if UPL isn’t ready. To fill these jobs, they have to spend at least 11.5 mill to get to the cap floor (16.5 if VO isn’t re-signed) and up to 31 mill to get to the cap ceiling.

Actually my bad at 55 mill we are 6.5 under the cap floor.

https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?report=goalsagainstbystrength&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20212022&seasonTo=20212022&gameType=2&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=goalsAgainst&page=0&pageSize=50 Nhl.com breakdown they type of goals each teams scores and allows by type.

I've done this projection earlier. The Status Quo team is as follows https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/3200901 1) Re-sign VO for 4 years 5 mill per season 2) Re-sign RFAs Bryson and UPL for 1 mill each for 2 years 3) Re-sign UFAs Vinnie and Anderson for 1.5 each and Pysyk for 1.25. 4) Promote JJP, UPL and Quinn. This is a 23 man roster (14 F, 7 D and 2 G) for 55 million.(About 6.5 mill under the cap floor) Lines look something like this Forwards Skinner, TNT, Tuch VO, Mitts, Quinn Asplund, Girgensons, KO Krebs, Cozens, JJP (Bjork and Vinnie are extras) Defense and Goaltending Samuelsson Dahlin Power Jokiharju Bryson Pysyk (Fitz) Anderson, UPL

Maybe to many variables? For example what type of franchise are they going to in the NHL. When Ryan Miller, Roy, Vanek and Pommers came up from Rochester after a dominating season in the A, the Sabres were already turning it around and were ready to take a leap forward. I feel much the same way about the influx of Power, Quinn and JJP. However this isn't always the case. Often Calder Cup winning teams in the A are very veteran laden squads. I went and looked at the leading scorers in the AHL. Using points, the Sabres have 2 of the only four legit prospects in the top 22 scorers. They are both the youngest two scorers on the list. Glass (13th) has been called up. Quinn is 22nd in points but Quinn is second in the A at Pts/GP at 1.40. JJP in 14th in points. Not bad for a 19 year old.

by team or player? Haven't people done extensive research on NHLe based on age in the AHL and how it translate to scoring in the NHL?

That’s the error. We played on Jan 1 and the NHL included that in your numbers. That would be 11 "dec" games with an 2-6-3 record or .318 Here is food for thought. In the 20 games from Nov through Jan in which Dell or Subban didn't play, the Sbares were 8-8-4. That's hockey 500.

LOL, the last one should have been easy. I was so concentrated on older players I forgot an obvious one.

Where did these numbers come from? I get the same points % for Nov, but in Dec I get .300 (2-6-2 or 6 pts out of 20) and in Jan I get .417 (4-6-2 or 10 pts out of 24). FYI in Nov the Sabres opponents had a current win % of .537, .599 for Dec and .518 for Jan. The JAG numbers are staggering in those games. Bjork played 86%, Hayden 89%, Butcher 67%, Miller 86% before he got hurt. Caggiula 71% before he got hurt at the end of Nov. Dell/Subban played 16 games in that period and combined for a 1-13-2 record.

I wonder how much of that dip in Nov - Jan is because of a young team without much depth getting hammered by injuries? It would be interesting to see how many games Hayden, Caggiula, Bjork, Butcher, Miller, Pysyk, Subban, and Dell played during that span. I'd also like to see the winning % of our opponents in those months.

Bodger and Van Boxmeer have to top the list. Guevremont, Korab, Zhitnik, Galley, Myers, and Soupy for sure. Hannu Virta I believe as well. I'm not sure if Schoeny, or Mike Ramsey, but they had to have gotten close. Does Lindy Ruff count? What about Krupp and Smehlik?

Great question and welcome to the board. The answer for me is a definite maybe. The question of the goaltending needs to be answered before I say for sure that they've turned the corner. If I break it down by position, I can agree that the forward group is ready to compete nightly. The defense is still spotty and the goaltending is mediocre at best. If we go into roster year with this roster as is, it is not a playoff caliber team. Obviously there will be new additions next year beyond Quinn, JJP and Power. However if KA brings back Anderson in a tandem with UPL, the goaltending will ultimately let us down again. @JustOneParade I've been waiting for "just one parade" for decades and actually finally got two this past fall with the Braves winning the WS and UGA winning the Natty. It can happen, and it's nice to see my hometown teams making strides towards that goal. Obviously the Bills are closer to the goal, but for the first time in a decade the Sabres aren't a laughing stock.

He’s probably glad he missed it.

Did Risto play? I didn’t hear his name called once.

He didn’t exactly get much help. How exactly was he going to stop the Thompson, Dahlin and Okposo goals? All three set up by perfect passes through the defense. Really Vinnie’s goal excusable as well. It was a giveaway practically in the crease.

Nice game by Skinner. I loved his effort in the dying minutes.