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No see below

Just an FYI: I'd keep an eye on Weissbach in the AHL next season He is physically very similar to R2 and VO. He also had a great 22 year old season in the NCAA with 41 pts (12g 29a) in 31 games. Using Dobber's NHLe for VO, R2 and LW on their 22 year old seasons. Vo's was 42 while both LW and R2 was 36. Obviously I think R2's upside is similar to VO's. I'm very curious if Weissbach can translate his NCAA success to AHL next season.

I'd be happy is he turns into the best 2nd rd pick since Pommers.

Once you get passed the 2nd round every draft is a crap shoot and you are looking for a kid with something in his game that is elite such as a shot or skating or physical game etc... You then hope to develop the rest. VO is the classic example. Elite shot and good skating, but everything else needed work.

I don't think we'll know KA's FA strategy until Jack is traded and we see what (if anything) at an NHL level comes back the other way.

We ain't keeping Jack, but I agree that there is promise in this lineup. Sadly it won't matter if we don't get some decent goalies.

Fixed the league.

Please see the above comparison. R2 has a very good scoring touch but is a much better playmaker then VO, which is why I have him with a higher ceiling then VO. In VO's rookie year (age 24) he posted .46 pts per game at even strength. I think R2 can exceed that (was .35 at 23) and with PP time he could exceed VO's overall production. Guys who can put up 1.42 pts per game in the Liiga are very talented offensive players.

He remains unsigned and in college. He is developing fine and was significantly improved year over year with 14 pts in 27 college games. He was also solid in the World Jrs. He was drafted 1 year behind Samuelsson, and is progressing toward the NHL. I would not be surprised to see him signed this summer and start the year in the AHL and like Samuelsson earn a call up at some point. Being our 10th overall prospect on a list that includes 4 guys with NHL experience, a 1st overall pick and 3 other top 15 picks is not a sin.

Here is a comparison for you Age 22 Season VO (SHL) - 50gms 27g 16a 43 pts - .86 pts/gm R2 (Liiga) - 44gms 15g 28a 43 pts - .98 pts/gm Age 23 season VO (AHL) 66gm 30g 33a 63 pts - .96 pts/gm VO (NHL) 6 gms 2g 2a 4pts - .67 pts/gm R2 (Liiga) 19gm 16g 11a 27 pts - 1.42 pts/gm R2 (AHL) 13gm 5g 8a 13 pts - 1 pt/gm R2 (NHL) 17gm 5g 1a 6 pts - .35 pts/gm They have taken very similar paths to the NHL. VO's full rookie year at 24 produced 42 pts in 54 games but 11 of the 20 goals and 17 of the 42 pts came on the PP. R2 received no PP time last season, but is now primed to get PP time this coming fall.

So why did I put R2 so high? He reminds me of a better version of VO. VO paced at 60+ points as a rookie and at a 55 pt pace for his career to date. I think R2 has similar upside potential and could be a 60 pt player in the NHL. Do we think JJP or Quinn will get to that level? Possible I guess, but R2 is closer to the NHL and much closer to reaching that potential.

Hedman’s stats his first 3 years were just ok 20-26 pts. Pietrangelo stayed in the OHL for 2 more years after being drafted. I doubt the perception changes to much if he joins the Sabres this coming season and shows he isn’t out of place.

We were lucky to get him when we did. His ratings from most of the scouting services were significantly higher then where we got him.

I think Cozen's upside is ROR. Excellent player and maybe eventually a No 1. center, but not a top 10 NHL center. Power's upside is a Norris contender. That imho is a higher upside.

So how do you give a high ranking to two guys who played limited or no games? By the way Cozens vs Power. The draft gurus say Power's upside is Victor Hedman, if that is correct, that imho is more upside then Cozens.

Cozens will be a prospect on nearly every list. He has played a total of 41 NHL games and started the year in the Canadian U20 team. He can still be sent down. Most list makers won't eliminate a guy until he gets 100 games under his belt at least.

I think Sardarian (and Bloom) were huge reaches. Sardarian is also years from the NHL. He is going to the NCAA which is good but it could be another 4 years until he turns pro. His best ranking (and only) that I've seen was Central Scouting EU 73rd best European By contrast Marjala and Nadeau were both in the Q. Both were consistently decently rated by the scouting agencies I follow. Nadeau played on a top line and produced. McKenzie on his consensus board had him 74th. FC had him 76th. Marjala was 90th by FC and 103rd by Smaht. I also think both are more likely to be pros soon and are closer to NHL ready.

Those are great debates. Obviously Cozens is already in the NHL. I was trying to think if Cozens and Power were in the same draft and I think Power would still go ahead of him. I put JJP ahead of Quinn because I think he actually has a higher upside, but Quinn is closer to the NHL. I really like Novikov also. I was thinking about placing him higher but I think he maybe 4 years from coming over. Levi vs Portillo was also a debate. Portillo and Levi will both be in the NCAA next year. It should be very interesting to watch who has more of an impact.

My rules - 24 and under and still waiver exempt. Just to clarify, I look at time to the NHL as well as upside. 1. Power (obviously) 2. Cozens 3. R2 4. JJP 5. Quinn 6. Rosen 7. UPL 8. Poltapov 9. Samuelsson 10. Johnson 11. Kisakov 12. Levi 13. Bryson 14. Portillo 15. Laaksonen 16. Weissbach 17. Nadeau 18. Murray 19. Marjala 20. Rousek 21. Sardarian 22. Bloom 23. Huglen 24. Biro 25. Kukkonen 26. Novikov

Not with Granato as coach. If I remember correctly, his role with Sabres diminished once DG became coach. He was also terrible all of last season except maybe on the PK. Also Asplund, Girgensons and R2 are all experienced centers at various levels. My guess is if the motto of the team remains let the kids play, Asplund and R2 will compete for the 3C job if we the roster stays as is. I can also easily see Asplund moving to 4C over Eakin if he loses to R2 for 3C. This is the spine right now IMHO Mitts, Cozens, R2 & Asplund

He probably won't be buried because we won't need the cap savings or the roster slot. He'll end up being a 13th or 14th forward and spend most nights in the pressbox. I can see Ka waiving him to see if some team wants him for free, but he'll end up staying in Buffalo.

I agree. I wasn't stating my opinion, but how I think KA views his roster and cap situation. I would have taken Vatrano to get an extra pick or prospect.

I doubt it. I'm just the one that pointed it out.

I think "tank" is a banned word. We are calling it rebuilding 4.0 KA said in his presser that he didn't want to "Box Out" his kids. I think KA views this team as follows Centers: Mitts, Cozens, R2 and Eakin LW: Skinner, Asplund, Girgensons, (Sheahan or Caggiula - if re-signed) RW: Olofsson, Thompson, KO, Bjork (If Quinn makes the team Bjork moves to LW) On Defense: He has the following kids with NHL experience: Dahlin, Jokiharju, Bryson, and Samuelsson. Plus Power if signed along with the Vets Miller and Hagg). Other then goaltending, he basically has a full roster of players as long as the RFAs are re-signed. Our current Cap situation without Jack is 34,475,000 for 9 forwards and 3 D with 4 RFAS (Mitts, Asplund, Jokiharju and Dahlin). Dahlin is the only one who should command big $. I can see Mitts getting a Thompson type deal, with Asplund and Jokiharju getting 1 to 1.25 for a couple of years. Say 9-10 for all 4 guys including 5.5 to Dahlin? That puts us at 11F and 5 D and approx 45 mill in cap with 2 goalie left to acquire. I also think that he correctly believes he is sitting on 22 mill in bad contracts in Skinner, KO Eakin, Miller and Girgensons and isn't really interested in other teams' bad deals (unlike AZ). With this framework in mind I think it helps explain (not excuse) how the two trades went down. To get extra assets, Fla's GM said we had to take back a bad contract or two. KA said forget it, and thus no Vatrano or Bob or Stralman or whomever for added prospects or draft picks. Personally, I think this was a huge mistake, but I understand the rationale. I wonder if he may revisit this at the trade deadline, to accept an expiring contract or two then for prospects/picks. Contrast that with the Risto trade. One I think there was a bidding war making KA's job easier and Philly, like Fla, said we had to take a contract to get the extra draft pick. In this case Hagg was a perfect sweetener. One year inexpensive deal, we were likely to sign a depth D anyway for at least 800k to 1,000,000 and at 26 Hagg still has a chance to contribute. (unlike Irwin). While this "give the kids a chance" off-season game plan is something I agree with in principal, I think it's a huge mistake to put that much weight on Mitts and Cozens as the top two centers next season. I want to see Mitts and Cozens perform well for a full season before deciding they are the future. As much as I like both players, I just don't think they are ready to replace Jack and Sam. Obviously this scenario may change when we see the return for Eichel, but it looks like KA is going young and cheap and seeing if they can build on the promise from late last season. Still that group had a NO. 1 center in Reinhart.

Still waiting….