GASabresIUFAN

I'm downgrading Cozens based on his play tonight. He was challenged for the first time this tourney and disappeared. That doesn't bode well for being NHL ready. Obviously that opinion can change when we see him and camp, but as of right now, I'd say he isn't ready. Also I don't want to force him into the lineup. We harmed Mitts and Grigorenko by doing that. I'd hate to make that mistake again. With Mitts, Thompson and Routsalainen making favorable first impressions in camp, maybe the better plan is to go with them.

He had a great tournament until the biggest game of his young life. He played on the perimeter to much and seemed to be missing the aggression he exhibited earlier in the tourney against weaker opponents. Now we are asking him to be that power forward in the biggest toughest league in the world. My honest assessment is that like Mitts before him, he isn't physically ready for the NHL. He honestly looks like he needs 15-20 lbs more to play his game in the NHL. ' That may not mean he won’t be effective in another role, but I'm thinking he would be better off developing another year away from the NHL.

Still hard to believe we won that game. That said USA was the better team most of the night. I guess 19 1st rd picks creates pressure but not necessarily results. Are we sure Cozens is ready?

HOF finalists Jared Allen, defensive end – 2004-07 Kansas City Chiefs, 2008-13 Minnesota Vikings, 2014-15 Chicago Bears, 2015 Carolina Panthers Ronde Barber, cornerback/safety – 1997-2012 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tony Boselli, tackle – 1995-2001 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2002 Houston Texans (injured reserve) LeRoy Butler, safety – 1990-2001 Green Bay Packers Alan Faneca, guard – 1998-2007 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2008-09 New York Jets, 2010 Arizona Cardinals Torry Holt, wide receiver – 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars Calvin Johnson, wide receiver – 2007-15 Detroit Lions John Lynch, safety – 1993-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2004-07 Denver Broncos Peyton Manning, quarterback – 1998-2011 Indianapolis Colts, 2012-15 Denver Broncos Clay Matthews Jr., linebacker – 1978-93 Cleveland Browns, 1994-96 Atlanta Falcons Sam Mills, linebacker – 1986-94 New Orleans Saints, 1995-97 Carolina Panthers Richard Seymour, defensive end/defensive tackle – 2001-08 New England Patriots, 2009-12 Oakland Raiders Zach Thomas, linebacker – 1996-2007 Miami Dolphins, 2008 Dallas Cowboys Reggie Wayne, wide receiver – 2001-14 Indianapolis Colts Charles Woodson, cornerback/safety – 1998-2005, 2013-15 Oakland Raiders; 2006-12 Green Bay Packers I think there are 5 guys who are going to be selected in Thomas, Calvin Johnson, Woodson, Manning and Boselli. Others?

Brackets are set by order of finish the year before. USA will be top seed in group A and Canada group B. Finland to group B and Russia to group A. The rest I’m not 100% sure .

Cozens should have been Canada’s C tonight.

Zegras was right that Canada hadn’t really been challenged all tourney, until tonight.

Wow. Zegras or Knight MVP? Knight was the player of this game, but Zegras was the USA engine.

Empty net.

This game is getting more tense by the second.

This is going to be a long 10 minutes

US needs more sustained offense to work this clock off.

Canada turning it up.

There has been a Cozens sighting

What great hands by Zegras. 2-0

USA outplayed Canada most of the first, but fun period of hockey. Zegras 1 Cozens 0

This is all supposition on your part. You dismiss Pekar but even if he just becomes a 4th line player that lasts 5-6 years in the NHL that is a great pick in the 4th rd. Where are TM’s depth players? You dismiss all the good D prospects as only 3rd pairing or fringe guys. Based on what? Considering that Joker and Dahlin are the only core players in the current group, there is a ton of opportunity for all these guys and considering the speed all of them have but Samuelsson, I suspect they have better upside then you give them credit for. Also add that if you get decent players from middle to late round picks like Bryson and Laaksonen then again you’ve done well drafting. Again where is TM’s depth players. The ultimate problem with your dismissal of the prospects is that they are all tracking to become NHL players. TM gave us Eichel, Reinhart and Olofsson and nothing else. No D, No G and no depth. The goal of every draft is to build depth in your organization. If you get an impact player in every draft great, but if you want to have a great organization you find at least 3 players per draft. TM didn’t come close. Jbot’s drafts have that potential no matter how much you dislike him.

It’s never cut and dried. TM took Reinhart at 2 when Draisatl was the better player. He also took Nylander at 7 when Sergachev was the better player and a crushing need. In the Reinhart draft Ekblad was the consensus no. 1 pick. Anyone think he is still best player from that draft? Is Reinhart No. 2?

Good - Skinner trade, Drafting Dahlin, acquiring Scandella and Pommers, trading TM turd Nylander for Jokiharju, filling our pipeline with legit prospects like Cozens, Mitts, Thompson, Johnson, UPL, Pekar, Bryson, Routsalainen, Laaksonen, Portillo, and Samuelsson, hiring RK, turning the Amerks into a legit franchise, getting us out of cap hell, and acquiring Montour, Miller and Jokiharju to build a good D group. Bad - Trading ROR (although may have been required by TP and we may end up with two good NHL players out of it long-term in Thompson and Johnson), NEVER REPLACING ROR, Scandella trade, signing Hutton, forcing Mitts into the lineup, and ultimately not making us any better on the ice (record wise) then TM. Ultimately JB failed because he never properly replaced ROR. However, he left the franchise in a better place then he found it. Better D group in Buffalo, cap space which KA used to get Hall and Eakin, a viable farm team and a good prospect pool. Was ignoring CHL really a bad thing? We did get Cozens, and considering how many legit prospect we have from his drafts which focused on Europe and Colleges and the abject failure the TM drafts with with tons of CHL players, I don’t think you can call the overall strategy a failure. TM drafted 11 CHL’s and only 3 are NHLers - Reinhart (a no brainer pick and he should take Draisatl), bust Nylander at 7 overall, and 4th liner Lemieux. His best pick was from the SHL in Olofsson. Jbot is a smart guy who will learn from his mistakes. He’ll be fine in Seattle and he’ll do a good job in his next GM job.

Maybe if the Bills can claim the mountain so can UGA

OC’s figured out how to take advantage of their mediocre secondary. They are very similar to the Fish on D. Taylor is their biggest threat. Fraser may have to play a 4-3 early to stop Taylor early, but I just don’t see a team with a mediocre secondary stopping the Bills for any length of time. If they can’t stop us, then they have to pass to stay in the game. I’ll take an Allen vs Rivers dual.

Indy D analysis from Sportsnaut.com I like our chances.

He said that himself. https://www.buffalobills.com/video/isaiah-mckenzie-next-man-up. He has been working with Roberts and Beasley to get better. It showed. He loves the Bills and wants to make a career here. He realized with Davis and Diggs coming in his spot was again in jeopardy and decided to become an everything guy to keep his job and secure his position long-term. So far so good. McDermott said he is one of the guys who keeps the locker-room fun and upbeat.

Brown is the deep threat, and MacKenzie is the slot guy if Beasley can't go as he was against the Fish. Stills and another receiver were added to the practice squad. Stills only plays if Brown can't go. As to the Colts. They are ok, but if we can't handle their mediocre offense, we don't deserve to take the next step. Their D is good, on the same level as Miami. Miami, even after our 56 pts, is the 6th rated D at 21.1 Pts per game. Indy is 8th at 22.6.

I guess 2021 is starting like 2020. A life well loved but still very sad. He was a big part of Sabres history.