Amerks8796

I didn’t think they’d keep 8 D, but I think they will now with how Pilut has played. Doubt they want to waive Fitzgerald. That will put Peterka or Krebs spot in potential jeopardy.

Hinostroza was never batting for a spot. He was always a lock. Weissbach looked good, but guys in his situation effectively have no chance unless there’s multiple injuries.

Super talented forward group. If Sheahan ends up in Rochester, that would be huge for them defensively. I think they need a good, defensively responsible veteran like him to balance out the rookies. Defense looks improved. Honestly UPL will likely be the weak link of the team. Subban will likely be much better, but he’ll get less games in. The AHL is tough to predict, but the Amerks look good. And I don’t feel any of their divisional rivals got much better. Utica especially lost a lot from last year.

Depends on their age. McDonnell, for example, could sign and play in Rochester this season. I’m assuming he’s the invitee that’s most likely to earn a contract.

Personally interested in how McDonnell and Kozak perform. I wonder if this will be an audition for a spot in Rochester for both of them. Kozak especially. He seems ready to step into the AHL this year.

That would probably mean one of Peterka or Krebs gets sent down. I can see this happening if someone has a bad camp.

I think the Sabres go 14 and 7. Pilut will be the first D call up.

If you actually listen to his interview today, he said that it all came together with Buffalo after someone signed in Europe. He said other teams contacted him earlier in the offseason. I find it hard to believe this whole deal was done in less than a day. The timeline makes way more sense that the Sabres reached out after the Ruotsalainen signing, he held out for a 1 way deal, but ultimately signed with Buffalo.

I simply find it hard to believe the Sabres communicated to Sheahan that they signed him because their preferred player in free agency opted to go back to Europe. There was an organizational hole that was created when Artuu signed in Europe, and Sheahan was the replacement. Lysowski is pretty in tune with the team and seemed to hint to expect a player on a two way contract after Artuu signed.

So they pivoted to another player in a matter of hours, and also decided to tell him that he was their second choice after the other player they would’ve rather had, decided to go to Europe? Sure I think it’s far more realistic that he was the depth player to replace Artuu’s spot on the organization

I would expect Declan McDonnell on the roster as well. Sounds like the Sabres are interested in him.

I’m fairly positive the reference was Ruotsalainen.

It took Peterka half a season to really adjust and take off last year. They’re not going to give him a handful of games to adjust to a new league and then kill his confidence by shuttling him off elsewhere.

The Amerks did not have a racist incident at all. What a terrible headline to the topic.

I don’t know why stuff like this continues to get perpetuated. The AHL today isn’t the AHL of 20 or 30 years ago. It’s younger, and more angled towards development. Kulich moving down a level to the QMJHL doesn’t make any sense. He should be in Rochester.

I agree. It’s weird. It’s usually those that are quite prominent on Sabres twitter. I think they’re very insecure people, and the moment an Amerks fan questions the Sabres, they can’t handle it.

It’s interesting that on twitter, I’ve never seen an NHL fan base as hostile to an AHL team as Buffalo is to Rochester. I don’t know why. It’s quite weird.

Most are independently owned. Chicago and Hershey have quite a bit of money, but as far as I know, neither team controls any hockey ops anymore. Going back 10 years ago, both teams would sign their own players. But now they’re at the whims of their parent club. Same with Syracuse. Howard Dolgon owns the team, but TB has total control over the on ice product.

To answer the question, not really. But probably more so than many other NHL teams. To me, the Amerks history and stature in the league should grant them additional resources and attention to win. That’s just my personal opinion. They have a rich history, and I think Buffalo has an obligation to keep that going. That doesn’t mean putting the Amerks needs over the Sabres. But no one has ever suggested that. You can prioritize winning in the AHL without sacrificing development. Ultimately, Buffalo puts a little extra emphasis on winning compared to some of the typical AHL bottom feeders, but to the level of Hershey, Chicago, Providence, Wilkes- Barre, Syracuse? I don’t believe so.

I’d be quite happy if he ended up with Rochester, but I have a hard time seeing it. Salary does matter. It would be a last resort to waive him.

I would agree. They need a top 6 C now that Artuu left. A couple candidates I would like are Sam Anas, Cedric Paquette, Sam Steel.

Just using raw numbers, I count 11 forwards that I see on Rochester right now. Malone, Biro, Rosen, Mersch, Rousek, Weissbach, Ceserqvist, Kisakov, Jobst, Murray, Pekar Unknowns right now are Kulich, Kozak and perhaps McDonnell. Either way, I think they need to bring in at least 2-3 more forwards in the organization, whether it’s those I mentioned above, or another vet or two

I understand why he did this, but it’s a monumental loss for Rochester. Between him, Jankowski, Quinn and Peterka, that’s a lot of offense gone, with very little brought in to replace it. Might be a tough year.

Yes. But he came back fine and was the teams best player by the end of the year. Certainly wasn’t a mistake for him to turn pro that year.

Girgensons had a very good 18 year old year in the AHL. Perhaps you meant someone else. He started slowly and was one of the better players on the team by the end of the year, definitely the Amerks best player in the playoffs that year.