PerreaultForever

I know and I don't disagree. I've heard many an ex player on podcasts and interviews etc. say it's harder to win the cup in the AHL and it's a hard league to play in and that's how it should be. But we know this. It is reality, and it's a training ground for what can and will come, so the make up of your AHL team should be designed for that. You should have your own tough guys and thugs to surround your talented kids and teach them how teams stand up for each other and every role matters and so forth. It's where culture building needs to start.

So just like the NHL playoffs vs. regular season right? You see where I'm going with this? The one constant I've always had on this board is I want the Sabres to build a team properly. A team that is built for the playoffs and not just the regular season. After over a decade of no playoffs I do not want another decade of Leaf style exits after it (if and when it finally ends). Teaching our kids how to play that type of hockey and how to battle through it should be part of the learning process and veterans on Rochester should be there to help them through it.

Possibly. They have a few tougher guys than last year but overall Florida is the tougher team. Probably. idk about 4 straight but Bruins don't have enough goal scoring talent to match Florida so they will likely end up on the losing side of a goaltending battle too. Beating the Leafs was satisfying though. I'm happy. Hate the Leafs.

lol. I will get around to it.

I think it's the end of the big 4. At least one of them is going to get moved, probably Marner. maybe Tavares. Domi and Bertuzzi were their best players in this series. Along with Knies.

cause it's the Leafs. Now enjoy all the Leaf whining for months. and don't worry, unless Swayman performs miracles Bruins can't get anywhere near beating Florida.

Too busy watching the Bruins beat the Leafs. Why, were they good? Did they outplay the Crunch or were they saved by Levi? (Levi, by the way I have always been high on and do think he will eventually be NHL ready. Just not sure that is next year or not. No one else on that roster impresses me but I also do have high hopes for Wahlberg.)

That was a CHOICE. I'm not going to get into the nobody wants to play for you because if that is true fold the tent now, the kids won't want to play for you eventually either. I don't believe it's true. Bruins had no cap room so they filled their roster with cast offs and retreads. Boquist, Van Reimsdyk, Danton Heinin was on a PTO and scored double digits for them. I guess you can argue that players want to play there but idk I think they just want to play. Colin Miller's still playing by the way. There's veterans all over the place, like on those AHL teams Rochester is playing. How you build your franchise and how you construct your roster is a CHOICE. Kevyn Adams may eventually be able to say look, I told you to be patient, and maybe it'll all come together but so far not so much. What we do this off season will matter a lot. I can't wait to see how many heads explode around here when the Bruins sign Crosby this off season 🙂

"don't block the kids" is just a stupid concept plain and simple. You need a competitive environment where position has to be earned rather than being one of privilege. Sometimes coaches can be guilty of favouring veterans over young players because they trust them more and they are more predictable and reliable but that's a thing you go through on most teams as part of the process. Eventually you EARN the coach's trust and you take the job and if you aren't good enough to take it, you dont' deserve it. "not blocking": is just dumb.

I'm not doing anything like that at all. When I see development I am more than happy to praise it. I want to see it for real though. Not in terms of future hypotheticals. I was skeptical about keeping Benson on the roster but if you have read my posts in the latter half of the season you'll have seen that I gave him much praise. I did not see good things from the Rochester call ups (the few that there were) unless you count Bryson, who was better than expected but I don't think of him like that since he was a roster player the year before. I'm talking here about the prospects.

That is a term I've heard out here now and again. Mostly if you mention Toronto or Ontario you get eye rolls or some sort of sarcasm like "oh, it's Ontario, well then it must be good" with full on sarcastic tone and disdain. One thing I've heard multiple times from people who were born out here is they go visit Ontario in the summer and they are just not ready for the humidity. They come back hating the place for the experience they have with that weather. Just not ready for it. After 25 plus years out here I have issues with humidity now too. It's rare here. This is my favourite Toronto video

I was at a food truck festival in Chilliwack today. It was pretty good. Toronto can go f itself.

Exactly. idk if it's actually 10% but it's a low number. So when people keep going on about how many prospects we have they need to stop and realize most of them are never going to make it, which is why we need more veterans at both levels (NHL and AHL).

I wonder how long it's going to be before the league starts mulling over bigger nets again with all these 0-0 scores.

Which is part of the problem in terms of how we develop and with the lack of culture we have at the NHL level. The kids need to be around veterans to learn what it takes and what it doesn't take. A bunch of kids who think they are god's gift to hockey not surrounded by vets is a model for failure. Your AHL team is an injury reserve pool of veterans and a rookie training ground where guys learn to fix their flaws. Ideally it's about a 50/50 mix. If your NHL roster is more than 30% (maximum) rookies, first contracts and bridge deals you're likely not going anywhere either. The Sabres being the youngest team in hockey is NOT an accomplishment.

That's easy. https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/features/washington-capitals-hershey-bears-thank-recent-performance-critical-stretch How is that even a serious question? Every training camp we see who comes up and who goes back. Every year we see the (lack of) contributions from injury call ups from Rochester. How is any of this not obvious???

Didn't Washington's farm team win the Cup last year? They had injuries and called up a bunch of guys this year. They fit in and Washington did what we could not. You can argue that's not evidence I guess but it's something. I just don't believe Rochester is teaching these kids what they need to succeed. I see it as a mirror of what Granato was doing. I think that's a mistake.

Right, stick with that if it helps you, but you're not listening to what I'm saying. We've been fed the full prospect cupboard line for years and "next year" is the year for years and it's all BS. We're bottom of the league every year so sure, we have a bunch of shiny first rounders all over but we have only managed to land 3 2nd rounders into NHL players and aside from Victor Olofsson and those 3 nobody from the lower rounds has made it to be a regular NHL player in over 10 years! If Rochester was a dominant AHL team I might buy in to the just wait for these guys argument, but they're not, it's all BS. We will never win this way.

Because of what the prospects learn and more importantly don't learn coming out of Rochester. That's all that matters to me, that's what the AHL is for.

You're right about the media but it's not just hockey. There's a general media focus on Toronto for everything in Canada. Doesn't help that the CBC is located there. and the rest of the country subsequently has some degree of dislike (or even hatred of Toronto) because of that.

Who you giving up for that? Power?

Let's hope the 2026 lottery is not something we are concerned with.

Imagine if the big shots actually went and played. For example Sweden could have Dahlin, Hedman and Karlson on their D already (among others). Lots of big name players on the golf courses right now. Pity most of them don't go.

I don't attend them since I live in BC. I almost went to the Seattle game this year but it didn't time out well. Won't pay for Canucks prices until Sabres get better. My hatred for the Leafs is a Hamilton-Toronto thing that started way back in my youth over 50 years ago. I understand Sabres fans hate for Boston (although their fans now say what you say about the Leafs as in Bruins have kicked their ass for over a decade so they don't care about them). Flyers? Cup final? That's a long time ago so I've let that one go myself. You should probably hate Carolina and Dallas more. Why not Rags and Islanders hate being in the same state and all? idk if I lived in Buffalo I think I would hate the Leafs and the Habs the most. Mostly because of all those coming over and overrunning those "home" games. That just embarrasses the entire franchise imo.

Highlights. Not full games. I think our development program and what we do in Rochester is highly flawed. Why is it a bunch of teenagers vs. AHL vets? It shouldn't be. It should be a balanced mix, as should the NHL roster. You want to start creating a "winning culture" you start with your farm team and teaching ground. When they come up they should already have in them a firm work ethic and a winning attitude.