FrenchConnection44
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Posts posted by FrenchConnection44
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Watching a lot of the videos he seems like a slightly more solidly built Zach Benson. Not a fast skater, not a big shot, but good intangibles and gritty.
I guess Brandsegg-Nygard was too big of a two-way forward, and too much what they don’t have for Adams to draft him
(“Brandsegg-Nygard has a professional body already, at 6-foot-1, 207 pounds and is the type of prospect the Wings have focused on in recent years. He's a two-way right wing who is as responsible on the defensive end as he is offensively, with a hard shot and good playmaking ability. He's a physical player who searches for contact with that strong body and plays with an edge.” Detroit FP). Nah, don’t need a player like that! And there is your 6+ ft 200+ pounder.
We shall see.
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On 6/24/2024 at 5:40 PM, dudacek said:
I have absolutely no idea what kind of big picture the Sabres data crunchers have painted of Cole Eiserman.
But I find him the most fascinating player likely to be available when they pick.
I don’t think casual draftniks understand how prolific this kid is. And I very much want Sam Ventura to supply the proper context.
Eiserman is the all-time leading goal scorer for the USNTDP. He scored 127 goals in two years in the same circumstances that saw Auston Matthews score 79 and Patrick Kane 84. I’ve seen people dismiss him as Oliver Wahlstrom. Wahlstrom had 72 goals - that’s not even 2/3rds Eiserman’s totals.
It’s a different sort of ‘yeah, but’ but I see some Zach Benson parallels here despite the fact they are completely different players.
With Benson, 12 teams saw the kid’s terrific all-around game and said “yeah, but” he’s small and not fast.
With Eiserman, teams see his unprecedented gift for scoring goals and also say “yeah but” that’s all he cares about.
Could this be another case of scouts missing the forest for the trees?
I don’t have an informed opinion on how good Eiserman will be.
But I remember when the Sabres made “a complete game” their priority and picked Ric Seiling right before the Islanders took Mike Bossy.
I don’t want that to happen again.
Seems like they did exactly what you didn’t want to happen. Passed on Eiserman and went with a “complete game” player. 🤷🏼♂️
Although it could be argued they passed on the guy with the most complete game who went one pick later, Brandsegg-Nygard
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1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:
From Hammy on GR:
Adams knew when he got to Sphere that he wasn’t going to be able to move his pick for an NHL player. He said,
“As the afternoon went on, I thought we put together some really strong offers and then when that didn’t end up happening, I just knew that teams just weren’t willing to move a player for a pick in a package.”
So … our picks and prospects are not in high demand and no free agent is hot to come to Buffalo.
Guess teams have figured out - better to copy the Panthers / Knights MO - wait til the player is developed some, becomes dissatisfied with the Sabres, then get him for a few prospects and add a cog to their Stanley Cup run.
At this point we are just a AAA feeder franchise.
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20 hours ago, Thorny said:
I am the “trade down makes sense” guy so, there’s that
if we don’t trade one of these picks or prospects in the next couple days I’d have to say I hate it, though
Right. It remains to be seen.
On the surface it makes no sense if they are drafting these players. They don't need more prospects - especially long term prospects and the further down the board one moves the more long term and uncertain the prospect becomes.
They need talent influx asap. It only makes sense if they are making a trade with these picks in some way.
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12 hours ago, Thorny said:
A neutral moment
The voting by Jim Matheson. Lol. That’s some real homerism right there. 3 Oilers.
I think a case could be made for Barkov, McDavid, or Bob. Barkov shut McDavid down in the first two games. And McDavid was ineffectual in game 7. And Bob had 4 great games, not 3 like McDavid (really, 2). He gave up 5 goals in the 4 wins. Of course, Barkov was a big part of that. As well as the rest of the Panthers team defense. I’d have voted for one of the Panthers. It was a strange series. One of crazy streaks. Which makes MVP voting difficult. Based on which set of games?
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Agree on wanting Edmonton and not liking southern teams winning. I prefer more traditional franchises to win. The Kings are a minor exception since they’ve been around. But still go for northern teams.
A Florida reporter tweeted this. This really ticks me off. We should have tanked for McDavid. SMH. Had a solid lead over the Oilers for the top pick thru game 68.
The Panthers appear to be the Sabres parent club and we are their AAA talent feeder at this point - which makes me want them less (I’ve never gone in for rooting for former players, even ones I liked, to win a cup with another team. It only irritates me. 😊). Was really rooting for the Rangers. I may watch a game or two in hopes McDavid plays well and can score. Had Dallas won I would likely not have watched a single game of the finals.
That said, I think the Panthers are the better overall team with the better goalie. And they have the number one agitator in the NHL in Tkachuk. Hate that guy with a passion. But wish we had him on our team. Or a player like him. It will be interesting to see how the Oilers plan to deal with him.
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20 hours ago, Second Line Center said:
Worst captain in Sabres history. Great dude. Had no business leading this team.
If I had to guess what I think it was - the 3 goalie situation. Benson making the team (nothing against him just acknowledgement of how thin we are at F). And honestly, my guess is the coach not having them ready. But that’s also on the Captain.
Wasted season - nothing made sense.
That statement that he could see in October / November that “it just wasn’t there” - something was missing - is really what many of us saw. Which is why several of us were calling for Granato to be gone in early December.
I do like Dahlin calling out the team for not showing up in camp in great condition. And that they need to this upcoming year. Several of these guys need to get a lot stronger. Probably 2/3 to 3/4 of the team could stand to add - at minimum - 10 lbs of muscle. It’s very doable with the right diet and weight training. A high school kid can do it. There is no excuse for Power not to come into camp at 228-230 (after playing at 218 lat year) given his frame. And to be quicker, faster and more dominant. Zero excuses.
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So the Sabres South are better than the actual Sabres.
Have to admit, frustrating to see us serving as a farm team for the Panthers.
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On 4/26/2024 at 3:55 PM, Flashsabre said:
https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/rochester-rookie-nikita-novikov-looks-like-special-sabres-defense-prospect/
The forwards get all the attention but I think people are really sleeping on the seasons that the 2 Russian Dmen have had. Novikov in the AHL and Komarov’s past 2 years in the Q.Pretty exciting to see. Good write up.
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Watching the Hurricanes on the road is like watching the Russian Olympic team with their red and white uniforms. Almost feels like they copied them.
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21 hours ago, ... said:
This is gold.
It's time to start penalizing ***-***** like that.
But could not believe they didn't call Marchand on that hook/interference just before the Bruins scored their GW goal.
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I am fully content with this. (Eff the whole "wash, rinse, repeat" bs. He took Buffalo to the Stanley Cup Finals - granted it was with arguably one of the greatest goalies in NHL history - still he did that)
He has a TON of experience in the NHL (unlike Granato).
He had 8 playoff appearances in 14 seasons with the Sabres. Who wouldn't take that after the last 13 years?
His successful stint with the Devils, where he guided a relatively young team, further demonstrates his coaching prowess.
He's either developed into or had a winner at every franchise he's been with.
He's a Buffalo man.
Now, Adams needs to add at least 2 high-quality, tough, physical NHL players this offseason—ideally one two-way forward and one top-4 D man.
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4 hours ago, Doohickie said:
I think Kevyn hopes he'll be the next Casey Mittelstadt. Maybe he's right but I'm not seeing it.
Was anyone seeing it in Casey 3 years ago?
I don’t see that comp, though. Krebs is a different sort of player.
I am fine with Krebs coming back but needs some real competition.
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New captain.
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17 hours ago, triumph_communes said:
We’re actually a pretty big team. The emotional part is where coaching comes in to change
I don’t think we are that big. Tall maybe. But only Samuelsson and Girgs and Tuch are actually big. But none of those are tough or rugged players.
Cozens, Tage, Power are all tall kids but all of them could use another 10-15 lbs of muscle to those frames. And they need to toughen up.
Really, bring 1-2 vets, at least one forward, who can come in and play rugged NHL style hockey. That, combined with some work ethic to develop their bodies in the offseason, and I think the team could be significantly improved to go with a coach who holds them accountable and has a system (some of the players may have even forgotten what that means).
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Well, when a loss will actually benefit the team and elevate them 3 spots into the top ten of the draft, they can’t even do that right!
Granato has to go.
They also need a veteran and they need a revamped player development section. The whole front office is too slim in that regard.
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3 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:
I think the playoff race in the AHL prevented that. The Amerks can earn still the #1 seed in the conference.
Ah. Hadn’t paid attention there in a bit.
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2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:
Let's talk draft position. A Sabres win locks up the 11th pick. A loss and they could be anywhere between 11 and 8. NJ, CGY and SEA could jump past us.
How does that impact lottery odds?
11 = 3%
10 = 3.5%
9 = 5%
8 = 6%
It's also weird that the NHL regular season continues for 3 more days after Buffalo is done.
Gotta Lose.
Once we were eliminated (really even before we were technically eliminated as we were a couple of games prior to that for all intents ..), I’d have brought a bunch of guys up and let them play. And I would not care about winning too much. We want the best draft position possible. Even if we decided to trade it for a vet the higher the pick the better.
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2 hours ago, PASabreFan said:
Hoppe did not write that we should expect to see firings and trades?
I meant he didn’t write anything within the content that showed any evidence related to the title. It was just rehashing the problems.
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Is anyone else just completely fed up with Granato and his press conferences?
Along with his coaching, to say the least?
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Scheffler is great. I am totally meh on him as a fan. My favorite golfers over the years have been Jack (started watching golf in 1970), then Freddy, then Norman, then Mickelson (I chatted with him at the Masters practice round in 1993. Been a fan ever since; in spite of LIV). Not a huge fan of anyone on the leaderboard. I kind of like Dechambeau (I’ve mostly been a fan of players others hated. When I was a kid, every golf fan on earth loved Arnie and hated Jack. So I rooted for him).
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On 4/12/2024 at 2:07 PM, GoPuckYourself said:
No respectable Owner would keep this GM or HC, at the very least the HC but I just don't see them getting the axe.
At the very least, the coach HAS to go. If he is behind the bench starting next season, fans in the Arena should have signs saying “Fire Pegula” game 1.
If Adams doesn’t fire Granato, then he should go as well. And we have to get a better coach and overall player development system.
I have lived in Birmingham, AL the past 18 years and watched the Alabama football program up close. They take 18 year-old kids and by the time they are 21 those kids have added 15 to 20 pounds of muscle, are faster and stronger. Almost 100%! RBs who come in at 195, are 210-215 by the time they are Jrs. WRs, with a couple of unique exceptions, will add 10-15 lbs. I’ve seen 210 lb LBs leave 3 yrs later at 235-240 and are fast beasts
There is ZERO excuse for this coach and GM to not have these professional players adding 15 to 20 pounds of muscle from the time they drafted until they are 20 to 22 years old. Yet we see incremental changes there at best. Owen power should’ve come into camp at 225 and a beast. if he’s not between 225 and 230 and faster and more physical at the start of camp (similar for other players), that is on the GM and the coach and the whole player development system.
Same with Benson he is listed at 170. He should come into camp at 180 min.
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On 4/11/2024 at 11:31 AM, PASabreFan said:
What is the point of that essay? Anyone in her could have written that! And the article did not have anything related to the title of the post. Which makes it no better than the standard click bait one sees all over the internet. 🤦♂️
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1 hour ago, Pimlach said:
I think UPL is playing to his expectations. He was at one time a top goalie in the OHL. He had the double hip surgery. Goalies take time is the old adage. What confused me most about UPL is why he never dominated in the AHL. UPL got NHL games before he was ready because Adams had Tokarski and Dell as our goalies when Linus left, not because he was lighting it up in the AHL.
Levi is intriguing by his athletic ability and his technique is still a work in progress, but he is playing great in the AHL.
UPL is big. Big with great positioning is good start.
They could be a fantastic combination some day.
It may be it just took him time to be able to recover and build strength up in his legs from those hip surgeries. One thing noted earlier this year was the workouts that UPL did with his legs in the off-season and that has really made a big difference in his agility and overall play. One never knows, but it may be that he took some time to be able to do a heavy off-season load or be comfortable doing so. Honestly, I really want Levi to do the same program. And even some of the skaters, like Power and Benson, could be helped by a big buildup in leg strength. It’s always amazing to me how a player can kill it in the off season and play much better the next year, yet so few others do the same.
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Sabres Draft #14: Konsta Helenius, 5'11" 189lb Center
in The Aud Club
Posted
Well, one draft iteration is not a legit sample size.
But what happened or didn’t in the past week is neither here nor there to my comment. I’m not directly complaining about Adams (though there is plenty to complain about). Just stating that few appear willing to make a deal with us for our prospects / picks. They want our guys when they make the NHL and we are forced to trade or let them go in free agency. We have been a feeder club for playoff teams.