Flashsabre

I love the part about Patrick using him to take away the other team’s best player. Between that and the PK usage sounds like he is rounding out his game. He is strong at the faceoff dot as well. He will always be an explosive offensive talent. Rounding out the rest of his game will make him even more valuable.

Novikov-Komarov future 3rd pairing😀

“Sabres prospect Matt Savoie ‘just scratching the surface’ as he finds another gear” So Savoie is refining his game here in Winnipeg under the guidance of Patrick, who played more than 1,200 NHL games and more than 300 of those with the Sabres. After a 90-point season a year ago, he’s scoring at a similar rate this season. The production wasn’t there early in the year, but Patrick thinks Savoie has found a different gear since the new year. “I haven’t seen any better (in the WHL),” Patrick said. “I know (Connor) Bedard has been on a tear since he got back from world juniors. Next to him, I haven’t seen a better player than Sav.” What stands out to Patrick is the way Savoie can shut down another team’s top line. Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has referred to the competitiveness with which Savoie plays, and that’s been on display for the Ice. Patrick routinely uses him to take away the best player on another team and likes having him on the penalty kill. “I felt in the first half of the year he would get a point or two a game,” Patrick said. “He’d make one real good play, a top-end play, but I think he should be making seven or eight of them a game. I know he had a game this year where he got six points. I had kind of been waiting for that type of game up until that point. I don’t know if that was a turning point because I know the next night he had a tough night. But I know he’s just pushing himself to be a dominant player. He’s not content. He’s not happy with where he’s at. He wants to get better, but his confidence has gone to another level right now.” This boost in confidence and production coincided with Savoie being left off Canada’s roster for the World Junior Championship. Savoie wasn’t even invited to the selection camp. “I don’t know how he doesn’t get invited to the camp,” Patrick said. “They made the right decision because in the end they won. I think they said these six or seven guys are going to be our offensive guys and then we’re picking checkers and energy guys and penalty killers. And that’s how they put the team together. Is he better than players who are on that team? Yes. It’s not even close. I think he’s used that rejection in his favor. It’s motivated him to be as good as he has.” Savoie watched the tournament from home to cheer on his friends who were on the team and support his country. But he also acknowledged that he’s been driven to further show that he is every bit as good, if not better, than players who were picked for that team. He has 13 goals and 15 assists in the 18 games since the calendar flipped to 2023. “I think the biggest thing is just possessing the puck more, having the puck on my stick and making them come take it off of me instead of throwing a blind pass in the middle or just making a turnover,” Savoie said. “I think at the next level, keeping puck possession is so important. When you first enter the NHL or AHL, wherever it is, you don’t get as many puck touches. I think making the most of whenever you have the puck and whenever you have possession.” Savoie noted he’s started to feel the impact of all the time spent in the gym getting stronger. After spending most of the summer rehabbing a shoulder injury, he didn’t have the time to build as much muscle as he would have with a healthy summer. Patrick said he wants to see Savoie continue to build his stamina so that he can continue to make plays when he’s been on the ice 30 or 40 seconds. “When he’s exhausted can he still make plays?” Patrick said. “You look at the great players, they do that.”

💩 now we don’t get the epic meltdowns about Johnson signing somewhere else, the “I told you so” posts some have had saved for 6 months now, the “this is why you never draft a college player” posts. Fingers crossed that he changes his mind and goes somewhere else.😛

Or we can just be thrilled that we have both of them for the foreseeable future😀

The thing is White’s tweet was in response to a guy’s tweet who has a private account. So no one can see the original tweet to understand what White’s response means.

Savoie’s ICE are now 44-7-1 on the season and have played the least amount of games in the league.

Isles beat Pens in regulation

I don’t know if White is saying Dunn is a trade target but he is having a great offensive season for Seattle. Don’t know why he would be available.

NCCA All-Time Career SV% Leaders 1. Connor Hellebuyck - .946 2. 𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙊𝙉 𝙇𝙀𝙑𝙄 - .943 3. Ryan Miller - .941 Could he have the record by the end of the season? If his trajectory trends the same as those other two guys then the Sabres are golden.😀

If the Sabres trade for a Kraken dman and it is not Will Borgen I feel Sabres messageboards around the world will explode😛

That is the absolute BS that the Torts And Babcocks of the world pull.

It’s crazy that Levi is sitting at a 2.24 gaa and a .933 sv% and both numbers are way off last year. He is really getting back into last year’s zone and Northeastern are rising in the rankings. Does winning the BeanPot get them into the tournament? I think they get in at this point with the run Levi is on anyway. Man if things trend the way they are then the Reinhart for Levi and Kulich Trade will look very good for Buffalo.

I went to the Niagara-Oshawa game today. It was 10-7 Generals. I have never seen worse goaltending in my life. Both teams pulled their goalies and I think both would have pulled them again if they had 3rd options. For draft purposes, Calum Ritchie was absolutely invisible. His team scored 10 and he had no points. If I didn’t know who he was and focused on him I never would have noticed him at all.

Dahlin And Joker being held out until a trade is completed?😛😁

Lybushkin is fine as a third pairing guy. You either go big and try to upgrade Joker which would be hard or find a 3rd pairing LHD which would be much easier.

Yeah the blue pants would make all the difference. I don’t mind the jersey at all but the pants just makes the whole thing look like amateur hour.

Who is Murphy an upgrade for? If it is for Bryson or Clague then go get an LHD.

I don’t think Adams is planning on giving up any of them. If he can find a dman that can fit in long term he will look at it but I don’t think he intends to give prospects away for short term fixes.

Perfect for his development. Roy said he got tons of rubber in Junior because his team stunk and that really helped him develop as a goalie.

A perfect night on the scoreboard for the Sabres. A win and everyone else loses.

The thing with Levi too is that his team does him no favours. It is not like he is playing behind a tight defensive system that doesn’t give up chances. 41 shots by a team like Vermont is eye popping. Levi is full value for his numbers and success.

A buddy of mine had a friend who was a physical fitness trainer for the Kings when Sutter was coach. He said everyday Doughty and them would sit around and rip Sutter mercilessly. They hated his guts. But they are all Cup champions. Those types of coaches work for teams that are competing for a Cup but need that final kick in the pants to get over the hump. They have a shelf life and if you aren’t competitive they are downright awful to play for.

Or move the draft to 19 years old and a drafted kid can play wherever they want. I know it won’t happen but it would help the CHL. One thing I didn’t know until I heard a recent interview with him is that Dahlin quit school at age 16 to turn pro in Sweden. He said over there it is like how the pro system worked here in the 60s. You get recruited at a young age to an organization and then you play for that system’s teams all the way up until you make the pro team.

Beyond just stat watching. Savoie’s deployment has been much different this season. He is playing much more on the PK and less time on the PP as they spread it out more with talent. His PP points are down compared to last year. With the talent the ICE have the offence is spread out. No one racks up 4 points a night like a Bedard. Lots of guys end up with 1 or 2 points. So even if Savoie’s stats are similar his game is evolving. One thing that isn’t mentioned with him is his strength at the dot. I think that is what keeps him in the middle when he moves up to pro. I would project him and Östlund A’s centres while Kulich slides to the wing.