Flashsabre

I think by the end of the season Levi is squarely in the conversation for the Sabres top prospect. Power, Quinn,, Krebs, Peterka and Levi is a really balanced top 5 prospect group.

I watched him play tonight. He was Levi. He is always Levi. And by that I mean he is as consistent as any young goalie I have seen. North Eastern are pretty structured but Levi shuts everything down so calmly. He seems to have that elite anticipation and ability to read the play that all the great players have regardless of position. Young goalies are a crapshoot but every once in a while you see one that just had “it”. Levi seems to be one of those. Tonight I was really impressed with how he handled the puck.

No, I live in Toronto.

I broke down and got the AHL tv deal so I am looking forward to a refreshed Krebs and the guys on Wednesday. He looked good in the debut. Now he has had some time to learn the systems and start to develop some chemistry with linemates.

Oh it gets better. Doug Whaley is on the leadership team as well.😁

I would not be surprised to see Kane in a Sabres uniform. They really want to play up the local ties angle for the franchise. Guy is still a hell of a player. You would hope he would have grown up, become a leader by this point in his career. I could definitely see the Pegulas want to bring him in and boost attendance. I don’t want to see prime assets go out the door for him but if it was reasonable then yeah, bring him home. Get some skill that wants to be here.

He played centre. They had 11 forwards so he ended up playing with different line mates throughout the game but he played centre and looked very good doing it.

I like what Adams is doing so far. As a first time GM in a brutal situation he has navigated the waters pretty well so far. He is a good hockey man, has a real connection to the city and is passionate about the team and area. Whether this all works out or not is to be seen but I feel like for the first time in a long time there might be a light at the end of the tunnel here. He seems to: 1) Have a plan that makes sense. Identified the issues with the core, broke it up and has specific players he targets based on vision: speed, character, desire to be a part of the solution. 2) He doesn’t claim to be a know it all. He has surrounded himself with quality people and he listens to them. The two drafts under his watch look very promising and the move towards analytics is legit. And I have no doubt that Adams will listen to his Analytics people, it is not just window dressing. 3) He will not be rushed into decisions and waiver from his vision or plan. Be it the coach search, the Eichel trade, he takes his time and is thorough and patient. 4) Maybe the biggest, he can handle the Pegulas. He has worked there and succeeded for a decade because he knows them, what they want and how to deal with them. He might kiss their butts from time to time but I have no doubt that they trust him and that ther e Israel communication and that Adams can probably talk them down on certain things where others haven’t.

This is not directed at you but I’m sad that we have gotten to a point where the only measure of a young dman is how many points he puts up. Everyone coming into the draft is a puck moving dman. Power has looked great. His IQ/instincts about when to jump up, how to us teammates in small areas for give and gos, how to angle a forward and use his stick to end rushes has been very impressive. The points will come on a stacked team but the other parts of his game look very good.

Sabres don’t pay Rivet. It is an independent podcast.

Probably Matthew Savoie

I think another guy to really drill down on with one of the later 1sts is Nathan Gaucher of the Quebec Remparts. Big 6’3 207lbs centre who can do it all. He plays with Sabres 5th round pick Viljami Marjala so the Sabres will have lots of eyes on him.

The big red flags for me with Jack were when Gionta and Gorges were brought into mentor the kids and Jack brushed them off and when Jack was on North America, the kid team for the World Cup here in Toronto with McDavid, McKinnon, Matthews and everyone else and all the reporters here said everyone was shocked by how bad Jack’s attitude was. Fantastic on ice talent but it was never going to work here with him as the face of the franchise and having to lead. I hope the surgery goes well and he should be great in Vegas where he just has to play. But it was time to move on and I like Adams vision. I think Tuch and Krebs will be a big part of the culture shift and improved results here in the future.

Seattle and Coyotes tied in the 3rd. Could Arizona get it’s first win of the season? Poor Johan, goes from years of losing in Buffalo to the dumpster fire of the West. Hopefully he gets traded at the deadline to a playoff team.

Rosen and Kisakov were similar picks. Electric skating/skills but are longer term pay offs because they have to put on man weight and strength.

Just listened to the latest After the Whistle podcast with Peters, Rivet and Friedman talking about the Jack Eichel deal. Worth the listen but this quote from Craig Rivet stood out like a sore thumb: "He was a hart candidate on the ice and the exact opposite off the ice. The way he treated people around the rink, in the dressing room, and around the city wasn't a positive thing." That's pretty damning from Craig Rivet. I think we have known all along but Rivet is dialed right in. Peters followed up and said that Eichel said that if he had the surgery he would come back and play for the Sabres to drive up his price but they didn’t want him anywhere near the dressing room.

They don’t have a ton of talent. Mitts, Joker, Olafsson, Tuch being out hurts. That is their top line and top pairing D (yes I know Tuch hasn’t played yet.) My biggest takeaway is that Asplund and Tage are turning into real productive NHL players, guys that will be helpful when the young talent arrives. I don’ t expect a ton this year but getting those injured guys back will be important. If Mitts can come back and continue how he finished last year then having Mitts, Tage and Asplund develop will be big.

Constantini is Coming on strong at ND. A lot of the prospects are off to really good starts which is nice with it looking like another long year in Buffalo.

My God his name is even longer!😀 Apparently a 6’4 centre with a terrific motor all over the ice. 18 points in 15 junior games in Sweden.

Von Barenkow seems to be racking up points. Any one got info on what kind of player he is?

I broke down and got the AHL TV deal. I thought UPL was solid I love Krebs compete/grit/throwing his body into players. He is a player Sabres fans will love. Awesome that Peca is going to mentor him. How Malone missed that I will never know Hope Quinn is OK. What a ridiculous play by Fitzgerald there

This team just doesn’t have enough talent. I mean Tage is driving the bus offensively. They are not going to rush the young guys. I would say development year. They aren’t trying to lose but they aren’t going to do anything for a short term solution. They want to properly develop the young kids a way from the NHL.

Is Nelson that talented? 5’8 dmen don’t usually go first round. The Sabres are going to get plenty of views of Jack Hughes playing with Levi.

I can’t read the article. Stick out how, as a target, overrated, underrated? I like his offensive game, great creativity and wheels. Gives me some Briere vibes. My only concern is he has taken two massive hits alread in his young career, he has to find a way to be more aware and avoid those.

We look lottery bound again. If we snag one of the top C prospects then we will be in good shape. Actually C, C, RHD would be a good 1st round haul to set this team up.