RochesterExpat
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Posts posted by RochesterExpat
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I have beer league tonight just after the game. My guess is I'll outscore the Sabres tonight. I've got 4 in the last 6, but I'm old and fat. What's Buffalo's excuse?
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6 hours ago, Norcal said:
Can toughness and grit be developed in a player or do they have to come by it naturally?Â
Â
That's honestly a really good question. I think the core of it is maturity. We see a lot of players who lack toughness/grit "find" it in their game after a few years in the AHL or NHL. Generally, the players who develop grit/toughness are the same players who dominated junior hockey and it was an unused part of the game simply because they were just that much more talented than others (and played with other superstars themselves).Â
Is that something that developed from coaching? Is it a natural evolution stemming from a need to adapt to survive in a league of relative parity? Is it just a consequence of physical growth and mental maturity? Or is it some internal motivation coming from looking at your NHL-level teammates and realizing these are guys playing playoff series with broken ribs?I haven't a clue.
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50 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:
Boone Jenner would look great in the 3rd center slot. Â
I like the idea but which winger(s) actually complement him?Â
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2 hours ago, Doohickie said:
Does anyone prefer flats?
Leafs fans, probably.
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Since we’re playing the wings, are you a drums or flats person?
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Weirdly the final day full-ice scrimmage during high school hockey tryouts when I was a freshman. No one took me seriously at all because I hadn’t seen the inside of a gym until that summer when I started attending the captains workouts and I didn’t really know anyone on the team. I was also the nerdy kid who was a year ahead academically. Not quite a fit.
ÂEnded up scoring a hat trick and getting two apples in a 6-2 meaningless win, but I more proved to myself I belonged and made the team.Â
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4 hours ago, Mustache of God said:
You should do what the voice in your heart tells you to do.
But what about the voices in my head?
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Just now, Mustache of God said:
There's a direct correlation of looking like a 70's porn star and scoring goals...scoring begets scoring.Â
Take Alex Tuch for example, started the season 'stache-less and he sucked complete ass. Now that he's got some serious face-lace he's filling up all sorts of nets.
So you’re saying I should shave the beard and trim my stache before beer league tonight?
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51 minutes ago, nfreeman said:
I think Benson is a lock and Mitts is pretty iffy due to the likely cost to keep him (which I think is inflated relative to his actual value).
Out of curiosity, what do you think his next contract should look like?
I’m not sure I’m as negative about Mitts as you, but I am worried he’s going to price himself out of the team.
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1 hour ago, Taro T said:
Makes sense. If Greenway is going to play tomorrow, somebody had to go down.
Rosen has been playing on the 3rd line and they brought Biro up presumably to play on the 4th line.
Wonder who sits tomorrow, Jost, Rosen, or Olofsson? Would expect Rosen, but who knows.
Also, wonder which D sits? Or do 2 of the F's sit and Jost joins Rosen in the press box?
My first thought on seeing Biro called up, Kulich sent down and Greenway returning was simply that Biro is the 13th forward for the road trip and the team felt it's better to have Kulich playing in Rochester (they have a game Friday) and Biro sitting in the press box for the road trip than vice versa. Could be entirely off-base, but I suspect management values Kulich getting ice time over Biro--at either the NHL or AHL level. I'm not sure Biro is being recalled to play (although I'd admittedly prefer to see him over Krebs at this point).
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2 hours ago, Mustache of God said:
I'm fortunate enough to have a beer league hockey game overlap with tonight's game, so perhaps I'm spared another stinker. However, since I'm not able to watch there's a good chance the Sabres actually show up and play a game worth watching.
Funny enough, I’m in the same position.
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8 hours ago, Doohickie said:
Â
That's it. That's the post.
Fitting. It’s about as much effort as most of the team gives.
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ÂThis was after the 2nd period. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a “deserve to win” meter under 25% ever.
And I think the 8% was generous. That was embarrassing.
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3 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
I'm not sure I care.
I’m starting to feel this way. I’m tired of it all.
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1 hour ago, Carmel Corn said:
Just wondering.....does Rosen have maybe a little more speed in his skating vs. Mitts? I really don't know how they compare there.
 He has wheels. Don't know how it compares to Mitts in a side-by-side though. He is certainly fast among his AHL (or the SHL before) peers.
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50 minutes ago, Gatorman0519 said:Somewhat of a playmaker but he has been scoring goals.Â
20 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:What has surprised is how well rounded the rest of his game has become. He has good hockey sense and is a nice distributor. He plays hard despite always being a thin guy.
This is why I think he compares to Mitts (at least the Mitts we've seen for the last 50 or so games). Mitts has developed into a reliable puck mover and distributor with good situational awareness. Perhaps most importantly, he is going into corners to win puck battles. He gets overshadowed by Tage Thompson's scoring or Rasmus Dahlin doing Rasmus Dahlin things, but he's been absolutely critical to this team over that stretch. At least at the AHL-level, Rosen does an excellent job moving the puck, finding the open player, and extending plays. Despite being in need of a lifetime supply of protein powder, he battles in corners. Both players have excellent shots, although I do think Rosen is more likely to shoot than Mitts (who I really wish would shoot more, but that's a different story). And, like Mitts, Rosen is overshadowed by others.
Rosen's biggest weakness is even the same one Mitts had when he entered the league--strength. Strength feeds into confidence and the willingness of a player to fight puck battles. It's why Mitts struggled and looked out of place. Fortunately, Rosen is stronger now than Mitts was for his age 20-21 season and that's largely due to the heavy emphasis in Rochester on strength and conditioning. Of course, Mitts is certainly stronger now that he has filled out his 6'1 frame and Rosen may hit a wall with his 5'11 height--we don't know.
While I was not a fan of Rosen as a draft pick--and I was worried about his SHL play--his AHL development has been remarkable and I genuinely like his play in Rochester. I don't know how it will translate to the NHL though and, despite everything I said above, I'm not confident that Rosen is ready for full-time NHLer status yet in terms of strength. That being said, he is absolutely the correct player to give a look to at the moment. Only one real way to find out.
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25 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:
How’s Rosen’s game project? Middle 6? 40 pt player? Defensively responsible?
To be clear: I’m spitballing the above with a presumption that he hits his NHL ceiling.There’s always the possibility that he doesn’t (quite) make it as an NHL’er.
His play in Rochester is a lot like Mittelstadt’s play in Buffalo over the last 50 games. I don’t think he has the talent of Mitts, but it’s a similar play style and it’s the best/most relatable description I can think of. If it translates at the NHL, he should be a capable middle-six guy.Â
Not been a fan of how this roster is constructed this season, but credit to GMKA for recalling Rosen over Kulich. From watching the Amerks, it’s the correct call.
Now waive Bryson, recall Kulich, and stop rolling 11 + 7.
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To everyone talking about defensive issues this season, are we going to ignore injuries and the never-ending lineup changes? The org was so desperate that we played Metsa as a forward… for multiple games. At the start of the with a healthy roster the team was far better defensively. It’s an issue, but it’s not as bad as it’s being made out to be when all circumstances are considered.
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I disliked the EJ signing at the time, but I've been pleasantly surprised with his play this season. I still think they're giving him too much ice time and we should be rotating the Johnsons in the lineup, but it is what it is.
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This team is frustrating.
Instead of Greenway - Krebs - Olofsson, I want to see Greenway - Kulich - Rosen.
Do something—anything—to mix it up. Send Krebs to Rochester and do a paper transaction for Levi to give it a two game look when you have UPL/Comrie running two games. If it doesn’t work, fine, but if it does work, it might spark something with the team. But the staff needs to try something different because this roster is not playing like a playoff roster.
Or just waive Bryson and keep Krebs up.
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Just now, GoPuckYourself said:
2 poorly coached teams, something has to give!
I don’t think Chicago is poorly coached. The team isn’t built to win and has zero expectations.Â
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1 hour ago, Shoot da Puck said:
This is not an important game. We can make up the lost points in JanuaryÂ
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1 hour ago, SabresBaltimore said:
Looks like the game is on NHL Network instead of ESPN+ for those of us out of market
I hate this. Not even worth finding a stream at this point.
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I’m a Pirates fan and a Sabres fan because I can’t be happy.
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Mitts is better than Cozens right now by quite a bit. Is this just an attempt to still have two working lines? Otherwise, I don’t understand why Mitts isn’t 1C.
If we’re being intellectually honest, the best line right now would probably be:
Skinner - Mitts - JJP
Which leaves:
Benson - Cozens - Tuch
to round out the top 6. You can call the second line the “time to step up” line.
I think Greenway is easily outplaying Benson as well, but keeping him in the bottom 6 is fine.
As for D, waive Bryson and rotate the Johnsons. That lineup suggests now Joki is 7th D and, while I recognize young Johnson is playing well, Joki is having a quietly good season and is absolutely ahead of EJ and Clifton.
GDT: Sabres @ Bruins - Thurs. 7pm, Dec 7, 2023, MSG/ESPN+ đź“ş WGR đź“»
in The Aud Club
Posted
I was content with evaluating how Clifton/EJ performed at the start of the season before passing judgement, but I wasn't happy with the overall defensive plan--just willing to be patient. What I really wanted this offseason was Joki replaced by a proper D-man to pair with Power, a real 3rd D-pairing added, and Bryson to be shot out of a cannon into the sun. Of course, Joki has played better this season and the Clifton/EJ signings failed to move the needle in a positive direction. We also shipped out Lybushkin for a 2025 4th--but at least Jacob Bryson is still enjoying games from the suite level! Thankfully Ryan Johnson has been a pleasant surpri--oh wait, he's a healthy scratch. What?
I said multiple times before the season started someone should go to Vegas and make a parlay bet that Levi wins the Calder and the Sabres make the playoffs because the latter won't happen without the former. Now Levi is in Rochester (well, except tonight), so that should say everything that needs to be said about how the goaltending plan for this season as gone.
Lastly, and back to your point, I wanted the bottom six reworked. Bringing back Girgs and KO on one-year deals was, at least to me, somewhat reasonable since they were serviceable as a 4th line for most of the last season and they are in roles that are cheap/easy to fill if they fell off the proverbial cliff. Was it an ideal move? No. Was it a run-for-the-hills-the-sky-is-falling move? No. It was just, whatever? Compared to the issues with goaltending, defense and the third line, I can't really say VO/Girgs returning was much more than a blip.
What did I want for the bottom six? I wanted VO gone. I wanted Jost as the 13th man--or simply gone since KO/Girgs were back. When the Quinn injury was announced, I was in favor of adding a Top 6 winger as long as we were adding someone with affordable term or a limited-term overpayment (no more than two seasons). I also wanted some kind of plan for KO/Girgs if neither were up to par this season.
It's now December. Girgs and KO pulled a Thelma and Louise and Krebs joined them for good measure. VO is streaky as streaky gets. Jost is still a waiver-claimed JAG. But that's not the actual worst part of all of this.
The worst part is GMKA arguably improved the bottom 6 by trading for a player at the cost of a conditional 7th round pick. The fact said player is unlikely to be the worst player in our bottom six for the few games he'll play prior to getting waived is an organizational embarrassment. Add to it said player is apparently on the penalty kill unit and you really have to wonder just what is going on in the front office.
I'm sick of being a fan of a team that can "improve" itself with a bag of pucks. How does the front office not see that as a problem? Your team should never be bad enough that dumpster diving through other team's trash improves your roster. Especially if the trash is from one of the few teams who are even worse than you are.
Before people want to say the team didn't improve and just bash Robinson for being awful, he is better than Okposo, arguably an improvement over Girgs/Jost, and (subjectively) a step up from Krebs--hell, throw in VO if he's not streaking at the moment. Instead of lauding GMKA for this move, we should be publicly shaming him. Bring back the tar and feather. The team is actually at the point where trading a used jock strap improves this team. Making the trade doesn't get you an award. It should get you run out of town for allowing that situation in the first place. It's like a military commander bragging about winning a single battle while signing the surrender document losing the war.
Even more embarrassing is the fact the bottom six is the easiest piece of the puzzle to add to during free agency. It's the Top 6, goaltending, and Top 4 D that are GM nightmare generators. The free agency sweet spot is literally the bottom 6.
And just like the free agency, bottom six players are easier to move. Right now we have all of our picks for the next three drafts save for the 2024 5th. Adding to those picks we have a spare 2025 4th and a spare 2025 7th (if the bag of pucks doesn't play 45 games). Just go look at the depth chart and realize how many tradeable assets we have playing in juniors, the AHL or elsewhere. Per CapFriendly, we're 4th in projected cap space. How are we not adding meaningful assets?
Maybe the only highlight in the whole bottom six right now is Rosen playing better the last two games. Maybe he's finally settling into the NHL or maybe it's just a small sample size fluke. Of course, he's playing a bottom six role with replacement-tier players, so he won't have a meaningful impact even if he hits his stride. Can't block those kids from getting to the NHL, but we never said anything about blocking them when they make the NHL!
Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED talk.
I got you.