Rookie camp

[wonderbread]

I might consider buying it if they were honest and named it "Slightly-Below-Average-Bread". I might respect the poster a bit more too if he had that name.

 

I think mediocre bread didn't have the same ring.

 

How about "slightly below average poster"?

[spndnchz]

Harrington got the times for us:

 

The rookies will be on the ice in the 10-10:30 range Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There will be practice sessions only on Tuesday, with scrimmages Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The Friday scrimmage will likely be in the 1 p.m. range after the veterans report for physicals in the morning. All sessions are open to the public.

 

Vets don't hit the ice until Saturday They'll practice before the jersey gets unveiled and scrimmage afterward..

[shrader]

I think mediocre bread didn't have the same ring.

 

How about "slightly below average poster"?

 

Yeah, that name is much better. It's a mouthful.

 

And if inky's reading this, I'm sure he would have a spndnchz joke ready to go after that one.

[Bullwinkle]

A 6'1", 183 lbs defenseman will have to show a lot more than 16 pts before he proves he's really a big missed opportunity for the Sabres. Kassian was riskier, but if he hit the top of his potential scale, he'd be the type of players that all teams covet: size and skill with a nasty attitude. Obviously, he took a step backward last year with injuries, suspensions and legal trouble, but it was a shot worth taking. We'll see if Kulikov actually turns out to be the real deal (not just some sports writers saying good things about his potential), but until then, it's hard to say that it was that big of a deal.

 

The kid (Kulikov) has already impressed. Consider how difficult it is for a rookie D man to play in this league. No, he's not Bobby Orr reincarnated, but just the fact that he made the squad says a lot. His 16 points were bonus.

 

BTW he was considered to be a top 5 pick in that draft. Certainly the KHL opportunity was there and I'm sure that scared everyone off otherwise the Sabres wouldn't have stood a chance of grabbing him.

 

Everyone expected us to take Kassian - and my negative feelings about him predated his trouble with the law. Bad kid ...bad blood. Plus at his best he won't be any kind of "star"...he was a mediocre scorer in junior.

[carpandean]

The kid (Kulikov) has already impressed. Consider how difficult it is for a rookie D man to play in this league. No, he's not Bobby Orr reincarnated, but just the fact that he made the squad says a lot. His 16 points were bonus.

Well, it was Florida, so ...

 

My point is that there are plenty of cases where young players come into the league looking like they have a lot of potential, but don't end up going anywhere from there. Dmitri Kalinin had a pretty good first year in the NHL (though, he was a little older), but never put things together. Kulikov will have to do a lot more before we're not just talking about potential. 16 points in a rookie years suggests that he may be good, but far from proves it. He may end up being just another decent defenseman rather than something special. Heck, even Myers is in that boat.

 

You don't like Kassian and that's fine. Nobody ever suggested that he'd be a 100-point or 50-goal player, far from it, but given his size and physical game, if he even provided moderate offense (20g, 45p), he'd still be a special type of player. Long-term, you may be right. We're just saying that it will take a couple of years before we really get an idea what each player will end up being.

[shrader]

Well, it was Florida, so ...

 

My point is that there are plenty of cases where young players come into the league looking like they have a lot of potential, but don't end up going anywhere from there. Dmitri Kalinin had a pretty good first year in the NHL (though, he was a little older), but never put things together. Kulikov will have to do a lot more before we're not just talking about potential. 16 points in a rookie years suggests that he may be good, but far from proves it. He may end up being just another decent defenseman rather than something special. Heck, even Myers is in that boat.

 

You don't like Kassian and that's fine. Nobody ever suggested that he'd be a 100-point or 50-goal player, far from it, but given his size and physical game, if he even provided moderate offense (20g, 45p), he'd still be a special type of player. Long-term, you may be right. We're just saying that it will take a couple of years before we really get an idea what each player will end up being.

 

And our system would look pretty questionable right now if there was yet another defenseman back there and only 3-4 forwards who may have NHL careers.

[Two or less]

Anybody go see the rookies today or plan on going this week?

 

The guy i am very interested in is Riley Boychuk, our 7th round pick. He was a massive prospect few years ago at the age of 16 but a major injury cost him his entire season which really set his development back thus not getting drafted the previous year and going 7th round this past draft. The kid has proven he can play tough and loves to battle. Has great size and when he was 16 years old, scouts were comparing him to Todd Bertuzzi. I think they can still make him into a solid player down the line.

[spndnchz]

Word on the street is that TV is in great shape for the start of the season.

[nobody]

Word on the street is that TV is in great shape for the start of the season.

 

 

It's getting kinda chilly outside - when are they at least going to let you come inside to the lobby?

[nobody]

If the Sabres signed Kassian he could go to the minors this season; correct?

 

I'm thinking that might be better for him to mature - be put in the minors where he is just another player riding the bus rather then being one of the stars on his OHL team.

[nfreeman]

If the Sabres signed Kassian he could go to the minors this season; correct?

 

I'm thinking that might be better for him to mature - be put in the minors where he is just another player riding the bus rather then being one of the stars on his OHL team.

I think he's in the same situation Myers was last year -- ie it's either juniors or the NHL, but not the AHL.

 

It sounds like he's going back to juniors for another year unless he really tears it up at camp.

[nfreeman]

Here's something to be kinda psyched about:

 

“I’m telling you, I think [Ennis] can be a special player,” Ruff said.

 

linky

 

When Lindy ever said that about a young player? Even last year with Myers, during camp and through the 1st 9 games, the spin was very low-key and that they needed to wait and see how he was doing.

 

I'm not ready to say Ennis is another Marty St. Louis, but Ennis was very nifty and the fastest guy on the team when he came up last year.

 

Maybe, just maybe, the Sabres are going to win the jackpot again with a young player.

[bleedblueandgold]

How many rookie camps has Mancari attended? After a while doesn't it get embarrassing?

[carpandean]

Here's something to be kinda psyched about:

 

linky

 

When Lindy ever said that about a young player? Even last year with Myers, during camp and through the 1st 9 games, the spin was very low-key and that they needed to wait and see how he was doing.

 

I'm not ready to say Ennis is another Marty St. Louis, but Ennis was very nifty and the fastest guy on the team when he came up last year.

 

Maybe, just maybe, the Sabres are going to win the jackpot again with a young player.

Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but wasn't there a video of rookie camp last year in which Lindy Ruff, watching Tim Kennedy, said he was like Pat Lafontaine in how he could look like he was going to go one way (shifting his head or shoulders), then going the other way?

[shrader]

I think he's in the same situation Myers was last year -- ie it's either juniors or the NHL, but not the AHL.

 

It sounds like he's going back to juniors for another year unless he really tears it up at camp.

 

Right. He's too young.

[nfreeman]

Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but wasn't there a video of rookie camp last year in which Lindy Ruff, watching Tim Kennedy, said he was like Pat Lafontaine in how he could look like he was going to go one way (shifting his head or shoulders), then going the other way?

I think I remember that as well, but wasn't that a situation where Lindy was talking to one of his assistants and his comment was picked up over a microphone? I just think that's a bit different from Lindy pronouncing something to the media about his expectations for a young player.

[spndnchz]

Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but wasn't there a video of rookie camp last year in which Lindy Ruff, watching Tim Kennedy, said he was like Pat Lafontaine in how he could look like he was going to go one way (shifting his head or shoulders), then going the other way?

 

The line is correct except he compared him to Perreault, not Patty.

[spndnchz]

Linky

 

http://video.sabres.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=668&id=44914

 

around the 1:35 mark

[nobody]

The line is correct except he compared him to Perreault, not Patty.

 

 

Did Perreault ever make $1mil in a season?

[nobody]

Right. He's too young.

 

 

How is 19 too young? Silly rule.

 

If he had played last season in college or that other division - the 'us whatever' - would he be eligible for the minors?

[shrader]

How is 19 too young? Silly rule.

 

If he had played last season in college or that other division - the 'us whatever' - would he be eligible for the minors?

 

The CHL and the NHL have an agreement in place that stops the NHL teams from purging the junior rosters. That's not in place for the college players though, but I wish it was.

[nobody]

The CHL and the NHL have an agreement in place that stops the NHL teams from purging the junior rosters. That's not in place for the college players though, but I wish it was.

 

 

That's just because you're a big time college hockey guy.

[shrader]

That's just because you're a big time college hockey guy.

 

That and my team has been ripped apart by mass defections in the last two years.

[korab rules]

That and my team has been ripped apart by mass defections in the last two years.

 

Root for Div. III. They don't go anywhere!

[PASabreFan]

Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but wasn't there a video of rookie camp last year in which Lindy Ruff, watching Tim Kennedy, said he was like Pat Lafontaine in how he could look like he was going to go one way (shifting his head or shoulders), then going the other way?

 

Pretty good memory. If you had told Lindy at that moment Kennedy would be bought out, he probably would have called you a liar.

 

I love Lindy being mic-ed (sic?). Really sounds like he's coaching. Actually, he sounds like every soccer mom in America. "Git it! Git it, Dakota! Git that ball. Yeah, way to hustle!" The players have to want to stop, stick him in the face and say, shut the hell up. Lindy at the whiteboard describing offensive breakouts is hilarious. His teams, excepting a few years with Teppo and Soupy on the back end, couldn't break out of a Mexican jail at siesta time.