RazielSabre Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 We're pretty deep with defensive prospects but I have no idea who's looking good, who's looking bad and, well, who the names are any more. I read that Schiestel got demoted and that did really surprise me, hence the topic. So whats happening in Sabre prospects town? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 http://www.sabresprospects.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazielSabre Posted March 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I know the website, but I was mainly looking for opinions to be honest, who people were excited to see, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 My 2 cents... - I'm interested in seeing Pysyk. From what I have read, Cris Butler comes to mind. Not a guy who is great offensively, not overly physical, just a guy you don't notice much. Hopefully things work out better for him in Buffalo than it did for Butler who was up and down for two season before being shipped to Calgary. - I want to see if McNabb has what it takes to earn a top 6 spot in 12-13. The concerns about his skating may limit his ability to be a top 4 guy. - Where does Brennan fit in? I would think the Sabres don't want him as a #7 for next year, but unless others are moved out, I don't know where he fits in the top 6. - I am shocked at Shiestel going from AHL all-star to loaned to another AHL team. - I have no idea what the ceiling is for guys like Crawford, MacKenzie & MacKenzie, Biega, Finley, Feinhage, JGL, Adams, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I'd like to think McNabb has shown enough on his own for you to form an opinion but if not I'll interject. Brayden looks like a young more offensive version of Cory Sarich. He's lost a little confidence but I expect him to compete for a NHL spot next year. TJ Brennan is a guy you should be excited about. He's gritty, smart and has a pretty wicked slapper, the likes of we haven't seen (minus Ehrhoff). He may end up with 20 goals in less than 60 games with the Amerks. Reminds me a little of Sheldon Souray. Alex Biega isn't the biggest or most talented Dman but he's a heady little player who seems to get the most out of his abilities. As far as the guys in juniors, I've heard Pysyk compared to tallinder and gauthier-Leduc is racking up points in a league known for little defense and a lot of scoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCBuffalo Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 Phil Varone has been on fire, he has scored 30 points in the past 33 games. He is a center with 22 A and 8 G in that stretch. T.J. Brennan leads the AHL defenseman with 13 goals but is only in the lead by 1 i believe, he also got into a fight the other night, where does he fit in Buffalo? I'm not sure, if he was a little bigger he would be great. Luke adam has 1 goal and five assists in ten games, I have been seeing him get a lot of stuiped penalties as well. They are trying to develop is two way game more in my opinion causeing him to be aggressive, therefore taking bad penalties. He also missed a wide open net the other night. I'd say he is struggling in the AHL after dominating last year. Goalie David Leggio has been playing great who seems capable of playing in the NHL. He has been doing great in the shootout and is also a Buffalo Native. This could be a rumor, but I heard he has a picture of Rick J on his helmet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude_Verret Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 Phil Varone has been on fire, he has scored 30 points in the past 33 games. He is a center with 22 A and 8 G in that stretch. T.J. Brennan leads the AHL defenseman with 13 goals but is only in the lead by 1 i believe, he also got into a fight the other night, where does he fit in Buffalo? I'm not sure, if he was a little bigger he would be great. Luke adam has 1 goal and five assists in ten games, I have been seeing him get a lot of stuiped penalties as well. They are trying to develop is two way game more in my opinion causeing him to be aggressive, therefore taking bad penalties. He also missed a wide open net the other night. I'd say he is struggling in the AHL after dominating last year. Goalie David Leggio has been playing great who seems capable of playing in the NHL. He has been doing great in the shootout and is also a Buffalo Native. This could be a rumor, but I heard he has a picture of Rick J on his helmet. This is true, RJ himself mentioned it during a broadcast and how flattered he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcsaberks Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 The guys in ROC: McNabb ready. Brennan looks very good, wicked shot and has very good energy on the ice. I like Biega too, as Ink said, but he is undersized. He is very vocal. I don't think Finley will make it to the next level full-time, just not fast enough, like you'd expect a guy that size to be. Persson seems OK, not overly physical though, needs more time. I watched Crawford closely last weekend, he made a couple of positioning mistakes and had a few bad passes. Definitely looked like the worst of the 6 that night. Mackenzie hasn't played much. Fienhage might be my son's favorite player after the 30 minutes they spent chasing each other at the Skate w/ Players night last week, but that's about it on him (now in ECHL). I think the biggest gap right now is a big nasty stay-at-home of the McKee, Regher or Weber model. Maybe Finley could be that guy, but again just seems too slow. Stats: GP, G, A, Pts, +/- PIM Finley, 40, 1, 3, 4, +13, 91 Brennan, 38, 12, 12, 25, +1, 28 Biega, 48, 3, 13, 16, -1, 39 McNabb 34, 4, 20, 24, +12, 25 Persson, 31, 3, 3, 6, -6, 10 Crawford, 54, 3, 11, 14, -9, 18 Morrisonn, 50, 2, 11, 13, +3, 38 Mackenzie, 16, 0, 3, 3, +1, 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robviously Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 My 2 cents: - I would have been happy to trade Leopold at the deadline just to make room for McNabb or Brennan for the rest of this season. I think both are probably about ready to be full-time Sabres by next Fall. (Brennan is up to nearly 180 AHL games by now.) I hope the Sabres DO trade a defenseman this summer, probably Sekera because I think he'd give us the best return. That would give us a nice mix of veterans (Ehrhoff, Regehr), young guys (McNabb, Brennan), and our franchise player (Myers). I like Weber a lot and we don't have a ton of toughness as is. - Pysyk and Gautier-Leduc join the Amerks next year. Actually this year if their CHL seasons end early enough (they're already signed). - Pysyk is probably the safest prospect you can imagine. No holes in his game and a stellar +/-. I'm not sure if there are any parts of the game where he's exceptional though. He's not super big (6'1") or physical and his offensive numbers aren't amazing. We aren't all going to go bananas for him when he arrives like we did when McNabb showed up and started hitting people. He'll probably be good, he might even be great. - Gautier-Leduc's numbers to start this year were completely ridiculous, averaging like 1.5 points/game as a defenseman. That's crazy even for the high-scoring GMJHL. His numbers are still great, 70 points in 57 games, and he was a late cut from Canada's WJC team. He's probably our best offensive-defenseman prospect since Campbell. It depends on how he does as a pro. If he's terrified of getting hit like MAG was, he'll be a total dud. And he'll probably need time in Rochester. He has a nice high ceiling but a chance to be a total nothing too. - Shiestel was drafted in the same year/round (2nd) as Brennan and was an AHL all-star last year before a knee (?) injury took him out. Now he's on his way out of the organization. What a waste of high hopes. He won't be a Sabre but maybe he can turn it around. - Persson was our 1st round pick in 2006, supposedly perfect for the "New NHL" as a puck moving defenseman. He's getting up there in age as a prospect and I don't think it's ever going to happen for him with Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 Great breakdown Robviously. I agree on trading Leopold just to get a spot for Brennan or McNabb, who knows, maybe it still happens in the offseason. I think a good comparison for Pysyk is what we're getting out of Sekera this year, and I think he won't need nearly as much development time to get there. Overall I think if we make a significant move to revamp our forwards, our organizational depth at defense is going to be a big part of that process. McNabb, Brennan and Pysyk all could have significant value in deals (although like most here, McNabb is pretty much untouchable for me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom webster Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 We're pretty deep with defensive prospects but I have no idea who's looking good, who's looking bad and, well, who the names are any more. I read that Schiestel got demoted and that did really surprise me, hence the topic. So whats happening in Sabre prospects town? What you will probably find is like most prospects in the sysytem, the defensive prospects are overrated as well. Only Pysyk is considered highly by most outside Buffalo although McNabb has started to creep into the conversation. Other guys are merely depth guys. Some guys can always surprise however, so who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 - I would have been happy to trade Leopold at the deadline just to make room for McNabb or Brennan for the rest of this season. I think both are probably about ready to be full-time Sabres by next Fall. I am optimistic about this also, but.... this is what many people thought about Grganani after watching his similar sample size of NHL play during last years playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazielSabre Posted March 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 Thanks guys, most helpful. I do agree with trading Leopold, his had a good season and his value will plummet (aside from the fact I'd like to make room on D for some young guys). McNabb I've seen and I like his game though Brennan did look good as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I am optimistic about this also, but.... this is what many people thought about Grganani after watching his similar sample size of NHL play during last years playoffs. Both are at earlier stages in their careers though (year one for McNabb and year three for Brennan), so their upside should look a bit more promising at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robviously Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I am optimistic about this also, but.... this is what many people thought about Grganani after watching his similar sample size of NHL play during last years playoffs. I think the difference for McNabb and Brennan is that they're both more well-rounded players. MAG wasn't horrible for us, but he was pretty much always regarded as a one-dimensional player. If he's not bringing that one dimension in a big way, what good is he? Brennan and McNabb both have some size and strength, don't shy away from the physical parts of the game, and have some offensive aspects of their game. So I'm thinking a more complete player has less of a chance of flaming out. (Same reason I think Pysyk is a way less risky bet than Gauthier-Leduc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazielSabre Posted March 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 I think the difference for McNabb and Brennan is that they're both more well-rounded players. MAG wasn't horrible for us, but he was pretty much always regarded as a one-dimensional player. If he's not bringing that one dimension in a big way, what good is he? Brennan and McNabb both have some size and strength, don't shy away from the physical parts of the game, and have some offensive aspects of their game. So I'm thinking a more complete player has less of a chance of flaming out. (Same reason I think Pysyk is a way less risky bet than Gauthier-Leduc.) Plus one dimensional players don't last long on Ruffs team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 I want to take this one off on a tanget a bit. It seems like a lot of the drafts lately have been top heavy with defensive prospects. So what's the deal with this? Does the league value a high end defensemen that much or has it become that much easier for defensemen to play in juniors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnkirishone Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 I want to take this one off on a tanget a bit. It seems like a lot of the drafts lately have been top heavy with defensive prospects. So what's the deal with this? Does the league value a high end defensemen that much or has it become that much easier for defensemen to play in juniors? can never have enough defensive depth........... and maybe a lingering fetish to overcompensate for the playoff series againest carolina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 can never have enough defensive depth........... and maybe a lingering fetish to overcompensate for the playoff series againest carolina It wasn't a question about the Sabres. I was talking about the draft as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnkirishone Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 It wasn't a question about the Sabres. I was talking about the draft as a whole. oo opps Well i haven't noticed a league wide thing of drafting lots of defense. Also most of the big name amatuers have all been forwards lately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.