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Sabres pick #16 Nikita Zadorov


spndnchz

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IMPO I do not believe that Nichushkin will become Malkin. I think his ceiling if he stays is probably Semin (good Semin not lazy Semin).

 

To your point Amerk, you are taking the worst possible case scenario and tossing it out there. What if Nichushkin busts and goes back to the KHL and Ristolainen becomes a pronger like guy with grit and scoring? What if they both max out and we get #1 Defender and PP QB and Nichushkin is #1 RW? If that happens I would be surprised but I think you can not fault Darcy for not risking the pick when if it busts it screws us over royally. Zagrapan busting is still haunting this franchise.

 

O and I am not saying that Risto or Zadorov will be as good as pronger that was merely a style comparison.

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I understand that DR went with the "safer" pick. Personally, with the state the Sabres are currently in, I would have went with the risk.

 

Just a hypothetical...Risto ends up being a steady NHLer in 3-6 years. Lets say, the next Tallinder.

 

Nichushkin...could be the next Malkin at best, or could be the next Radulov-like KHL runaway.

 

Do you want the reliable Tallinder? Or, do you want that risk of gaining a game-breaker in Malkin?

 

I think you need to take some of those risks here and there; the safe picks tend to maintain status quo sometimes.

avoiding risk as much as possible is better imo at this stage. i was originally disappointed that we did not take a forward with the first two picks, but after taking a step back i feel that as a whole, we really had a solid draft. we stocked on forwards last year early. this year we snagged huge solid dmen. and we picked up another 1st round rated forward (compfer). when we trade miller and vanek, which i think we surely will either now or at the deadline, i think the prospects that come along with the picks with be forward prospects which will add to depth or possibly even give us a top 6 prospect. when we have tons of prospects and depth THEN we take a chance on a risky guy. lets build a solid base first.
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IMPO I do not believe that Nichushkin will become Malkin. I think his ceiling if he stays is probably Semin (good Semin not lazy Semin).

 

To your point Amerk, you are taking the worst possible case scenario and tossing it out there. What if Nichushkin busts and goes back to the KHL and Ristolainen becomes a pronger like guy with grit and scoring? What if they both max out and we get #1 Defender and PP QB and Nichushkin is #1 RW? If that happens I would be surprised but I think you can not fault Darcy for not risking the pick when if it busts it screws us over royally. Zagrapan busting is still haunting this franchise.

 

O and I am not saying that Risto or Zadorov will be as good as pronger that was merely a style comparison.

 

DR was just being DR, and doing what would be safer for his job status.

 

I know Nichushkin won't be Malkin. Risto probably won't be Pronger, either.

 

Nothing inherently wrong with the pick, and like you said, we won't know for awhile. I just would've liked to see DR make the ballsy pick and take the chance. There still would've been a D sitting there at 16. I hope it all works for the best, I'm still a Sabres fan at the end of the day.

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I don't see why Nichushkin couldn't be as good/better than Malkin. The kid is blessed with size, speed, and talent. If he works hard, he can be any kind of player he wants.

 

Remember how exciting Mogilny used to be?

 

We passed on that possibility.

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I don't see why Nichushkin couldn't be as good/better than Malkin. The kid is blessed with size, speed, and talent. If he works hard, he can be any kind of player he wants.

 

Nichushkin really reminds me of Rick Nash with they way he drives the net with great speed and power. Would have loved to have seen the Sabres' Brass be bold enough to pick this kid, but I get the reason for their trepidation. C'est la vie. :(

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DR was just being DR, and doing what would be safer for his job status.

 

I know Nichushkin won't be Malkin. Risto probably won't be Pronger, either.

 

Nothing inherently wrong with the pick, and like you said, we won't know for awhile. I just would've liked to see DR make the ballsy pick and take the chance. There still would've been a D sitting there at 16. I hope it all works for the best, I'm still a Sabres fan at the end of the day.

That is true but I think from hearing Devine and Regier speak they targeted Risto and Zadorov and wanted 1 of them at 8. Specifically Risto. They were surprised that Zadorov was there at 16 indicating to me they felt there was a significant drop off in defense after Zadorov. I firmly believe they saw it like this Jones.... Nurse/Ristolainen/Zadorov. They seemed in shock that the big russian was sitting there and in truth I was stunned too. I will discuss the Flyers pick of Morin when I get back...

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So is him fleeing to the KHL and never coming back.

I don't know or care if that is a reality. The fact that he could be a huge swing and miss for a franchise with a dearth of NHL talent would just set them back another year.

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Almost all picks carry some level of risk. Guys just entering college could blow out a kneecap in the next 4 years. 17-18 year old defensemen might never become mature enough for NHL responsibilities.

 

Should we mention that Nichushkin will be coached by Lindy Ruff? Do we have to account for that in determining if he'll flee to the KHL? Every player does have risk. I think the KHL risk is greater than ever these days.

 

When i read the things about Zadarov i remember the great Vladimir Kostantinov.

 

If he can be a d-man like Konstantinov i will be so lucky being a Sabres fan.

 

As long as he stays out of limos.

 

I have this feeling that some of these teams have been sitting at the top of the draft order for so long that they'll have to deal away an offensive player sooner or later. Edmonton has a load of front-line talent and not much on the back end. Colorado, in taking MacKinnon, is setting themselves up for the same thing. Having 1-2 and potentially 3 top forwards is possible but more than that and you have to hope that you can fill in the roster because paying them all top line money is near impossible.

 

They may not all pan out either.. but Colorado is facing retaining O'Reilly, Duchesne, Landeskog, and MacKinnon (although they have time with MacKinnon). The drafting of top level D allows the Sabres to potentially be trade partners by moving some D prospects when that happens. It's just a thought...

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Mike Schopp@Schopptalk 1m

Nikita Zadorov, Sabres first-round draft pick, next on @WGR550.

 

Also they talked to Dale Hunter about Zadorov and that is on WGR as well. Hunter said Zadorov loves to hit and protect his teammates. Also he came from Russia but quickly assimilated and his teammates love the guy. Think that Zadorov should take 1 more year in OHL to round out his game but has a lot of untapped potential.

 

PS. Everytime I hear Zadorov talk about being drafted and how it is his dream to be in the NHL and he is so happy to be in Buffalo... makes me really really like him. I think I am love :wub:

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Mike Schopp@Schopptalk 1m

Nikita Zadorov, Sabres first-round draft pick, next on @WGR550.

 

Also they talked to Dale Hunter about Zadorov and that is on WGR as well. Hunter said Zadorov loves to hit and protect his teammates. Also he came from Russia but quickly assimilated and his teammates love the guy. Think that Zadorov should take 1 more year in OHL to round out his game but has a lot of untapped potential.

 

I actually posted the link to the interview with Hunter in post 115 of this thread. Really good insight from Hunter.

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I actually posted the link to the interview with Hunter in post 115 of this thread. Really good insight from Hunter.

lol I can't believe I missed it there... wow I need to go home. But yes good insight from Hunter

 

"I know Buffalo is city to love hockey" - Nikita Zadorov

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lol I can't believe I missed it there... wow I need to go home. But yes good insight from Hunter

 

Heard Schopp being critical of the Sabres picking Zadorov yesterday on WGR. It was painfully obvious that he had no clue of what kind of player he is.

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Heard Schopp being critical of the Sabres picking Zadorov yesterday on WGR. It was painfully obvious that he had no clue of what kind of player he is.

Schoop no clue? I wouldn't have guessed that.

 

Zadorov says he likes Karlsson but not Chara. That is interesting to me.

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"I did play in Russian offensive game and I want to play offense and I like it. So idk I should be doing it if I want to play on Sabres. I need to play offensive game here. Buffalo needs and offensive defensmen"

- Zadorov

 

I may have screwed up that a little but it is basically what he said.

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