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Update: Sabres sign D Man Viktor Antipin to 1yr ELC


Brawndo

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Oh, I see how you read that. Neither: it would be interesting to have the only Latvian and the only Kazakh players in the NHL.

I get you now. Sabres a trying to corner the market on nationalities represented in the NHL. :thumbsup:

 

Let's hope it works out better than the Bills and the "Ed Wang Experiment" :sick:

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If he is similar to Zaitsev we shouldn't be thinking a depth Dman to help out Rochester. Sounds like someone who can help out the Sabres next season.

 

Im not sure why size seems to keep coming up. Id love to look back the the 2015 draft page and see some of the remarks about Mitch Marner.

 

Erik Karlsson 6' 0 190lbs

Shane Ghostisbehere 5'11 180ilbs

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If he is similar to Zaitsev we shouldn't be thinking a depth Dman to help out Rochester. Sounds like someone who can help out the Sabres next season.

 

Im not sure why size seems to keep coming up. Id love to look back the the 2015 draft page and see some of the remarks about Mitch Marner.

 

Erik Karlsson 6' 0 190lbs

Shane Ghostisbehere 5'11 180ilbs

 

I agree that this should be considered an NHL move, not an AHL move. 

 

But I think it's fair to be concerned about size.  Marner isn't really relevant, as there are many more smaller nifty forwards than smaller defensemen.  And if a defenseman needs to be as good as Karlsson to overcome smaller size, then we haven't really proven anything.  As for Ghost, his play fell off substantially this year, so he's not a great example either.

 

Bottom line:  if a defenseman is on the small side, he needs to have really strong speed, puck skills and decision-making to be a good NHL defenseman.  Nothing controversial about that.

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I agree that this should be considered an NHL move, not an AHL move. 

 

But I think it's fair to be concerned about size.  Marner isn't really relevant, as there are many more smaller nifty forwards than smaller defensemen.  And if a defenseman needs to be as good as Karlsson to overcome smaller size, then we haven't really proven anything.  As for Ghost, his play fell off substantially this year, so he's not a great example either.

 

Bottom line:  if a defenseman is on the small side, he needs to have really strong speed, puck skills and decision-making to be a good NHL defenseman.  Nothing controversial about that.

Yep. Lots of guys in the minors w/ Rafalski's size because they didn't have his skill & speed. This guy is listed slightly smaller than Brian. Would be expecting far more Ruhwedel than Gostibsehere. If they get him, hopefully he's closer to Ghost (even this season's version would be better than Chad).

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He isn't coming here to be in the AHL. It's likely NHL or bust.

 

You have to wonder if this signing is somewhat Guhle insurance. His skill set seems to be Guhle-ish. Good skater, some offense probably makes a good first pass. GMTM cheaply signs this guy and figures if Guhle isn't ready for the NHL then this gentleman will be. If we are lucky both guys are ready and we are 4/6 to a decent D group.

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He isn't coming here to be in the AHL. It's likely NHL or bust.

 

You have to wonder if this signing is somewhat Guhle insurance. His skill set seems to be Guhle-ish. Good skater, some offense probably makes a good first pass. GMTM cheaply signs this guy and figures if Guhle isn't ready for the NHL then this gentleman will be. If we are lucky both guys are ready and we are 4/6 to a decent D group.

Those qualities should be what we look for in every single defender
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NHL Equivalency for the KHL is 0.80(!).  Antipin currently has 24 points in 59 KHL games, making his NHLe ~27 points on 82 games.  That would be third among defensemen for most teams.  2nd pairing guy sounds right.  He also shoots left.

 

He's Kulikov insurance.

Edited by IKnowPhysics
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Looks like he's playing top line minutes (#2 minutes in 2016)  behind Chris Lee, an ex-AHL'er who could never crack an NHL lineup. 

 

Does that mean anything? No. Just pointing out his minutes. 

 

This breeds confidence.

 

 

 

Not.

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If we somehow landed a Zaitsev that would be amazing. Not getting my hopes up that this guy is him, though.

Well, it looks like so far he's #2 in playoff ice time on the best team in the KHL's Eastern conference (3rd-best in the KHL).  I can't figure out how to get the KHL's website to deliver regular season stats.

 

So presumably a top-pair defenseman from a good KHL team -- and also presumably a guy with some speed and skill. 

 

That sounds like it has potential.

My first thought was Zaitsev as well. Murray must think this guy has at least a chance to step in and be a mainstay on our defence. Hopefully it works out, very much like the signing if the signing does indeed come to pass.

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