Brawndo Posted March 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 Officially official. Sabres announce two year ELC with him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetcarp77 Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 Just curious because I don't know. Why are players like this not drafted? Is it rules, or are they just not very good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattPie Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 Just curious because I don't know. Why are players like this not drafted? Is it rules, or are they just not very good? Late bloomers, I'd assume. Or they didn't play for a "big" high school program and flew under the radar until making it in college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottysabres Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 Decent signing to help LW depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 Just curious because I don't know. Why are players like this not drafted? Is it rules, or are they just not very good? I think it's two-fold: 1. There's a fairly defined timeline for junior players who get drafted, but with college players you just don't know what they will do: Will they stay all 4 years? Will they come out right away? If they stay until they graduate, will they even sign with the drafting club or go free agent? 2. Yes, most of the best hockey players go to juniors and the pool going to college has a good chunk of the best players carved out. On the second one, I think there is a shift going on though, as more U.S. players come into the system. I think they're more comfortable with the college system than the juniors system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 Decent signing to help LW depth. By depth I hope everyone understands he could be Evan Rodrigues or he could be Tyson Fawcett. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streetcarp77 Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 Thanks. This prompted me to do some reading on it. College and Junior players are just handled very differently. Seems NCAA rules allow them much more flexibility to choose where they go once their amateur playing days are over. This makes more sense to me now with the whole Vesey saga last year and why teams would find it risky to draft a college kid. Glad none of that happened with Eichel. Looking forward to seeing how he plays this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 (edited) Just curious because I don't know. Why are players like this not drafted? Is it rules, or are they just not very good? Because they weren't highly rated in their draft year. CJ Smith is a 22 year old JUNIOR in college. At 17, 18 he was still playing junior A instead of major junior or NCAA. He's 5'11, 185lbs as a 22 year old, so at 17-18 during his draft years he was maybe 5'7 or 5'8, 150lbs... that's not going to get you looks from major junior or any NHL club. So he did the smart thing and kept his college eligibility by playing junior A instead major junior (assuming that was an option). He continued to grow and improve his game to where he was offered a scholarship at a Div I school... and improved enough to get a pro-contract AND get an education. Or you could be Auston Matthews and not give two shits about education and chase the $$$$ in Europe.... haha. Edited March 30, 2017 by pi2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted March 30, 2017 Report Share Posted March 30, 2017 So Pi, which NCAA team did you play for? And how far did you get professionally? It's totally cool if you want to ignore these questions, too, they are very personal for an online message board, I certainly won't be offended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two or less Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 Smith seems very Brian Flynn-esque. Wouldn't be a bad thing for this team if he is just that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Buffalo Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 Hustle, speed and a really nice shot and plays hard in the corners... an upgrade over and old Matty Mo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 So Pi, which NCAA team did you play for? And how far did you get professionally? It's totally cool if you want to ignore these questions, too, they are very personal for an online message board, I certainly won't be offended. No worries. I played college in the ECAC in the early 90s and then half a season in what was then called the Sunshine Hockey League in Florida which I believe is now part of the ECHL? It was a league and so I decided to go back to school and finish up my degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunomatic Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 O.K. so whats CJs given name ? Haven't seen anything other than CJ which bugs me wether its BJ or DB or OJ for that matter. If ma n pa called you Cody or Clarence or Calypso go with that please but we are not growing a culture of guys late to yoga or guys that go by CJ or BJ or O friggin J. Gawd forbid GMTM drafts anyone named Tad or Buffy and I'm not lumpin the new kid in with them but pulease CJ give us your blue collar workin man hands name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 Because they weren't highly rated in their draft year. CJ Smith is a 22 year old JUNIOR in college. At 17, 18 he was still playing junior A instead of major junior or NCAA. He's 5'11, 185lbs as a 22 year old, so at 17-18 during his draft years he was maybe 5'7 or 5'8, 150lbs... that's not going to get you looks from major junior or any NHL club. So he did the smart thing and kept his college eligibility by playing junior A instead major junior (assuming that was an option). He continued to grow and improve his game to where he was offered a scholarship at a Div I school... and improved enough to get a pro-contract AND get an education. Or you could be Auston Matthews and not give two shits about education and chase the $$$$ in Europe.... haha. Well.... 3/4s of an education. O.K. so whats CJs given name ? Haven't seen anything other than CJ which bugs me wether its BJ or DB or OJ for that matter. If ma n pa called you Cody or Clarence or Calypso go with that please but we are not growing a culture of guys late to yoga or guys that go by CJ or BJ or O friggin J. Gawd forbid GMTM drafts anyone named Tad or Buffy and I'm not lumpin the new kid in with them but pulease CJ give us your blue collar workin man hands name. I've known people who's given name is initials like that. And I didn't really think about it until just now, but my son's initials are CJ. But he has a first and middle name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 It has been widely reported (after an announcement by BJ himself) that BJ Hunnicutt was named BJ after his mother (Bea) and his father (Jay). Also worth noting is that many (one person is particularly outspoken on the matter) do not accept the above explanation. Am I right, PA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 Favorite professional teams include the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins ... Favorite sports figure is Ryan Callahan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunkard Posted March 31, 2017 Report Share Posted March 31, 2017 It has been widely reported (after an announcement by BJ himself) that BJ Hunnicutt was named BJ after his mother (Bea) and his father (Jay). Also worth noting is that many (one person is particularly outspoken on the matter) do not accept the above explanation. Am I right, PA? That was just the cover story. I heard they named him BJ because they didn't want him and that's what they think he should've been instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 Connor Jeffrey Smith. (Per RJ during the game last night.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 He showed his nerves on his first couple of shifts (failed to make a routine play along the boards in the 1st period), but then settled in quite nicely. We can look for him to compete for a spot in the bottom 6, right? Also, as for Evan Rodrigues: I feel like his game has already tailed off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 (edited) He showed his nerves on his first couple of shifts (failed to make a routine play along the boards in the 1st period), but then settled in quite nicely. We can look for him to compete for a spot in the bottom 6, right? Yes, he was terrible early. Looked lost out there. He got better. Also, as for Evan Rodrigues: I feel like his game has already tailed off. Sadly, this is true. I still think he'll provide decent depth. Any team making a deep run needs depth (kind of like Falk and Fedun on the blue line). Edited April 3, 2017 by Doohickie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 I saw 2 nice passes from Smith and a whole lot of nothing aside from that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 For a middling player in an NHL debut, there ain't nuthin wrong widdat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Buffalo Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 I saw 2 nice passes from Smith and a whole lot of nothing aside from thatRelax, I saw a decent attempt a forecheck., but was a little lost on transition D like the rest of the Sabres.... one of DD's big failings and more than 3 nice passes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derrico Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 I saw 2 nice passes from Smith and a whole lot of nothing aside from that Really? I didn't notice him in the first but I saw several plays I liked over the last 40 minutes. Kid has speed and seems to have some nice hockey sense. Obviously a limited sample size but I'm intrigued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 (edited) Really? I didn't notice him in the first but I saw several plays I liked over the last 40 minutes. Kid has speed and seems to have some nice hockey sense. Obviously a limited sample size but I'm intrigued. In a Veseyian move, his signing with Buffalo was contingent on him playing out the season with the big club. It's a good risk for the Sabres to take... they have nothing to lose, let it play out and see where he settles in. That said, he has very little chance of making the team out of camp next season unless he does something magical this offseason. Edited April 4, 2017 by pi2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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