Sabres Prospects 2022-2023

[Ctaeth]

Just now, Curt said:

Players don’t really enter into the NHL draft.  They just become eligible to be selected based on their age and teams pick them if they choose to.

I don’t believe that they have to actually apply/register for the draft like prospects do for the NBA/NFL drafts.

Ah, that is interesting.  Thanks for that.  Learn something new every time I come here, cheers 👍

So, as for the draft process, only prospects that are interested in going to the NHL make themselves eligible for things like the combine?  I'm guessing that inactivity with some of these pre-draft activities is one flag that teams look at to determine who may not want to leave their country?  Although in his case, I'm not sure the combine was held the year he was drafted.

Did Novikov verbally indicate at some point that he wasn't really interested in the NHL?  

[Curt]

1 minute ago, Ctaeth said:

Ah, that is interesting.  Thanks for that.  Learn something new every time I come here, cheers 👍

So, as for the draft process, only prospects that are interested in going to the NHL make themselves eligible for things like the combine?  I'm guessing that inactivity with some of these pre-draft activities is one flag that teams look at to determine who may not want to leave their country?  Although in his case, I'm not sure the combine was held the year he was drafted.

Did Novikov verbally indicate at some point that he wasn't really interested in the NHL?  

The draft combine is an event the prospects are invited to.  Usually the somewhere between 60-90 guys are invited (I think, maybe some else knows better).  Generally the guys projected to go highest.

Don’t know much about Novikov’s specific case.  I would guess that when talking with him/his agent NHL teams were told that he would probably only come over if guaranteed a spot on the NHL, or something like that.  Contrast that with Kisakov, for example, who is coming over to play in the AHL and develop.

[Curt]

17 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Can't disagree with this, but it's not really what I was trying to get it.

It's more about the curve.

Peterka started the year as a well-thought-of high 2nd-round pick with a 2nd-line ceiling. No one would have been surprised had he struggled somewhat in the transition to the AHL as an underager. To maintain his status, all he really would have had to do was put up 20 goals and 20 assists.

Instead, by the end of the year, you could have made an argument he was the best player in the entire league.

He was a far better player in the 2nd best league in the world at 20 than he was in the German league at 19.

That kind of growth is pretty remarkable. It's kinda like a guy putting up 40 points as an AHL rookie one year and 75 as an NHL rookie the next.

Who does that? 

Really interesting point.  I never really thought about in that way.

He moved to a much better league, on a different continent, and his performance increased anyway.

[Mr. Allen]

1 hour ago, Curt said:

Players don’t really enter into the NHL draft.  They just become eligible to be selected based on their age and teams pick them if they choose to.

I don’t believe that they have to actually apply/register for the draft like prospects do for the NBA/NFL drafts.

Wasn’t there a guy last year who raped a woman and specifically asked not to be drafted and then still went in the first round? 

[inkman]

13 minutes ago, Mr. Allen said:

Wasn’t there a guy last year who raped a woman and specifically asked not to be drafted and then still went in the first round? 

Not quite rape but yeah 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/canadiens-make-shocking-dismaying-choice-select-mailloux-draft/sn-amp/

[Thorny]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Can't disagree with this, but it's not really what I was trying to get it.

It's more about the curve.

Peterka started the year as a well-thought-of high 2nd-round pick with a 2nd-line ceiling. No one would have been surprised had he struggled somewhat in the transition to the AHL as an underager. To maintain his status, all he really would have had to do was put up 20 goals and 20 assists.

Instead, by the end of the year, you could have made an argument he was the best player in the entire league.

He was a far better player in the 2nd best league in the world at 20 than he was in the German league at 19.

That kind of growth is pretty remarkable. It's kinda like a guy putting up 40 points as an AHL rookie one year and 75 as an NHL rookie the next.

Who does that? 

I think that’s why I’ve already transitioned him mentally to sure-fire long-term NHLer (which is a hard level to reach for a prospect at his age) from the base of 50/50 NHLer which is basically what his draft status indicated. He’s performing like a good top-of-the-first round pick, like a Quinn. 

I’m not sure that means top 6 mainstay is any kind of guarantee, though. I’d say the same for Quinn. This may be where I’m not putting enough stock into the curve you mentioned. Perhaps that type of development means he has a greater likelihood than your average good first round pick to excel at the NHL level? It’s possible - and I’m possibly not familiar with the precedent. OTOH, Quinn has a nice dev curve, too. 

I suppose if I say Peterka is at Quinn’s level, I had Quinn above Savoie in my earlier list, I should have Peterka above Savoie too lol. Really they are all close. But in truth I guess the way it comes down to it for me, Savoie’s ceiling is a bit higher than Quinn’s, but Quinn’s AHL year outperforming an already high expectation bumps him slightly ahead of Savoie who he was already close to. But I have Savoie ahead of Peterka cause, while Savoie again has a higher ceiling imo, even more so than Quinn Peterka’s development trajectory has been surprising. I probably need to see Peterka continue this sort of exceptional outperformance a bit longer before I see “star” in his future rather than good top 6 player.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Thorny

[dudacek]

16 minutes ago, Thorny said:

I think that’s why I’ve already transitioned him mentally to sure-fire long-term NHLer (which is a hard level to reach for a prospect at his age) from the base of 50/50 NHLer which is basically what his draft status indicated. He’s performing like a good top-of-the-first round pick, like a Quinn. 

I’m not sure that means top 6 mainstay is any kind of guarantee, though. I’d say the same for Quinn. This may be where I’m not putting enough stock into the curve you mentioned. Perhaps that type of development means he has a greater likelihood than your average good first round pick to excel at the NHL level? It’s possible - and I’m possibly not familiar with the precedent. OTOH, Quinn has a nice dev curve, too. 

I suppose if I say Peterka is at Quinn’s level, I had Quinn above Savoie in my earlier list, I should have Peterka above Savoie too lol. Really they are all close. But in truth I guess the way it comes down to it for me, Savoie’s ceiling is a bit higher than Quinn’s, but Quinn’s AHL year outperforming an already high expectation bumps him slightly ahead of Savoie who he was already close to. But I have Savoie ahead of Peterka cause, while Savoie again has a higher ceiling imo, I probably need to see Peterka continue this sort of exceptional outperformance a bit longer before I see “star” in his future rather than good top 6 player.

That’s fair. 

In my view, Savoie is better at 18 than Quinn was and significantly better than Peterka.

And if you dial it back to 17 there was no competition: Savoie was probably top 4 in the world, behind WRIGHT and with Miroshnichenko and Lambert. Quinn and Peterka were barely in the radar.

And I think that’s why I have Savoie where I do: it’s not really clear to me if, or how much, he’s plateauing. Need to see where he goes next year.

I like the kid a lot, he was definitely the guy I hoped would fall to us.

As a draft year player, he is probably the most explosive offensive talent we’ve picked in a generation except Eichel. I am including Reinhart and Vanek in this.

[Thorny]

Just now, dudacek said:

That’s fair. 

In my view, Savoie is better at 18 than Quinn was and significantly better than Peterka.

And if you dial it back to 17 there was no competition: Savoie was probably top 4 in the world, behind WRIGHT and with Miroshnichenko and Lambert. Quinn and Peterka were barely in the radar.

And I think that’s why I have Savoie where I do: it’s not really clear to me if, or how much, he’s plateauing. Need to see where he goes next year.

I like the kid a lot, he was definitely the guy I hoped would fall to us.

As a draft year player, he is probably the most explosive offensive talent we’ve picked in a generation except Eichel. I am including Reinhart and Vanek in this.

When you’re WRIGHT you’re WRIGHT 

[LGR4GM]

10 hours ago, Curt said:

The draft combine is an event the prospects are invited to.  Usually the somewhere between 60-90 guys are invited (I think, maybe some else knows better).  Generally the guys projected to go highest.

Don’t know much about Novikov’s specific case.  I would guess that when talking with him/his agent NHL teams were told that he would probably only come over if guaranteed a spot on the NHL, or something like that.  Contrast that with Kisakov, for example, who is coming over to play in the AHL and develop.

Novikov plays in the KHL. He's not coming to NA to play in the AHL until that contract ends. He's signed for this season in the khl and won't even be 19 until July 25th.

If he signs long term in the khl, sure what you say could be true but unlike Kisakov, Novikov is playing good minutes in a men's league. 

[LGR4GM]

Novikov is 9 months younger than Kisakov. Just BTW FYI Yolo BFF FTW

[Curt]

27 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Novikov plays in the KHL. He's not coming to NA to play in the AHL until that contract ends. He's signed for this season in the khl and won't even be 19 until July 25th.

If he signs long term in the khl, sure what you say could be true but unlike Kisakov, Novikov is playing good minutes in a men's league. 

Yeah, I was just speculating.  It’s been said that Novikov fell in the draft because of questions about his desire to come to NA.  I was speculating about what that might mean exactly.

[Mr. Allen]

10 hours ago, inkman said:

Not quite rape but yeah 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/canadiens-make-shocking-dismaying-choice-select-mailloux-draft/sn-amp/

Oh my gosh.  Certainly not the “R” word.  Sorry I even used it.  
But I remember him asking not to be drafted but still was. 

[Taro T]

Don't have the login credentials for the Athletic on this machine, so can't link to the article (behind a paywall anyway).  But if you have a subscription to the Athletic there's a GREAT article today about Levi and some of his mental preparations & the overall work he puts into the game.

It's a very good read and just makes it appear all the more that he has that "it" factor.  Can't wait to see him in B&G.

[LGR4GM]

11 hours ago, inkman said:

Not quite rape but yeah 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/canadiens-make-shocking-dismaying-choice-select-mailloux-draft/sn-amp/

Logan Mailoux. He's a POS and if he ever touches NHL ice, I hope Owen Power Brian Campbell's his sorry @ss. 

[inkman]

36 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Logan Mailoux. He's a POS and if he ever touches NHL ice, I hope Owen Power Brian Campbell's his sorry @ss. 

What on Earth was Montreal thinking 

[French Collection]

13 minutes ago, inkman said:

What on Earth was Montreal thinking 

I know, right. He doesn’t even seem that good of a player.

[LTS]

17 hours ago, dudacek said:

A few months back, I would have definitely agreed with you.

I watched a lot of Peterka this year and what distance has started to make clear for me is the incredible amount of improvement he's made over the course of the year. He was always really toolsy and could be hard-working, but I never really saw the head for the game that separates the Sam Reinharts from the Benoit Pouliots, or the two-way commitment that makes Mike Peca better than Derek Roy.

But that has changed: what has happened is he's just gotten better at hockey, the finding and creating space for himself and others, and the refusal to be beaten.

Maybe it's recency bias, but he was the best player I saw in the AHL playoffs.

Probably wishful thinking, but I think about the path of guys like Marchand and Kucherov and I'm starting to ask myself why can't their paths be his?

Never underestimate this. The skill has to be there, no doubt. But so many players with talent lack the level of tenaciousness and determination to make the real difference.

 

[JustOneParade]

4 hours ago, Taro T said:

Don't have the login credentials for the Athletic on this machine, so can't link to the article (behind a paywall anyway).  But if you have a subscription to the Athletic there's a GREAT article today about Levi and some of his mental preparations & the overall work he puts into the game.

It's a very good read and just makes it appear all the more that he has that "it" factor.  Can't wait to see him in B&G.

Absolutely. Read the article over breakfast this morning. That boy is wired for greatness.

[French Collection]

Savoie will not participate in World Juniors Summer Camp.

 

[Buffalonill]

6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Logan Mailoux. He's a POS and if he ever touches NHL ice, I hope Owen Power Brian Campbell's his sorry @ss. 

He will get his 

[Flashsabre]

16 minutes ago, French Collection said:

Savoie will not participate in World Juniors Summer Camp.

 

Chase Coward was invited to Sabres prospect camp but was injured.

[kas23]

20 hours ago, Curt said:

Players don’t really enter into the NHL draft.  They just become eligible to be selected based on their age and teams pick them if they choose to.

I don’t believe that they have to actually apply/register for the draft like prospects do for the NBA/NFL drafts.

This is interesting and I didn’t know this either. I suppose there’s some players out there, maybe in Europe, who really don’t want to move to the US and play in the NHL. It’s just strange there’s no formal process of throwing your hat in the ring. Teams must really do their homework. 

[Taro T]

14 minutes ago, kas23 said:

This is interesting and I didn’t know this either. I suppose there’s some players out there, maybe in Europe, who really don’t want to move to the US and play in the NHL. It’s just strange there’s no formal process of throwing your hat in the ring. Teams must really do their homework. 

Certainly there are some that don't want to come over.  And shame on the teams that draft those guys without doing due diligence unless it is as a 6th or 7th round flyer hoping they change their minds & they're out of prospects they think are worth that pick.

[Thorny]

On 7/21/2022 at 3:50 PM, French Collection said:

Savoie will not participate in World Juniors Summer Camp.

 

Any word on if his recovery from injury is still on the expected track? 

[French Collection]

16 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Any word on if his recovery from injury is still on the expected track? 

Haven’t heard any other news. He was supposed to be ready for this camp. Must’ve had a setback or a doctor would not provide clearance.

Hopefully good for the prospect tournament.

A good start in the WHlL will get him a chance at the World Junior Team.