The 6K discussion thread: Can he lead us to the playoffs? Keeping the crease warm for Levi?

[SabresBaltimore]

4 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

His name has six Ks in it.  Pretty straightforward.

Ah yeah. That rings a bell. I'm sure I'll still forget that by tomorrow though.

[Night Train]

6K ? 

What that his signing bonus ?  Yearly meal allotment ? 

[msw2112]

For all the criticism the kid has taken on this board, he showed up yesterday.  If he didn't slam the door early, the Sabres would have fallen behind 1-0 or 2-0 and likely lost the game to fall to 3 games below .500.  He may not be the second coming of Ken Dryden, but maybe if given the chance to develop, he can become a solid NHL goalie.  Some players take more time to develop than others, particularly goalies.  Are their exceptions - sure.  Levi may be NHL ready right out of college at age 21.  But some goalies take some time and don't hit their stride until their late 20's.  UPL/6K is only 24 and has had some bad breaks with injuries and not being given much time in the minors to develop.  Maybe he'll make it, maybe not.  Last night gives some hope on the maybe side.

 

An interesting side note is the development of Jonas Johansson, who the Sabres drafted and developed, then gave up on somewhat early, trading him to Colorado for a 6th round pick.  Granted, he was going to be a free agent and may have left the organization due to UPL & Portillo being in the pipeline at the time (not sure if Levi was acquired by then).  Both Johansson are European goalies drafted by the Sabres, and both are 6'5", with Jonas being listed at 219 lbs. and UPL at 217 pounds.  There are many similarities.  In any event, after bouncing around the league a bit, Johansson is 28 and playing great hockey as Tampa's starting goalie while Vasilevskiy is out injured.  He had back to back shutouts in his last 2 starts.  Ironically, he did lose to the Sabres a couple of weeks ago, but he's playing well overall.  I cite Johansson as an example of a goalie who has some similarities to UPL and needed a few years to figure it out.  Jonas was awful in his starts as a Sabre, has been hit and miss since then, but seems to have found his game.  It will be interesting to see how he continues to develop, and, of course, how UPL continues to develop.

Edited October 30, 2023 by msw2112

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

I've been his biggest supporter.  I might be his only supporter. He was awarded player of the year in junior. He dealt with major injuries that required surgeries. He was supposed to develop in Rochester last year, but was forced onto the Sabres roster due to injuries to other goalies before he was ready. 

Since he was recalled last year the team is eight games over .500 in those he's started, and six games below .500 combined with all other goalies. 

He is still young for a goalie and has not been afforded a traditional development path, he is not close to being a fully developed goalie. I think he makes a Filip Gustavsson type jump. I see improvement over last year, he's had two quality starts and won both games. Like it or not, our season depends on him. I'm comfortable with it. 

I'll say it again, he'll play over thirty games and have a winning record. 

Opie or UPL.  The players call him Opie.  The coached called him UPL after the Avs game.  6K is kind of forced and corny, it might not stick.    

He did not look great in Rochester in '21-22 when he played 35 games there and he was not looking great down there in 22-23 when he played 9 games before the call up.  

Last year he was 17-11-4 for Buffalo with a 3.58 GAA and a less than stellar 0.892 SV%. 

Two weird things about him are: statistically he plays better for Buffalo than he does for Rochester; and the Sabres seem to score goals for him. 

I  hope that Hank is correct and that UPL becomes a great NHL.  With better team defense, and if he can play consistent at the Av game level, lets get that GAA down to 2.5 or less and the SV up to 0.92 or better.   Then we are cooking.  

Comparing Levi and UPL,  it looks to me like Levi is the better skilled, more schooled, and more disciplined.  UPL is big, much slower in lateral movement, does not have a glove like Levi, gives up big bouncy rebounds too often, and he gets beat regularly on breakaway and shoot outs.  

Versus the Avs, UPL (Opie, 6K) had a great game.  Lets hope that he can find the consistency needed to succeed.  

[WhenWillItEnd66]

I always like 6K. When i was on the SF sabres board (RIP Goat!), that was his nickname there from day 1. UPL, 6K, not a biggie. I would love for him to hit his stride and be the hype he was supposed to be. 

[PASabreFan]

14 minutes ago, Stormcloudmember66 said:

I always like 6K. When i was on the SF sabres board (RIP Goat!), that was his nickname there from day 1. UPL, 6K, not a biggie. I would love for him to hit his stride and be the hype he was supposed to be. 

Goat died? We always clashed for some reason. Sorry to hear. How old was he?

50 minutes ago, Hank said:

Loser donates $100 to a local Buffalo charity of the winner's choice?

Well I wasn't going to bet you. Or bet against 6K. More of a board vs. Hank bet.

[mjd1001]

2 hours ago, Hank said:

I've been his biggest supporter.  I might be his only supporter. He was awarded player of the year in junior. He dealt with major injuries that required surgeries. He was supposed to develop in Rochester last year, but was forced onto the Sabres roster due to injuries to other goalies before he was ready. 

Since he was recalled last year the team is eight games over .500 in those he's started, and six games below .500 combined with all other goalies. 

He is still young for a goalie and has not been afforded a traditional development path, he is not close to being a fully developed goalie. I think he makes a Filip Gustavsson type jump. I see improvement over last year, he's had two quality starts and won both games. Like it or not, our season depends on him. I'm comfortable with it. 

I'll say it again, he'll play over thirty games and have a winning record. 

Thumbs down just for the title of this thread.  Dumb nickname.

[Norcal]

I used to rock an Upie avatar for a while.

6K, UPL, Upie. IF I can call him a good NHL goaltender someday I'll be happy. 

I've always believed in him but lately have been a little unsure of his future, although I hold out hope he will become a good NHL goaltender. 

In yesterday's game he looked like a different guy early and notably more attentive and aware of where the puck was on the ice.

When he learns to show up like that every night he'll have it.

[That Aud Smell]

25 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Two weird things about him are: statistically he plays better for Buffalo than he does for Rochester

HC DG offered an explanation about this discrepancy last season. I don't recall the specifics. Something something structure.

26 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

if he can play consistent at the Av game level, lets get that GAA down to 2.5 or less and the SV up to 0.92 or better.   Then we are cooking.  

The Sabres would not only be a playoff team with that level of goaltending, they would be a borderline contender.

[bob_sauve28]

How many SOG did he see yesterday? 

[SabresBaltimore]

2 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

How many SOG did he see yesterday? 

23

 

Sabres also blocked 21

Edited October 30, 2023 by SabresBaltimore

[That Aud Smell]

27 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Comparing Levi and UPL,  it looks to me like Levi is the better skilled, more schooled, and more disciplined.  UPL is big, much slower in lateral movement, does not have a glove like Levi, gives up big bouncy rebounds too often, and he gets beat regularly on breakaway and shoot outs.  

They have almost nothing in common other than the position they play. Levi is super athletic - and he needs to be, given his size. UPL is a big fella who, by NHL standards, is not very athletic.

[bob_sauve28]

Just now, SabresBaltimore said:

23

Ya, he's ready for Hall of Fame ...

[inkman]

2 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

How many SOG did he see yesterday? 

6k

[Zamboni]

Yesterday …

Skinny boom boom assisted on J doubles goal.

3H and Skinny boom boom assisted on 3T’s goal.

He-man and Tucharoni assisted on hard J’s goal 

And then Tommy Dangles assisted on Dollies goal.

Surrounding 6K afterwards, there was much rejoicing ….

 

 

 

 

 

 

😂

 

🤮

[WhenWillItEnd66]

16 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Goat died? We always clashed for some reason. Sorry to hear. How old was he?

 

He passed away about 3 or 4 years ago. I had an email from him just a couple of days before. He was in his 50's if i remember correctly 

[Pimlach]

17 minutes ago, Zamboni said:

Yesterday …

Skinny boom boom assisted on J doubles goal.

3H and Skinny boom boom assisted on 3T’s goal.

He-man and Tucharoni assisted on hard J’s goal 

And then Tommy Dangles assisted on Dollies goal.

Surrounding 6K afterwards, there was much rejoicing ….

😂

🤮

3H?  

[...]

4 hours ago, erickompositör72 said:

I rewatched highlights from the game. The alarming elements of UPL's game that I've mentioned noticing before (reflexes, balance, body control, recovery) all seemed to be vastly improved. He is still young enough that he could figure these things out. I'm sure working next to Levi in camp lit a fire under him, and showed him first-hand what a freakishly naturally talented goaltender looks like, up close.

 

Another test will be how he can handles breakaways/shootouts. As I said before, I'd be thrilled if he completely overcomes my expectations of him.

He still put himself out of position way too much - mostly overplaying the initial save. The major differences were some puck luck and that the team in front of him, finally, had him covered.

Not saying he hasn't improved, but he looked like a controlled disaster out there with support as opposed to simply a disaster with no support.

Maybe the most raw Dom-esque game style we've seen from a big goalie. And I'm not comparing him to Dom in a broad sense, just the flip-flopping chaotic style he seemed to have adopted yesterday. If he keeps it up and it works, maybe we could compare him a little bit to Dom but that's a long way off.

Edited October 30, 2023 by ...
I repeat: I am not comparing him to Dom or claiming he is the next Dom.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

2 hours ago, Hank said:

I've been his biggest supporter.  I might be his only supporter. He was awarded player of the year in junior. He dealt with major injuries that required surgeries. He was supposed to develop in Rochester last year, but was forced onto the Sabres roster due to injuries to other goalies before he was ready. 

Since he was recalled last year the team is eight games over .500 in those he's started, and six games below .500 combined with all other goalies. 

He is still young for a goalie and has not been afforded a traditional development path, he is not close to being a fully developed goalie. I think he makes a Filip Gustavsson type jump. I see improvement over last year, he's had two quality starts and won both games. Like it or not, our season depends on him. I'm comfortable with it. 

I'll say it again, he'll play over thirty games and have a winning record. 

You have been his biggest supporter, but not his only one.

He has yet to be in an ideal situation in orderto develop into anything.  The Sabres hanging on to him is proof that they realize this.  It's the only reason they kept the 3 goalies on the active roster - they were afraid of a waiver claim, which very well could have happened.

I think you are right.  Right now Comrie may be the more developed player, but he is too injury prone.  This is 6K's (I like the nick-name) big chance.  He has shown pretty well.  The team seems to play well in front of him.  He did an outstanding job yesterday in the first 7 to 10 minutes to keep the score even until the rest of the Sabres woke up.

I think you are right.

[DarthEbriate]

It’s three sets of double K.

3(K^2). 
 

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, DarthEbriate said:

It’s three sets of double K.

3(K^2). 
 

3 sets of double K's; what sort of Russ Meyer alien flick you watching?

A single pair of double D's is plenty.  😉

[SwampD]

24 minutes ago, ... said:

He still put himself out of position way too much - mostly overplaying the initial save. The major differences were some puck luck and that the team in front of him, finally, had him covered.

Not saying he hasn't improved, but he looked like a controlled disaster out there with support as opposed to simply a disaster with no support.

Maybe the most raw Dom-esque game style we've seen from a big goalie. And I'm not comparing him to Dom in a broad sense, just the flip-flopping chaotic style he seems adopted yesterday. If he keeps it up and it words, maybe we could compare him a little bit to Dom but that's a long way off.

He has resembled Dom's flipflopping style in the past. If he harnesses its power half as much as Dom did, we'll be lucky.

[shrader]

2 hours ago, Radar said:

Why don't we just use names? Seems so silly.

You’re talking to a board that couldn’t even spell Pominville or Reinhart. Do you really want to see them attempt this one. 
 

But anyway, people were all over him after the devils game. But you have to remember that he came into that game cold and one of, if not the first shot he faced was a breakaway. They hung him out to dry right from the start.
 

Last year at this point when Comrie went down, I said that hopefully this is the point where he steps up and claims the job. Fortunately we don’t need that this time around, but i wouldn’t mind if he actually did it this time. 

[ddaryl]

I just call him Oompa Loompa

[SABRES 0311]

6K???