Playes on the roster you like more/less than the rest of the forum/fans

[mjd1001]

I'm not sure if this thread will go anywhere, but Its someting we talk a lot amongst each other without specifically saying...so...

Compared to everyone else you debate with on here, or the impression of the general fanbase, who do you like more on this roster or think is better? And who do you think gets too much credit and is worse than general perception?

For me:

Better: Girgeonsons. He's a 4th liner and not more than that, but I see a coupel posts a week from people saying they can't wait to get rid of him. But to me, he still is an above average skater/speed, 2nd best forchecker on the team, is good enough on the PK, rarely makes obvious mistakes in his own zone..and he scores at about the same rate as an average 4th liner around the league.

Better:  Jokiharju.  Is he great? No, but I think his 'defensive zone mistakes' are often where he looks bad trying to cover for a forward who has no idea what he is doing. Again, not a top pair guy, but I think he has well-rounded talent and should still get better as he gains more experience (he still is only 24)

Worse: Krebs.  I don't see anything in his game I like. His offense to me looks accidental. He is VERY slow on the backcheck and many times I have seen him coasting back when one more step of effort could have prevented a goal against.  Hes not big, he doesn't win many loose puck battles. Yes, he IS still young and some forwards come into their own in their mid 20's, but I don't see much from him at all that I like

Worse: Cozens.  As a Center, he is worse than a train wreck in his own zone.  He NEEDs to produce 25-30 goals to make up for how bad he is in his own zone, and he doesn't sem to be getting better back there.  He had a 30 goal breakout year he got paid for, but EVERY other year (including this year) seems to show that 'breakout year' was really a 'career year'.  At least as a Center (where this team insists on playing him) he seems to have below average 'hockey sense' in the offensive zone, and ZERO hockey sense in the defensive zone.   I wish every day they move him to wing because he is a bad center.  BAD.

Worse:  Power. For now.  I hope/think he will get better, so I don't feel as bad about him as Cozens and Krebs, but he is very tenative when he seems to have the talent not to be. He is confused in his own zone (I THINK that will get better with experience).  Again, I think he will get better but, in terms of how good he is now, I think many fans were looking at him throgh rose colored glasses last year, he's going to need more time.

[Taro T]

Better: Girgensons (though, due to the need to let the leaders that are in their primes begin to own the team, believe he needs to move on (which stinks, REALLY wanted him to get to experience the playoffs as a part of this roster))

Better: Mittelstadt (though now that Cozens is in most people's dog houses, most have come around to liking Mitts too)

Better (at least ST, probably not much more than others LT): Levi

Probably better: Tuch (still believe a lot of his "lazy" play is due to fighting through whatever injury he came into camp with)

 

But, in general, personally still really like this team's players.  Even guys that were truly disliked when they were on other rosters (referring to you, Skinner and Clifton) like on this squad.  And even the guys that Granato misuses by giving too much responsibility to (referring to you Jokiharju and Okposo) personally like.

The only guy that should absolutely 100% be punted to the moon is Ellis but most everybody has come around to agreeing he isn't even the Matt Ellis of NHL AC's, so don't believe he's viewed less favorably in this household than he is in everybody else's.

 

Because most of the guys that might be earning their way into the doghouse (your examples of Cozens and Power being the prime examples), personally believe that they'll look a lot more like people expected them to look when they have a more reasonable defensive assignment (Cozens) or when they're finally beyond their sophomore season (Power).  And personally believe Thompson is just now finally starting to get past the limitations his injuries have put upon him, so am probably with many of the rest of the fans in cutting him some slack.

[mjd1001]

17 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Because most of the guys that might be earning their way into the doghouse (your examples of Cozens and Power being the prime examples)

With Cozens, I am probably harder on him than I should be becasue I always watched him and wondered what people saw that was so great...until last year. Last year, he put in 30 goals, and I was like "finally, if that is what he is, he is going to be a very good player". But as I mentioned above, I think he needs to produce close to that level to be of much value.  

Power I was hesitant to list. I think he is OK for his age. I guess the only reason I put him up there is, at the end of last year and earlier this year...there were a lot of fans thinking he was a top D-man in the league.  I think he is middle of the pack in terms of D-men in the league, over-rated by many Sabres fans even last year...but I'm not down on him. I just think he'll take time and 'patience' is the one thing very few around here want to hear.

[steveoath]

Mittelstadt has turned me round. He is a really solid middle sixer. He has rounded out his game well. 
 

UPL is showing signs that he could actually belong in the NHL. 
 

Can I put the coach in here? I thought he was going to be the one to get to the playoffs. Now I don’t think that’s happening. He seems like a nice guy and good at developing players, but doesn’t seem to be able to gel them together. I think he should be in Roch with the prospects tbh. 

[K-9]

Trick question. 😂

[Sabres Fan in NS]

This and the stats thread has be thinking that our friend is on vacation or needs a real hot date.  Maybe both.

[inkman]

Jack Quinn is my favorite Sabre since Peca.  He’s got skills in spades.  He is the stick that stirs the drink for the Cozens line.  He may be the most talented forward in the team.  I will be beyond furious if he isn’t a Sabre for life.  
 

I love me some Alex Tuch as well.  He’s probably 90% of the player I wish he was, because if he had that other 10%, he’d be my favorite Sabre.  
 

I disliked Dahlin as soon as he was in the team.  Then they got rid of the maloik, Krueger, and his game flourished.  We all had a love affair with the Swedish phenom.  Then we wanted more.  He’s offensively gifted but for a 1st OA pick, there are holes in his game that are inexcusable.  It seems like every other game he’s good for a lowlight of the week award.  Just giving the puck right to an opponent that ends up in the net immediately.  I’m hoping Power develops (soon!!) to take the reigns from Rasmus to free him up to be more offensive and alleviate some of the d zone stuff.  

[PerreaultForever]

Let's see, more or less than others...........so less:

Skinner. Can't stand him. Wish he was gone. I imagine I'm the biggest Skinner hater on the board. 

Dahlin. I don't hate him, but his defensive game is lacking at times and he is not worth the worship/love he gets here. 

Thompson. His lack of physicality constantly annoys me.

On the other side,

Cozens. I still believe with the right coaching he can be saved. I could be wrong. 

Greenway. See above. 

Clifton. The expectation was too high and the surrounding cast/D partner bring out his flaws. He can be a solid bottom pairing guy in the right system.

If I had to pick a favourite player this season it's Peterka. He gets a lot of love though so there's no more or less involved, just saying for the sake of.

 

[GoPuckYourself]

Better: Dylan Cozens... I know he's everyones whipping boy right now but I love the toughness and I think he'll find his scoring groove again. 

Worse: Owen Power... I know he's still very young, last year he looked decent but something I've never really liked about his game, he's soft, I don't think I've seen him even throw a check before, he doesn't stand up for teammates and his defensive game has alot to be desired, things can definitely turn around for him but those are alot of qualities to just pick up over time imo.

[pastajoe]

Worse: Mittelstadt who is a soft along the boards turnover machine. His offense doesn’t make up for his defensive deficiencies. They have enough similar players signed to longer contracts. Sign and trade him for a gritty playoff experienced forward or top 4 defenseman.

Better: Krebs is a gritty two-way center with good passing ability who doesn’t get enough chances with offensive skilled wingers.

[Broken Ankles]

Better: Victor Olofsson. Obviously weak defensively, but with stronger line mates and better playmakers he should easily be a bottom 6 forward that scores 20+.

Better: Greenway.  Stats on PK speak volumes.  Big, strong and usually in good position

Better: Joki.  I’m a fan of R/L combinations, and we just have too many minutes given to L/L pairings.  Joki/Power should have/could have been a great third pairing, with the ability to slide up if injuries occur.  Clifton didn’t manifest into a #4 (yet -but I still have hope), and Dahlin needs a true right handed partner to eat 22 per game.  

Worse:  Benson. Tons of potential and I like the kid, but still don’t see why he needed to be here.  Struggling as of late with defensive lapses.  If Sam Reinhart was sent back to junior to work on strength and other elements of his game, so should Zach. s well.

Worse: Mitts.  Like him way more than I did two years ago, and glad I was wrong.  Just not as much as others.  And I don’t want to see another Cozens like contract that results in regression or injuries after a career season in a contract year.

Worse: Rob Ray.  Bottom 15% of color guys on a tv broadcast. 

[Weave]

Better - Kyle Okposo. Dude bled Sabre blue and gave his all after he nearly lost it all.  Grateful.

Worse - Dahlin. Just never measured up to the hype.  
 
Worse - Power. Is it possible to not live up to the hype more than Dahlin?

Pretty sure I’m apathetic about the entire rest of the roster.

[PASabreFan]

Less... Dahlin. In the context of a woebegone franchise, nothing about him gets me excited.

Less... Levi. Sorry, just poking at the mindhive that was SS in the spring.

More... VO. I love my Fargo memes.

More... Max. He's fun.

[#freejame]

I’m starting to wonder if maybe a few vocal posters haven’t skewed things but…

more: Krebs, Skinner (watching him skate has been the only redeeming thing about this team most nights) and 6K

less: Cozens, Dahlin, Power, KO, Girgs, Thompson, Granato, Terry

I like Quinn a lot but everyone does. Benson brings a lot of jam and I’m not going to knock him for being at the wrong level when I like his game a lot. Everyone likes JJ and I do too.

I don’t think Levi will be as good as Miller and I don’t think Miller was as good as some would tell you he is, but I think a lot of Levi opinions have been tampered down. I’m pretty indifferent about Tuch, but I’m pretty sure he’s not the guy I thought he was gonna be. 

[Getpucksdeep]

Less:  (or maybe not given the responses thus far) Dahlin.  He is really really bad this year. Idk what the fancy stats say but I'd trade every single one of his goals for solid, sound, and SMART defensive play.

More: EJ. The guy brings it, plays smart (see above) and shows respect to the game, his teammates, and the opponent.  It's expected he's not as sharp/fast as the youngins but the rest is so worth it.  Hopefully 26 and 25 are paying attention but it sure doesn't seem like it.

[Wyldnwoody44]

I like Quinn and Peterka. 

 

That's about it. 

Tage is a shell

Rasmus is not a very good D Man right now. 

Cozens is a tire fire. 

Okposo is a turtle. 

Skinner is a Selfish Ballerina 

VO has one thing only and we don't even see that. 

The coaches.... I think we know. 

Even Sabre tooth can't operate a t shirt cannon anymore. He used to shoot to the oranges at the aud.. Not it's OK trickler to the lower bowl. 

[Broken Ankles]

2 hours ago, #freejame said:

I’m starting to wonder if maybe a few vocal posters haven’t skewed things but…

more: Krebs, Skinner (watching him skate has been the only redeeming thing about this team most nights) and 6K

less: Cozens, Dahlin, Power, KO, Girgs, Thompson, Granato, Terry

I like Quinn a lot but everyone does. Benson brings a lot of jam and I’m not going to knock him for being at the wrong level when I like his game a lot. Everyone likes JJ and I do too.

I don’t think Levi will be as good as Miller and I don’t think Miller was as good as some would tell you he is, but I think a lot of Levi opinions have been tampered down. I’m pretty indifferent about Tuch, but I’m pretty sure he’s not the guy I thought he was gonna be. 

You went with Donny and Terry as liking less than the average, so you must be downright disgusted by these two, because they ain’t winning any popularity contests around here these days.

 And Adams was not on either list.  So you’ve got just the right amount of hate for him, right? 

[PerreaultForever]

3 hours ago, #freejame said:

I’m starting to wonder if maybe a few vocal posters haven’t skewed things but…

more: Krebs, Skinner (watching him skate has been the only redeeming thing about this team most nights) and 6K

less: Cozens, Dahlin, Power, KO, Girgs, Thompson, Granato, Terry

I like Quinn a lot but everyone does. Benson brings a lot of jam and I’m not going to knock him for being at the wrong level when I like his game a lot. Everyone likes JJ and I do too.

I don’t think Levi will be as good as Miller and I don’t think Miller was as good as some would tell you he is, but I think a lot of Levi opinions have been tampered down. I’m pretty indifferent about Tuch, but I’m pretty sure he’s not the guy I thought he was gonna be. 

Nope. Not everyone. 

Don't hate him, but don't think he's all that either. Not yet anyway. He still has upside though. 

 

Edited January 27 by PerreaultForever

[GASabresIUFAN]

Do I have to answer?

I don’t know if this is a “better,” but I have really liked JJP since I watched him at the U18s.

 

[Thorny]

Tuch and Krebs

Probably like Dahlin more than most 

[#freejame]

10 hours ago, Broken Ankles said:

You went with Donny and Terry as liking less than the average, so you must be downright disgusted by these two, because they ain’t winning any popularity contests around here these days.

 And Adams was not on either list.  So you’ve got just the right amount of hate for him, right? 

I don’t like Adams and think he’s a puppet but there’s a lot of people who dislike him much more than I do. I’ve been harping on Donny since the start of last season and it’s obvious he just doesn’t have it. A lot of people are catching up to Donny though so maybe I don’t dislike him more than others anymore.

I don’t want to open the Terry can of worms but I hold him much more responsible for ruining my favorite pastime and strongest connection to my childhood than I think others do. The Sabres have always been much more than hockey to me, and Terry has taken so much of that away. Terry apologists make me sick and there are few humans on earth I dislike more than him. 

Edited January 27 by #freejame

[Believer]

Better: Krebs and Clifton

Worse: Power and Samuelson 

[dudacek]

Good thread topic. "Like" has nothing to do with how good or bad they are —now, or over all.

The answers seem to inevitably be a poster's initial take/expectations for a player multiplied by "what have you done for me lately".

I think I like Skinner less than the board does, and most of the others the same or more.

That's probably because so many of these guys made a good first impression (Levi, Power, Samuelsson, Ryan Johnson, Benson, Peterka, Quinn, Tuch) or rewarded my patience (Thompson, Mittelstadt, Greenway, Dahlin, Clifton, Luukkonen).

History and the relative inexperience of most, makes me think many of them are/will be better than they are right now.

i think many of you are looking at these players through the lens of 15 years of years of disappointment and are justifiably angry that they teased last year, then failed.

I'm more looking at it as year three after a scorched-earth rebuild and crossing my fingers that this is the adversity that teaches a young team the lessons it needs for future success.

Probably naive. I was wrong about where Murray had taken us in year three and wrong about what i thought Botterill was setting up for in year three.

But the question was about "like" and I like these players more than any group over the drought. I think they have skill and heart but lack experience, confidence and cohesion.

They still play like the boys most are.

[Thorny]

18 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I think many of you are looking at these players through the lens of 15 years of years of disappointment and are justifiably angry that they teased last year, then failed.

I'm more looking at it as year three after a scorched-earth rebuild and crossing my fingers that this is the adversity that teaches a young team the lessons it needs for future success.

 

On 8/7/2023 at 10:40 AM, Thorny said:

You often see teams have an ahead of schedule year before taking a quick step back, have mentioned this a few times before, you kinda see it a lot 

It factored into why I predicted playoffs in 22-23. If we make it this year, there’s no guarantee there’s not a stumbling block the following (not that I’d predict it outright)

Mostly I’m just hoping this PAST year wasn’t the ahead of schedule leaving us due for a potential step back this season 

 

Edited January 27 by Thorny

[TageMVP]

I like UPL. He may or may not stay the course (hopefully he does) but after that 6-5 overtime win vs. Minnesota last year, that sold me. He gave up 5 but had at least 5 game changing saves. Especially in overtime. 

That was a great game. Last year was at least exciting no matter what. 

Would like to see that again