2025 NHL Entry Draft, Rounds 2-7

[LGR4GM]

Kicks off at noon eastern today. 

[LGR4GM]

Matthew Gard would be high on my list for day 2. He's big 6'4" 192lbs and he played for a bad team last year in red deer. He's got a great motor and has all the defensive details with an untapped offensive game in there. 

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by LGR4GM

[LGR4GM]

Jack Murtagh is a 6'1" 200lb winger. He's also got a good motor and powerful edges. His playmaking is noted by most but I like his physical play most. You could do far worse than a potential middle winger at 39.

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by LGR4GM

[LGR4GM]

Kristian Epperson is a 6' winger who proved his playmaking while riding with Misa all season. He helped that line a lot and is the perfect overage guy to take in round 3-5. He's got a ton of playmaking and should def be drafted this time around. 

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by LGR4GM

[LGR4GM]

Nathan Behm is a 6'2" 192lb winger that grades out high in every category except skating which is just average. He's got a fun highlight package and some solid stats to back it up. There's power forward elements to his game and with his skills, if he puts it all together you'll get a 2nd line winger. 

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by LGR4GM

[LGR4GM]

Milton Gastrin is a 6'1" center out of Sweden. He's got that skill set that just works. His defensive game is advanced and his checking is very very good. He's got some offensive skills as well and impo could be a 2nd line center some day. With a June bday and strong international showings, he could be a diamond in the Ruff and middle 6 centers are always valued. 

 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by LGR4GM

[Big Guava]

It really is strange that people still consider the Sabres "small" when they are the 7th tallest team in the NHL and really only by fractions of an inch since their average height is the same as the #1 team at 6'2" and the 14th heaviest at 201 lbs.

I keep seeing how the Panthers are showing the Sabres that you "can't be a small team and win in the NHL anymore" but they are 3 lbs lighter than the Sabres averaging 198 lbs and fractions of an inch shorter(in 9th place for height) but still averaging 6'2".

Suffice to say that "getting bigger" is not the answer it once was for the Sabres.

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

It really is strange that people still consider the Sabres "small" when they are the 7th tallest team in the NHL and really only by fractions of an inch since their average height is the same as the #1 team at 6'2" and the 14th heaviest at 201 lbs.

I keep seeing how the Panthers are showing the Sabres that you "can't be a small team and win in the NHL anymore" but they are 3 lbs lighter than the Sabres averaging 198 lbs and fractions of an inch shorter(in 9th place for height) but still averaging 6'2".

Suffice to say that "getting bigger" is not the answer it once was for the Sabres.

Getting grittier has always been the answer. Kesselring and Doan have that. Benson and Ziemer have that. I'm curious if they'll focus on it in day 2 again.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, Big Guava said:

It really is strange that people still consider the Sabres "small" when they are the 7th tallest team in the NHL and really only by fractions of an inch since their average height is the same as the #1 team at 6'2" and the 14th heaviest at 201 lbs.

I keep seeing how the Panthers are showing the Sabres that you "can't be a small team and win in the NHL anymore" but they are 3 lbs lighter than the Sabres averaging 198 lbs and fractions of an inch shorter(in 9th place for height) but still averaging 6'2".

Suffice to say that "getting bigger" is not the answer it once was for the Sabres.

The people that ask for the Sabres to get bigger aren't actually asking for them to be bigger.  (Well, some of them likely are, but we all know in reality that isn't necessarily what they want.)  They're asking for them to PLAY bigger.  

The Sabres almost always have good size metrics, but except for Nolan's 1st stint and very early in Ruff's 1st stint the Sabres have never PLAYED big.  You can't PLAY small and win.  Not come playoff time.  And really, its tough to do so in the RS as well as the teams that don't like contact tend to lose battles in the crunch times of even RS games.  How many times did the Sabres lose after having the lead lby a couple of goals ast year?  They had to be near the top if not the absolute top team there.  How many of those times that they ended up losing was there an opportunity to get the puck out of the zone but the player didn't "sell out" to get it out of the zone.  How many of those times that they ended up losing was there an opportunity to box a guy out away from UPL and instead he was allowed to stand there and either deflect the puck past him or be the 1st to the rebound?

Watching the Swamp Cats play and watching the Sabres play, which team ACTS like the bigger team?  It ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight that's in the dog.  And too few of the Sabres end up having the fight.  But not positive that's entirely on the players themselves; when you aren't sure where you should be, when you aren't sure what you are going to do when you have the puck or the opportunity to have the puck, you play nonaggressively because you think for that split second that your opponent is reacting.

The Sabres DO need to play harder.  Some of that will come from getting rid of guys that won't do that; but some of that COULD come from coaching but these guys are too stubborn, at best, to change out coaches that CLEARLY aren't teaching these players the right way to play.

So, yeah, the Sabres don't need to BE bigger, but they absolutely need to PLAY bigger.  And unfortunately just swapping out Peterka for a couple of guys that we know will play bigger likely won't be enough because this coaching staff won't continue to get thaat out of them.  And they won't get it out of the rest of them that aren't already significantly outliers on the personal drive measure (read, guys like Dahlin and Benson).  There is so much more that needs to happen this offseason to get them to where they need to be.

[Rasmus_]

12 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Getting grittier has always been the answer. Kesselring and Doan have that. Benson and Ziemer have that. I'm curious if they'll focus on it in day 2 again.

I didn't do a bunch of research past the first round.  Which fits us best?  I guess, I like Gastrin, after watching the video.

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

The people that ask for the Sabres to get bigger aren't actually asking for them to be bigger.  (Well, some of them likely are, but we all know in reality that isn't necessarily what they want.)  They're asking for them to PLAY bigger.  

The Sabres almost always have good size metrics, but except for Nolan's 1st stint and very early in Ruff's 1st stint the Sabres have never PLAYED big.  You can't PLAY small and win.  Not come playoff time.  And really, its tough to do so in the RS as well as the teams that don't like contact tend to lose battles in the crunch times of even RS games.  How many times did the Sabres lose after having the lead lby a couple of goals ast year?  They had to be near the top if not the absolute top team there.  How many of those times that they ended up losing was there an opportunity to get the puck out of the zone but the player didn't "sell out" to get it out of the zone.  How many of those times that they ended up losing was there an opportunity to box a guy out away from UPL and instead he was allowed to stand there and either deflect the puck past him or be the 1st to the rebound?

Watching the Swamp Cats play and watching the Sabres play, which team ACTS like the bigger team?  It ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight that's in the dog.  And too few of the Sabres end up having the fight.  But not positive that's entirely on the players themselves; when you aren't sure where you should be, when you aren't sure what you are going to do when you have the puck or the opportunity to have the puck, you play nonaggressively because you think for that split second that your opponent is reacting.

The Sabres DO need to play harder.  Some of that will come from getting rid of guys that won't do that; but some of that COULD come from coaching but these guys are too stubborn, at best, to change out coaches that CLEARLY aren't teaching these players the right way to play.

So, yeah, the Sabres don't need to BE bigger, but they absolutely need to PLAY bigger.  And unfortunately just swapping out Peterka for a couple of guys that we know will play bigger likely won't be enough because this coaching staff won't continue to get thaat out of them.  And they won't get it out of the rest of them that aren't already significantly outliers on the personal drive measure (read, guys like Dahlin and Benson).  There is so much more that needs to happen this offseason to get them to where they need to be.

Well written Taro, play heavier, and harder.  And be better ***** teammates.

[Big Guava]

5 minutes ago, Taro T said:

The people that ask for the Sabres to get bigger aren't actually asking for them to be bigger.  (Well, some of them likely are, but we all know in reality that isn't necessarily what they want.)  They're asking for them to PLAY bigger.  

The Sabres almost always have good size metrics, but except for Nolan's 1st stint and very early in Ruff's 1st stint the Sabres have never PLAYED big.  You can't PLAY small and win.  Not come playoff time.  And really, its tough to do so in the RS as well as the teams that don't like contact tend to lose battles in the crunch times of even RS games.  How many times did the Sabres lose after having the lead lby a couple of goals ast year?  They had to be near the top if not the absolute top team there.  How many of those times that they ended up losing was there an opportunity to get the puck out of the zone but the player didn't "sell out" to get it out of the zone.  How many of those times that they ended up losing was there an opportunity to box a guy out away from UPL and instead he was allowed to stand there and either deflect the puck past him or be the 1st to the rebound?

Watching the Swamp Cats play and watching the Sabres play, which team ACTS like the bigger team?  It ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight that's in the dog.  And too few of the Sabres end up having the fight.  But not positive that's entirely on the players themselves; when you aren't sure where you should be, when you aren't sure what you are going to do when you have the puck or the opportunity to have the puck, you play nonaggressively because you think for that split second that your opponent is reacting.

The Sabres DO need to play harder.  Some of that will come from getting rid of guys that won't do that; but some of that COULD come from coaching but these guys are too stubborn, at best, to change out coaches that CLEARLY aren't teaching these players the right way to play.

So, yeah, the Sabres don't need to BE bigger, but they absolutely need to PLAY bigger.  And unfortunately just swapping out Peterka for a couple of guys that we know will play bigger likely won't be enough because this coaching staff won't continue to get thaat out of them.  And they won't get it out of the rest of them that aren't already significantly outliers on the personal drive measure (read, guys like Dahlin and Benson).  There is so much more that needs to happen this offseason to get them to where they need to be.

I think part of that comes from holding yourself to a higher standard and holding your teammates to a higher standard and having belief in what you are doing as a team.

This team hasn't had that in a long long time. What many people are willing to do for something they truly believe in and feel an integral part of is different than for something they don't.

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, Big Guava said:

I think part of that comes from holding yourself to a higher standard and holding your teammates to a higher standard and having belief in what you are doing as a team.

This team hasn't had that in a long long time. What many people are willing to do for something they truly believe in and feel an integral part of is different than for something they don't.

Except these guys BELIEVED in & LOVED Granato.  They weren't anywhere CLOSE to playing big when they were coached by him.  And every single time down the stretch when they had a must win game they lost.

Desire is necessary but not sufficient to be effective.  You also must have an understanding of what you need to do and and understanding of HOW to do what you need to do.

Personally, expect that a significant portion of them have the desire.  Personally believe Ruff gives them an understanding of what they need to do.  And those 2 combined is why, unlike Granato's squads that rarely came out of the gate quickly, Ruff's team last year tended to take the lead in a lot of games.

But 100% have no faith that the coaching staff that is supposed to be teaching them the X's & O's give the players the understanding of HOW to do what they need to do WHEN the other team is bearing down fully.

Given the choice of changing out 6 or even 9 players for guys that we'd consider upgrades (presuming no changes in net) vs swapping out all the ACs and leaving the roster intact, expect that bringing in a legit coaching staff would do more for thie outcome than swapping out the roster.  And we know they aren't going to be swapping out that much of the roster.

[LGR4GM]

16 minutes ago, Rasmus_ said:

I didn't do a bunch of research past the first round.  Which fits us best?  I guess, I like Gastrin, after watching the video.

Well written Taro, play heavier, and harder.  And be better ***** teammates.

Idk honestly. Gastrin is good though. 

[Rasmus_]

Alright, lets get this started.

[LGR4GM]

 

[Rasmus_]

First thing Friedman talks about is pointless Panthers.  Who cares about those cats.

[steveoath]

Murtagh is USNTDP isn’t he? Guess they will be looking at him then given the love for the programme. 
 

 

[LGR4GM]

Can we get a pin? 📌 📍 🧷 🎳 

[The Jokeman]

1 hour ago, Big Guava said:

It really is strange that people still consider the Sabres "small" when they are the 7th tallest team in the NHL and really only by fractions of an inch since their average height is the same as the #1 team at 6'2" and the 14th heaviest at 201 lbs.

I keep seeing how the Panthers are showing the Sabres that you "can't be a small team and win in the NHL anymore" but they are 3 lbs lighter than the Sabres averaging 198 lbs and fractions of an inch shorter(in 9th place for height) but still averaging 6'2".

Suffice to say that "getting bigger" is not the answer it once was for the Sabres.

You can be tall but play small. 

[Turbo44]

LGR4GM who do we want at 39?

[matter2003]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Except these guys BELIEVED in & LOVED Granato.  They weren't anywhere CLOSE to playing big when they were coached by him.  And every single time down the stretch when they had a must win game they lost.

Desire is necessary but not sufficient to be effective.  You also must have an understanding of what you need to do and and understanding of HOW to do what you need to do.

Personally, expect that a significant portion of them have the desire.  Personally believe Ruff gives them an understanding of what they need to do.  And those 2 combined is why, unlike Granato's squads that rarely came out of the gate quickly, Ruff's team last year tended to take the lead in a lot of games.

But 100% have no faith that the coaching staff that is supposed to be teaching them the X's & O's give the players the understanding of HOW to do what they need to do WHEN the other team is bearing down fully.

Given the choice of changing out 6 or even 9 players for guys that we'd consider upgrades (presuming no changes in net) vs swapping out all the ACs and leaving the roster intact, expect that bringing in a legit coaching staff would do more for thie outcome than swapping out the roster.  And we know they aren't going to be swapping out that much of the roster.

There is a difference between loving someone and believing that he is going to get you to where you want to go. 

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, Turbo44 said:

LGR4GM who do we want at 39?

Either a forward or a lhd. I listed some guys at the top but this draft has a mushy group from 33-50ish

[Rasmus_]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Either a forward or a lhd. I listed some guys at the top but this draft has a mushy group from 33-50ish

 

It has to be a forward for me here, there's a good group, after doing a little watching before the draft started.  Someone with bite please!

[LGR4GM]

I like Behm but there's others. Psenicka is interesting 

Just now, Rasmus_ said:

 

It has to be a forward for me here, there's a good group, after doing a little watching before the draft started.  Someone with bite please!

I mean Gard is solid. 

[The Jokeman]

6 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Either a forward or a lhd. I listed some guys at the top but this draft has a mushy group from 33-50ish

Any thoughts on Jakob Ihs-Wozniak?