Sabres 2025 Draft Embedded Premiere July 20th

[LGR4GM]

8 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I say it occasionally, but it bears repeating: Insight like this is why I come here to understand what's going on with the Sabres.

Also, your interest is piqued, not peaked.

That's it. Piqued. I knew it felt wrong. 

[LGR4GM]

9 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

I say it occasionally, but it bears repeating: Insight like this is why I come here to understand what's going on with the Sabres.

Also, your interest is piqued, not peaked.

The fact that Mrtka had no skills or skating coach up until he goes to Seattle (who I assume has those) is fascinating because you can see two things. First is how much Mrtka worked out in his own brain. He saw deficiencies and attempted to fix them with what he had available. That's good. Second is the big unknown. What happens when you take a talented kid without all the fancy training and suddenly give him all the fancy training? Will it overwhelm him, is he actually not that far behind, can he incorporate that information, will he suddenly explode in skill because of it? Lots of questions there. This is similar to the bet they made with Jack Quinn who didn't fully commit to hockey until he was in drafted into Jrs. If Mrtka can do all that he can now without specialty coaches, what can he do with them? 

As far as Mrtka's physical play, I don't worry about it as much because he plays the game with more natural aggression than Owen Power. He demands the pucks more and shuts down plays in a more active way. 

[shrader]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

Yeah he looks like exactly what this teams needs and has needed for two decades.  The org should be littered with mid to late round picks that play with snarl but they adopted this home run strategy where they just keep taking obscure skill guys up and down every draft.  The last two drafts look better but we are living with the results of avoiding any players that play a rugged type of game. 

My post has nothing to do with him as a player though. The team brought in a kid from the junior Sabres who is currently in a wheelchair to announce the pick. When talking to Adams, Bedkowski went out of his way to mention that kid and his story. He’s got character that looks to be miles ahead of what you’d expect from a teenager. People are going to love him. 

[Taro T]

34 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

The fact that Mrtka had no skills or skating coach up until he goes to Seattle (who I assume has those) is fascinating because you can see two things. First is how much Mrtka worked out in his own brain. He saw deficiencies and attempted to fix them with what he had available. That's good. Second is the big unknown. What happens when you take a talented kid without all the fancy training and suddenly give him all the fancy training? Will it overwhelm him, is he actually not that far behind, can he incorporate that information, will he suddenly explode in skill because of it? Lots of questions there. This is similar to the bet they made with Jack Quinn who didn't fully commit to hockey until he was in drafted into Jrs. If Mrtka can do all that he can now without specialty coaches, what can he do with them? 

As far as Mrtka's physical play, I don't worry about it as much because he plays the game with more natural aggression than Owen Power. He demands the pucks more and shuts down plays in a more active way. 

More importantly (and only being slightly facetious) what would he be able to do with GOOD NHL development coaches assisting  Seattle's specialty coaches and how much will he regress / fail to reach his ceiling with the Sabres development coaches "assisting" Seattle's specialty coaches.

[Swedish Bikini Team]

5 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

So no Eric Staal in the room….or did I miss seeing him?  I guess he wasn’t important enough to be there or that he himself didn’t want to attend?

 

5 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

there was a conflict with a fishing vacation is my guess.

He’s in the background of several shots. He’s sitting next to Lindy on Day 2 of the draft. 

[Pimlach]

18 hours ago, CTJoe said:

they show you what you want, but a good video. Interesting that Utah didn't want to give up Doan.  I loved his father, maybe he'll be a pleasant surprise?

 

12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Amusing how little of that was on free agency.

I admit I did laugh however when Adams got the phone call from Quinn and asked him if he was in the weight room. 

 

7 hours ago, shrader said:

I really hope Bedkowski makes it. If you watch that video, you’re really going to like the kid. 

 

6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

My favorite part to this point is Terry trying to adjust his chair when Jarmo stands up to talk and being unable to. 

What am I missing?   

I saw 55 seconds of cliches, none of the above is in the video?  

[Swedish Bikini Team]

5 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

 

 

 

What am I missing?   

I saw 55 seconds of cliches, none of the above is in the video?  

https://youtu.be/puOJKNGSmRE?feature=shared

[kas23]

9 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

I say it occasionally, but it bears repeating: Insight like this is why I come here to understand what's going on with the Sabres.

Also, your interest is piqued, not peaked.

For many of us, our curiosity and interest around the Sabres very well may have peaked. 

[PerreaultForever]

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

 

 

 

What am I missing?   

I saw 55 seconds of cliches, none of the above is in the video?  

You see an edited version?

The Quinn comment I laughed about is at 25:45

 

[Sidc3000]

On 7/21/2025 at 2:30 AM, PerreaultForever said:

Amusing how little of that was on free agency.

I admit I did laugh however when Adams got the phone call from Quinn and asked him if he was in the weight room. 

That segment makes me believe that Adams will never trade Quinn. He was Adams first pick as a GM and he feels like a momma bird trying its best to get their fledgling baby bird to fly. He will never give up on him

[Pimlach]

These videos used to be fun.  Not anymore. 

[Archie Lee]

2 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

These videos used to be fun.  Not anymore. 

I so agree with this. I will eventually watch this one, on a day when I’ve run out of other things that interest me to watch or listen to. But I can’t get myself to do so now. 

Just seeing the Jarmo quote about taming the Tiger, makes me cringe. It’s this year’s Lindy Ruff will influence the roster canard. I’m not sure if they are dumb or they think we are dumb (likely both, I guess). They needed a veteran former GM with a less than mediocre track record to come in and tell them that it is easier to get a player like Benson to stop taking bad penalties than it is to get a player like Quinn to go to the front of the net?  Oh boy. 

[Weave]

13 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

I so agree with this. I will eventually watch this one, on a day when I’ve run out of other things that interest me to watch or listen to. But I can’t get myself to do so now. 

Just seeing the Jarmo quote about taming the Tiger, makes me cringe. It’s this year’s Lindy Ruff will influence the roster canard. I’m not sure if they are dumb or they think we are dumb (likely both, I guess). They needed a veteran former GM with a less than mediocre track record to come in and tell them that it is easier to get a player like Benson to stop taking bad penalties than it is to get a player like Quinn to go to the front of the net?  Oh boy. 

Yeah, no entertainment value in these videos for me.  How long am I supposed to be wide eyed about the future FFS?

And Jarmo’s tiger stripe comment reminds me of the “do you want to be harder to play against” comment in one of these videos the year Risto and Zadorov were drafted.  I swear its staged commentary for the video.

[LGR4GM]

35 minutes ago, Weave said:

Yeah, no entertainment value in these videos for me.  How long am I supposed to be wide eyed about the future FFS?

And Jarmo’s tiger stripe comment reminds me of the “do you want to be harder to play against” comment in one of these videos the year Risto and Zadorov were drafted.  I swear its staged commentary for the video.

I read his comment differently. I think he is saying you can't teach aggression and I tend to agree. I think it is easier to teach Benson to shoot than it would be to teach Quinn to forecheck. 

[Weave]

3 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I read his comment differently. I think he is saying you can't teach aggression and I tend to agree. I think it is easier to teach Benson to shoot than it would be to teach Quinn to forecheck. 

I don’t think we read it differently.  I think the two statements are different versions of the same thought.  And at this level I am befuddled that it needs to be said in a draft room.  Seems self evident to me, hence the this feels staged commentary.

[LGR4GM]

4 minutes ago, Weave said:

I don’t think we read it differently.  I think the two statements are different versions of the same thought.  And at this level I am befuddled that it needs to be said in a draft room.  Seems self evident to me, hence the this feels staged commentary.

Idk if I would go as far as staged. I think it was deliberately picked to showcase both Jarmo and the stuff you are alluding too "tougher to play against". 

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

And Jarmo’s tiger stripe comment reminds me of the “do you want to be harder to play against” comment in one of these videos the year Risto and Zadorov were drafted.  I swear its staged commentary for the video.

It had absolutely had the feel of -- "Jarmo, can you repeat what you just said [to the three guys nearest him] so we can get it for the video the social media team is putting out?"

Also, the phrasing has a nice flair to it and Jarmo's a respected figure -- but that quote is the most basic personnel wisdom you'll ever come across.

[That Aud Smell]

32 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I read his comment differently. I think he is saying you can't teach aggression and I tend to agree. I think it is easier to teach Benson to shoot than it would be to teach Quinn to forecheck. 

Like I said, this is something that a GM of a fringe major junior hockey team knows. "You can teach a guy to dial it back, but it's much harder to teach a guy to dial it up." I've been hearing variations of that for decades.

[dudacek]

Guys, you complain about lack of aggression and about the front office’s lack of prioritizing it.

You complain about lack of NHL experience in the front office.

Then you complain when they hire a front-office vet and he talks about the importance of natural aggression?

Edited 8 hours ago by dudacek

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Guys, you complain about lack of aggression and about the front office’s lack of prioritizing it.

You complain about lack of NHL experience in the front office.

Then you complain when they hire a front-office vet and he talks about the importance of natural aggression?

this made me chuckle - not gonna lie.

[Weave]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Guys, you complain about lack of aggression and about the front office’s lack of prioritizing it.

You complain about lack of NHL experience in the front office.

Then you complain when they hire a front-office vet and he talks about the importance of natural aggression?

 

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Guys, you complain about lack of aggression and about the front office’s lack of prioritizing it.

You complain about lack of NHL experience in the front office.

Then you complain when they hire a front-office vet and he talks about the importance of natural aggression?

Methinks you mischaracterized the actual comment.

But you got your jab in.

[PerreaultForever]

6 hours ago, Sidc3000 said:

That segment makes me believe that Adams will never trade Quinn. He was Adams first pick as a GM and he feels like a momma bird trying its best to get their fledgling baby bird to fly. He will never give up on him

You're absolutely right, but that's a common thing with GMs in general. They stand by their guys over the guys from the previous GM. I guess it's partly stubbornness and partly feeling a need to justify their actions but most GMs believe in the guys they believed in at first often regardless of what's actually happening. 

So I'm not surprised. He overpaid him too, but thankfully not long term. Maybe Quinn will become what he wants but so far I see no reason to believe that's true. 

[Pimlach]

4 hours ago, dudacek said:

Guys, you complain about lack of aggression and about the front office’s lack of prioritizing it.

You complain about lack of NHL experience in the front office.

Then you complain when they hire a front-office vet and he talks about the importance of natural aggression?

No complaints from me on bringing in some more aggressive players or Jarmo.  I liked the players that the Blues drafted when Jarmo was their Scouting Director.  

Someday a few of these players might pay off.