This is the last in a series of articles about the upcoming 2013 NHL Draft.
Having Sabres owner Terry Pegula on WGR's Hockey Hotline got the series off track for a bit, but we're back at it.
In this series we've covered 25 drafts bookended by what are widely considered the two best draft classes ever--1979 and 2003. Most think that the 2013 class could be the deepest draft class since 2003.
The Buffalo Sabres have two first-round picks--the 8th and 16th--and will have a plethora of options heading up to draft day including drafting right there. In looking at those 25 drafts, the Sabres could have a 60% shot at landing an impact player with the 8th pick dependent upon the depth of the top-10.
Although they've said they want to move up into the top-three of the draft this year, chances are slim that it will happen. Moving up to the 4th-6th slots is somewhat appealing, but historically, those spots haven't changed hands very often and looking at the players after the first four or five picks, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference in the players available just ahead of Buffalo and Nos. 6 and 7.
We've covered the LA Kings, 2012 Stanley Cup winners who had three 2003 draft picks on that championship team. And we looked at two ways the Sabres could improve their first round: retaining the 8th and moving that 16th pick up into the top-10 or retaining both and landing a 3rd first-rounder.
What will Sabres GM Darcy Regier do? What can he do?
It's being said that the Sabres are aggresively pursuing a move up into the top-three this year. Unless Regier can come up with a package that will knock the socks off of Colorado, Florida or Tampa Bay, it would seem as if they'll be locked out.
Last year he went into the draft with two first-rounders and two second-rounders as well. The Sabres had a potential top-five forward, Mikhail Grigorenko, drop down to them at the #12 slot then Regier made a trade to move up to #14 and picked center Zemgus Girgensons.
Draft reviews had the Sabres possibly landing their top-two centers for years to come.
Sabres Director of Amateur Scouting, Kevin Devine, feels that this draft is deep with talent stretching down well past the Sabres second 1st-round pick and believes that they will get two good players in the first round.
As laid out here in this series, even the most pessimistic scouts feel there's a deep top-10 in the draft. In lieu of not moving up with the 8th pick, moving that 16th pick up into the top-10 would be one way to maximize the talent-level available.
And if this draft is similar to 2003, having three 1st-round picks this year could really lay a solid foundation for years to come.
The consensus top-five players--Seth Jones, Nate MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, Alexsander Barkov and Valeri Nichushkin--and almost a sure-fire #6 pick in Sean Monahan for Calgary should be gone before Edmonton picks at #7.
All the trades possibilities covered in this series fall in the range of the 7th pick (Edmonton) to the 20th (San Jose'.)
Here are 14 selections in order of preference, plus a wild-card selection, for the Sabres:
Elias Lindholm, C--Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com at his Sabres.com mock draft sees him as a "total package with world class vision and two-way, game changing elements." For years the Philadelphia Flyers have drafted forwards like that and two of them, Mike Richards (LA Kings) and Patrick Sharp (CHI) were integral parts of Cup-winning teams. They also have traits that Buffalo has lacked since Chris Drury moved on.
***Wild Card: Valeri Nichushkin--The big, Russian left-winger is a bonafide top-five pick. Sometimes wierd things happen at the draft and the KHL could make some teams leery about drafting a Russian. Should Nichushkin fall to the Sabres at No. 8, it would be hard to pass up a hard-charging, power forward with skill. Wouldn't hurt Grigorenko either.
Bo Horvat, C--Speaking of Drury, Horvat is also in that mold. Baker has him going 9th to New Jersey. What a coup it would be it Buffalo ended up with both Horvat and Lindholm. Horvat is fundamentally sound, postitions his body extremely well, often finds himself in the right spot at the right time and is highly regarded for his leadership qualities. Kinda like "Captain Clutch."
Rasmus Ristolainen, D--The big, Finnish d-man is said to be a complete package with a developing offensive game. And he's said to play with a serious edge. Added bonus: He has a right-hand shot, which is a minor focus area within the organization.
Nikita Zadarov, D--Mocked somewhere in the early to mid teens in the draft, At 6'5", 230 lbs., Zadarov has more size than either Ristolainen or Darnell Nurse. But it would seem as if there's a significant drop-off in offensive production compared to those two. Would the Sabres want to a bigger version of Robyn Regehr? Of these three d-men, Zadarov has the best chance of being there when the Sabres pick 16th.
Darnell Nurse, D--Nurse is projected ahead of Zadarov and is a big, shutdown, top-pairing d-man with comparisons to Chris Pronger. At 6'5" and room to add more beef to his 190 lbs., he's surprisingly mobile. It's not hard to envision a "twin towers," shutdown pairing of Tyler Myers and either Ristolainen or Nurse.
Adam Erne, LW--Has nice size, can skate real well and seems to be able to find that soft spot around the net. A faster Marcus Foligno with softer hands, Erne would be a helluva bookend on the Sabres. Having both wingers charging the net should be a thrill for whomever is centering them.
Max Domi, C--Can Domi at 5'9", 193 lbs. tap into his famous father's fearlessness at the NHL level? If he can do that, his incredible puck skills, quickness and penchant for finding that open ice to weave through a tight defense might be of supreme use to a team trying break through a suffocating defense like the Bruins employ.
Curtis Lazar, C--Lazar has nice size and should fill out his 6', 193 lb. frame a bit more. Excellent on his skates, and tough on in the corners, it wouldn't be surprising to see him moved to the wing in the Sabres system should he be their pick. Add in a nice skill package and solid leadership and one might eventually see an heir to Steve Ott.
Hunter Shinkaruk, C--One would think that Shinkaruk would be an easy top-10 pick were it not for his size. He's 5'11", 175 lbs. and although he isn't exactly a midget, it's a bit undersized for the NHL. He will probably be taken at No. 10 or just outside it, well ahead of the Sabres second 1st-round pick. For some reason, I can't get images of Raffi Torres out of my head when it comes to Shinkaruk.
Valentin Zykov, RW--"Bigger, stronger, faster," the words of Devine at the 2012 draft. He also said recently that he's not opposed to drafting a player from the same country as one they have on the roster. Zykov rocks the wing at 6', 200 lbs and like fellow countryman Grigorenko, left Mother Russia to play junor hockey in North America.
Anthony Mantha, RW--For years Regier has drafted a high skill level player with questionable compete in the first round. For a relatively big guy (6' 4", 190 lbs.) with room for growth, Mantha is said to be a "pure goal scorer" who plays a finesse game. With the Sabres now really focused upon compete in their players, landing Mantha with a third 1st-round pick (after picking a Lindholm or Horvat or Erne earlier) and allowing him to grow for a few years could pay off handsomely down the road.
Andre Burakowsky, LW--One of the weaknesses in the Sabres organization is skill on the wing. Like Mantha, Burakowsky is mostly about offense, whether scoring or setting up his linemates. He's got good size and loads of speed. Burakowsky, like Mantha, should spend a few years in the system and could turn into skilled top-six winger for the Sabres.
Kerby Rychel, C--Projected to be selected somewhere around No. 20 in this year's draft, Rychel brings a gritty package augmented by a nice scoring touch. Although skating might be an issue and might limit him to top-nine upside, having grit and determination in never a bad thing. Rychel has that and could be moved to the wing to maximize his size and style of play.
Steve Santini, D--Our friend Kris Baker brought Santini to the fore during his mock draft for Sabres.com. Bakes has him as a right-handed, shut-down d-man with real good size and skating ability. He's not an offensive d-man at all, but is strong, solid and intimidating in his own zone. With all the "puck-movers" Reigier has drafted over the years, the organization needs more players like Santini on the blueline.
As mentioned, Darcy Regier has a history of picking skill first and grabbing grit and charater later on.
Combining Devine's declaration last year of getting "bigger, stronger and faster," with Pegula saying that he likes "hard workers" and looking at Regier and his moves, including last year's Ott for Roy trade, it would seem as if the organization is looking to flip and grab high character players with compete first, then skill later.
In not dismissing the skill aspect, forwards like Lindholm and Horvat or a defenseman like Ristolainen seem like good fits for the team at #8 as they seem to combine skill, smarts, character and compete.
Regardless of what the Sabres do, they'll have some real solid prospects staring them straight in the eye in the first round.
Just depends upon how many they want to draft.
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