Tuesday, January 7, 2014

World Junior play of Sabres d-prospects could have an affect on the future of Ryan Miller

Sabres d-prospect Rasmus Ristolainen scored the golden goal in the 2014 World Junior Championship, was named to the All Tournament Team, and was named the best defenseman of the tournament.

Fellow 2013 1st round draft pick Nikita Zadorov joined Ristolainen on the All Tournament Team.

A year earlier, Jake McCabe, Buffalo's 2nd round pick in 2012 (#44,) captained the US team to the Gold Medal in Ufa, Russia. He was named to the 2013 All Tournament Team.

The Buffalo Sabres took three of the four defensive spots on the All Tournament Team the last two years.


TSN.ca has a list of WJC All Tournament Teams dating back to 1977. And if you're looking for the significance of those feats, look no further than a list of All Tournament d-men from the previous 10 years:

2012--Brandon Gormley (CAN) Oscar Klefbom (SWE)
2011--Ryan Ellis (CAN) Dmitri Orlov (RUS)
2010--Alex Pietrangelo (CAN) John Carlson (USA)
2009--Erik Karlsson (SWE) PK Subban (CAN)
2008--Victor Hedman (SWE) Drew Doughty (CAN)
2007--Erik Johnson (USA) Kris Letang (CAN)
2006--Jack Johnson (USA) Luc Bourdon (CAN)
2005--Dion Phaneuf (CAN) Ryan Suter (USA)
2004--Dion Phaneuf (CAN) Sami Lepisto (FIN)
2003--Carlo Colaiacovo (CAN) Joni Pitkanen (FIN)

Although past performance is not indicative of future success, the lion's share of the d-men on the list are having a major impact on their team.

Less than five years after making the WJC All Tourney Team, Subban (2013) and Karlsson (2012) won the last two Norris Trophies. Suter and Letang were runners-up in 2013. Doughty was a key piece of the LA Kings first Stanley Cup. Pietrangelo (STL) and Hedman (TBL) are top-two defensemen for their teams.

In Buffalo, McCabe is one year removed from the World Juniors. He's back in Wisconsin playing for the Badgers for what looks to be his last season in college.

Ristolainen started out playing 19 games for the Sabres before being sent down to Rochester. He's headed back to the Amerks and will continue his development in the AHL while Zadorov is headed back to London to finish off his season in the OHL. The big Russian is probably playing his last season in junior.

All three look to be top-4 defensemen who are at least three or four years away from having an impact at the NHL level.

They should be joining former Calder Trophy winner Tyler Myers on the back-end. Myers will be entering his prime by the time the youngins start to flourish. At one point, Myers was a train wreck before regaining his Calder-level play under Nolan. As part of his long-term contract, his NMC will kick in at the end of the 2015-16 season.

Should Myers remain with the team (and his play as of late says he should) he will be the unquestioned leader of a young, talented defense-corps. And he's already been put into a leadership role. After defense-partner Hank Tallinder went down with an injury, Nolan had an "A" sewn on Myers' sweater.

The lack of attention that Mark Pysyk gets should not surprise anyone. The former first-rounder (#23 overall, 2010) plays exactly that kind of a game--a quiet, defensive-defenseman, shutdown game. The less you hear his name the more effective he is.

Pysyk is one of only two Sabres (Zemgus Girgensons) to remain on the team after Nolan and Team President Pat LaFontaine put most of the youngins on the life boat.

The soon to be 22 yr. old Pysyk is playing top-four minutes (19:48/gm,) is on the second-unit PK and is getting some time on the PP (1:09/gm.) In 37 games for the Sabres he has a goal and four assists. Although his minus-10 may look pretty ugly, out of the top-four d-men, it's second best behind Christian Ehrhoff's minus-9.

So how can this affect the future of goalie Ryan Miller?

Miller is 33 yrs. old right now and the Sabres rebuild looks to be at least four years away from any talk of Stanley Cup contention.

Four years from now, the defensive core of Myers, Pysyk, McCabe, Ristolainen and Zadorov may very well be a force. But four years from now will the team have the horses to score goals?

It may take an additional year or two before the forward draft picks of 2012 (Mikhail Grigorenko, Girgensons) through 2015 begin to produce.

In other words, it will probably be at least five years before this team of draft picks and hand-picked vets gel to the point where they'd be considered legitimate Cup contenders. That's if all the youngins develop as planned.

Five years from now Miller will be 38.

It is true that a goalie's shelf-life is longer than most skaters. And it is true that Tim Thomas won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011 at the age of 37. But that doesn't happen all that often.

If the WJC is any indication, the future Sabres d-corps looks to be outstanding. They may end up gelling to the point where they won't necessarily need an "All-world goalie" to reach the promised land.

But that's four or five years away.

Miller has been a trooper for the Sabres and deserves an opportunity to be with a Cup-contender now. The next four or five years will have him on the downside of his career and he should be given the opportunity ride it out with a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup.

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