The 2015 NHL Draft weekend was a mind-blowing experience for Buffalo Sabres fans, there's just no other way to put it, as some wheeling and dealing and a second-overall pick combined to make for a heightened sense of awareness and the promises of a very bright future beginning as early as next season.
Back in early February, the team was looking at three first round and two second round selections in the draft to go along with four other picks in rounds 4-7. On February 11th, Sabres GM Tim Murray traded one of the first rounders away in the blockbuster for top-line LW, Evander Kane. On Friday morning news came out that Murray traded another of his first rounders for 23 yr. old Ottawa goalie, Robin Lehner and just after they made Jack Eichel the second-overall pick in the 2015 draft, commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the Sabres had sent the 31st overall pick to Colorado as a part the Ryan O'Reilly blockbuster trade.
Other pieces were involved in all of the trades but when the Sabres settled in and around their draft table after the trade for O'Reilly, they were now looking at five selections and they'd be waiting until the middle part of the second round on Saturday to get their amateur scouts rolling.
Not that anybody's complaining. In a span of less than five months, Murray was able to acquire a bonafide top-line left-winger, one of the best two-way centers in the game and a 23 yr. old goalie with plenty of upside and 86 NHL games under his belt. Oh yeah, and they also picked that Eichel guy who, hopefully, will be their top-line center for years to come.
I'm not sure if you can give this draft a grade, if you're into things like that, because of everything that went down. Eichel alone is a paramount pick to the organization and with all the excitement of Murray's wheeling and dealing, the picks after Eichel/O'Reilly pretty were much afterthoughts to everyone outside of Murray and his scouts. The best way to describe the 2015 NHL draft for the Sabres is that they flew back to Buffalo firmly entrenched in the "win" column in their mind and by most (if not all) who's job it is to judge those kinds of things.
Strictly from a draft perspective, they did well with the remaining picks after Eichel focusing upon bolstering a depleted pipeline on defense. Murray and Co. selected four defensemen and one center with their remaining picks starting with the 51st overall. With some help from Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com/sabres.com, here's what the Sabres landed at the 2015 NHL draft:
1st round, 2nd-overall--C, Jack Eichel (6’2”, 196 lbs., 10/28/1996)
There's been a ton written on Eichel, but I will give you this from a conversation I had with Baker last night. "I don't think people realize how good Eichel is already," he told me. "O'Reilly might be slotted in opening night as the starting center, but come Christmas, Eichel's your No. 1 center." He would say later, "I think the Sabres got the most talented forward in the draft."
2nd round, 51st (from NY Islanders)--D, Brendan Guhle (6’2”, 184 lbs., 7/29/1997)
Guhle's a native of Sherwood Park, Alberta, same hometown as Sabres d-man, Mark Pysyk. Baker describes Guhle as a "gym rat" and his dedication to off-ice training came through at the 2015 NHL Scouting Combine held in Buffalo earlier this month. He finished top-10 in seven of the categories at the combine, joining Eichel in a tie for most top-10 results.
Baker says the defenseman's "not flashy, gets the job done and takes care of his own zone first" in similar fashion to Pysyk. "He has great feet," continued Baker. "His feet keep him in plays and he's got really good recovery speed so when he does go deep, he can get back."
Being from the same hometown, the 17 yr. old Guhle has been working out with Pysyk in the off season. "I was actually on the ice together (with Pysyk,) a few weeks ago, for a school camp. Nice guy, another Sherwood Park boy,” said Guhle via the Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson.
“He’s a fantastic skater," said TSN's Craig Button pre-draft. "When you think of fantastic skaters you think they’ll have fantastic offensive ability, but he’ll be a really good defender. Get the puck out of the zone. He’ll close ice on puck carriers. He’s more of a puck transporter."
"He’s solid, not spectacular," summarized Button, which can describe Pysyk to a "T" although Baker does add that Gruhle will bring more physicality to his game than Pysyk does.
4th round, 92nd--D, William Borgen (6'1" 189 lbs., 12/19/1996)
Borgen spent half his year earning a Mr. Hockey Nomination playing for Moorhead High School (MN) before joining the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. Baker said that Borgen wanted to stick so he could finish his high school soccer career. He lettered three times in soccer.
The St. Cloud State commit had one goal and seven assists for the Lancers in 21 games and was a minus-3. Borgen's soon to be Huskie coach Bob Motzko said of him (via Mick Hatten of St. Cloud Times), "He's a long, rangy athlete and is tough and he's got a little bit of a nasty streak in him," Motzko said. "He's very athletic.
"He's a great skater, very competitive and he's really emerged as a real bright prospect," Motzko said of Borgen. "Plus, he's a terrific young man, good student ... he's the full package."
His high school coach, John Ammerman, and SCSU alum, had this to say about Borgen, "He's big and long and has some skill. He's just an athlete. [Borgen's] probably the fastest guy on the team and the biggest, so that's saying a lot. Being big and mobile is a good combination. He's kind of a hybrid guy.
"I'm not going to say he's a defensive defenseman or that he's better on offense. He plays both types of games. His skating ability is a strength, but his biggest asset is his compete level. That's something really tough to each."
Of himself, Borgen said, ""I like to move the puck, join the offense now and then. I like to play physical in the 'D' end."
From Bill Hoppe, Buffalo Hockey Beat:
Greg Royce: “He’s a big defenseman, skates very well, good hockey sense, moves the puck. He’s going to St. Cloud next year, four years to develop there. When he comes out, he’ll have another year, two years in the American League and then be ready to play for the big club.”
5th round, 122nd--D, Devante Stephens (6’1”, 171 lbs., 1/2/1997)
The pick of Stephens, a converted forward, was the third d-man taken in a row for the Sabres. He started out his hockey career playing forward in Bantam, according to Baker, and wasn't even drafted by Kelowna, but ended up playing top-paining minutes for them.
"What he did for [Kelowna] this year was actually pretty impressive," said Baker of Stephens. "Kelowna, who can always identify defenseman, listed him and he ended up making the team, eventually being paired with Madison Bowey (2013, 53rd overall, WSH.) He didn't get drafted because people didn't think he was a good enough skater and [now] it's actually his best attribute."
The year started out real slow for Stephens but he progressed immensely and won dual awards for Kelowna this season as both the Rockets' Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player. "Coming into this season, it wasn't the greatest start," he said in an interview for KelownaRockets.com, "but a lot of dedication and work brought me to the place I am now. I remember at the beginning of the year wondering when I'm going to get on the roster to now [where] I'm getting put out there in key situations.
"I definitely have more confidence out there, more poise with the puck in making decisions. I feel like I should be out there now instead of, 'What am I doing out there?'"
Baker calls him "a mobile, two-way defender with an impressive skating game who was more of an offensive-minded defenseman prior to entering the WHL, but is constantly showing improvement in his defensive responsibilities."
From Bill Hoppe, Buffalo Hockey Beat:
Stephens sat out early last season, so some teams didn’t notice him, said Greg Royce, the Sabres’ director of amateur scouting. Finally, some injuries opened up a spot.
“When … he did get the ice time, he’s a very good skater, (has) good puck poise,” Royce said Saturday following the NHL Draft inside the BB&T Center. “He’s not real flashy. He’s not going to wow you with things. But he makes the right play. …
“He’s going to put on size. He comes from an athletic background. I really firmly believe he will be a top-six defenseman in the NHL.”
Buffalo Sabres coach Dan Bylsma helped out a former teammate, Kelowna Rockets coach Dan Lambert, and ran some practices for the Western Hockey League team.
At least one youngster, Devante Stephens, a 6-foot-1, 171-pound defenseman the Sabres drafted in the fifth round, 155th overall on Saturday, caught his eye. Bylsma didn’t know it then, but Buffalo had a strong interest in the 18-year-old. When Stephens was drafted, Bylsma walked by the draft table, pumped his fist and said, "Yeah!"
6th round, 152nd--C, Giorgio Estephan (6’0”, 188 lbs., 2/3/1997)
Direct from the Lethbridge Sound Machine, errr, Hurricanes (thx, Bakes,) comes the Sabres only forward pick post-Eichel and like Guhle, Estephan rose up the pre-draft ranks due to a very strong second half of the season.
In a tweet on draft day Baker called him, "your poster child for second half riser a la [Nick] Baptiste. He had 19 of 23 goals in the 34 games played after 1/1."
Estephan played on a pretty bad Lethbridge team that won only 20 of 72 games in the WHL this season and whose 202 goals for was fourth worst in the league.
Matheson of the Edmonton Journal had this to say of Estephan and Lethbridge this season, "He was drafted by the Hurricanes where player unhappiness and turmoil within the organization seemed to dominate until Peter Anholt came in as coach and general manager midway through the 2014-15 season."
TSN's Craig Button continues the story. "Once (Lethbridge) made the coaching change and brought in Peter, Estephan’s game took off. Giorgio was back on his heels until then, playing not to make a mistake. On a team that was abysmal, he somehow finished minus 1 at the end of the season and he had 51 points (64 games). His game was in the shadows.”
Button said Estephan's "a smart, heady centreman. He knows where to be on the ice and while he has to improve his quickness, he can make a play. He has some thickness to him and doesn’t get pushed off the puck.”
Baker added that although Estephan isn't the fastest skater, "he's real crafty, got a real knack for finding the soft spot and has real good offensive timing. It's a good pick where they got him."
From Bill Hoppe, Buffalo Hockey Beat:
Royce: “He’s a guy our Western League scout knows very well. He had a broken ankle or foot early in the year, didn’t train in the summer. The knock against him is he has to work on his skating but he knows how to score goals, competes hard. Kevin Prendergast knew him. He was very passionate about it.”
7th round, 182nd overall--D, Ivan Chukarov (6’2”, 190 lbs., 4/3/1995)
A real flyer of a pick, the 20 yr. old Chukarov comes from the NAHL' Minnesota Wilderness, a league which is normally a springboard to the USHL, and is headed to UMASS in the fall.
Baker said the Chicago area born Chukarov is "a mobile defender who can wheel and deal with the puck" who may be a late-bloomer.
With this draft in the bag it's on to July 1st and the start of free agency. The Sabres are looking to add a defenseman and whatever upgrade Murray can possibly get his hands on.
One final note, according to WGR550, Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma and goalie coach Arturs Irbe, who was the lone remaining coach from Ted Nolan's staff, "could not come to an agreement." Bylsma told GR's Howard Simon, "We've moved on from Arturs Irbe and are interviewing other candidates."
From Bill Hoppe, Buffalo Hockey Beat:
Royce: “Very good skater, handles the puck very well, good hockey sense. Four years (at UMass) to develop. He may come out early. He’s a ’95 born, so he’s 20 already. But with the development and the ability to get stronger, the college program, he could be a longshot.
“With a player like that, it might be a disservice, really, to get drafted. After he comes out we will be the only ones to have the ability. We firmly believe if we didn’t draft him in two years time they’ll be 30 teams knocking on his door trying to get him.”
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