Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
If there's one position that will keep the Buffalo Sabres prospect pool in the top-half of the league it's right wing. Trades and graduation, plus Jack Eichel's direct route to the NHL, were direct hits to the talent pool. Which is the way it should be when the big club starts to build in earnest.
Every position in the prospect pool took a hit as all of the Sabres right-wingers were in their proper developmental leagues making significant strides in their development. With that in mind, it's not surprising that Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com/sabres.com has six RW's in the top-15 of his April, 2016 rankings, three in the top-eight and two of them occupying spots directly behind highly regarded d-prospect, Brendan Guhle.
None were ready for the NHL, but one may be there right now.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Buffalo Sabres top-three prospects by position--Left Wing
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
The Buffalo Sabres have five left-wingers on the roster as listed by their website. One of them, Johan Larsson, has played a ton of center in the system dating back to when he was with the Rochester Americans, was their third-line center for the better part of the season last year and there's no reason to think that he'll be moving to the wing in the near future either. The left side of the Buffalo lineup includes one top-six/top-line LW in Evander Kane, a bottom-six left-winger in Marcus Foligno, energy winger Nicolas Deslauriers who is clinging to a fourth-line role and an enigma on the left side in Matt Moulson.
In light of the poor year that Moulson had, the drop-off on the depth chart from Kane to Foligno is significant with center Zemgus Girgensons placed in a top-six role but producing very little. Yett the consensus at the foot of Washington St. seems to be that the Sabres will fill the wings with converted centers while they take time to find and develop natural wingers in the system. It's a sound philosophy that will be used even more should Buffalo be able to land center Steven Stamkos via free agency as there will be even more center-to-wing shuffling.
In looking at the system as it stands right now, the high water mark for left wingers consists of one bottom-six projection and a bunch of question marks. Good thing Buffalo has centers who can convert to the wing.
The Buffalo Sabres have five left-wingers on the roster as listed by their website. One of them, Johan Larsson, has played a ton of center in the system dating back to when he was with the Rochester Americans, was their third-line center for the better part of the season last year and there's no reason to think that he'll be moving to the wing in the near future either. The left side of the Buffalo lineup includes one top-six/top-line LW in Evander Kane, a bottom-six left-winger in Marcus Foligno, energy winger Nicolas Deslauriers who is clinging to a fourth-line role and an enigma on the left side in Matt Moulson.
In light of the poor year that Moulson had, the drop-off on the depth chart from Kane to Foligno is significant with center Zemgus Girgensons placed in a top-six role but producing very little. Yett the consensus at the foot of Washington St. seems to be that the Sabres will fill the wings with converted centers while they take time to find and develop natural wingers in the system. It's a sound philosophy that will be used even more should Buffalo be able to land center Steven Stamkos via free agency as there will be even more center-to-wing shuffling.
In looking at the system as it stands right now, the high water mark for left wingers consists of one bottom-six projection and a bunch of question marks. Good thing Buffalo has centers who can convert to the wing.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Buffalo Sabres top-three prospects by position--Center
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
We had previously mentioned that the defense-corps had taken a huge hit over the past couple of seasons as GM Tim Murray traded depth on the blueline for quality up front. After trading away two NHL d-men and a top prospect on the back end, the Sabres pool on defense got mighty thin. Yet Murray was able to land Brendan Guhle in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft last year and as of right now he has at least top-four potential. Murray was also able to bolster the ranks with another 2015 pick in Will Borgen (92nd-overall) who's on track to hit the NHL, had possible top-sixer Brycen Martin (2014, 74th) in the stable and added Casey Nelson in the fold as a free agent out of the NCAA.
Did they replace the ones that left? Only time will tell, but it sure looks like they're not too far away from doing so.
The center positon is way different as the prospect pool took a different kind of hit yet it's also an area that they won't need to tap into for years to come. For a bit of perspective we go back to the Darcy Regier regime.
After a quality top-two center tandem of Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, the Sabres had both of them walk out the door in 2007. Their spots were filled by Tim Connolly and Derek Roy and despite the fact that Regier touted them as two of the top-20 centers in the league back in 2010, they weren't close and even worse, the pipeline didn't have much in it either. After Connolly was allowed to leave the Sabres had one center in Roy then tried to fill the other top-two spot with converted winger, Ville Lieno, which really didn't work out all that well.
Buffalo began addressing the extremely weak center position at the 2012 NHL Draft when they selected Mikhail Grigorenko (12th) and Girgensons (14th) then really added quality when they tabbed Reinhart with the second-overall pick in the 2014 draft. In 2015 they used the second-overall pick to take an American-born phenom in Eichel then quickly announced that they'd just traded for O'Reilly minutes after the Eichel selection.
Boom! Within minutes at the 2015 draft the Sabres had themselves their top-two centers while Reinhart, Girgensons, and Johan Larsson (who was acquired from Minnesota in 2013)
represented young players who could hold down a third line center spot at the very least. Or they could be moved to the wing.
We had previously mentioned that the defense-corps had taken a huge hit over the past couple of seasons as GM Tim Murray traded depth on the blueline for quality up front. After trading away two NHL d-men and a top prospect on the back end, the Sabres pool on defense got mighty thin. Yet Murray was able to land Brendan Guhle in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft last year and as of right now he has at least top-four potential. Murray was also able to bolster the ranks with another 2015 pick in Will Borgen (92nd-overall) who's on track to hit the NHL, had possible top-sixer Brycen Martin (2014, 74th) in the stable and added Casey Nelson in the fold as a free agent out of the NCAA.
Did they replace the ones that left? Only time will tell, but it sure looks like they're not too far away from doing so.
The center positon is way different as the prospect pool took a different kind of hit yet it's also an area that they won't need to tap into for years to come. For a bit of perspective we go back to the Darcy Regier regime.
After a quality top-two center tandem of Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, the Sabres had both of them walk out the door in 2007. Their spots were filled by Tim Connolly and Derek Roy and despite the fact that Regier touted them as two of the top-20 centers in the league back in 2010, they weren't close and even worse, the pipeline didn't have much in it either. After Connolly was allowed to leave the Sabres had one center in Roy then tried to fill the other top-two spot with converted winger, Ville Lieno, which really didn't work out all that well.
Buffalo began addressing the extremely weak center position at the 2012 NHL Draft when they selected Mikhail Grigorenko (12th) and Girgensons (14th) then really added quality when they tabbed Reinhart with the second-overall pick in the 2014 draft. In 2015 they used the second-overall pick to take an American-born phenom in Eichel then quickly announced that they'd just traded for O'Reilly minutes after the Eichel selection.
Boom! Within minutes at the 2015 draft the Sabres had themselves their top-two centers while Reinhart, Girgensons, and Johan Larsson (who was acquired from Minnesota in 2013)
represented young players who could hold down a third line center spot at the very least. Or they could be moved to the wing.
Monday, June 6, 2016
My Ol' friend Don. Ali, ratings, basketball vs. hockey and stars
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Edmonton tough-guy Dave Semenko once fought Muhammed Ali in a three-round exhibition fight back in 1983. That the little sport of hockey could be on display with a legend like Ali is pretty much all that needs to be said about "The Greatest."
On Friday the sports world lost a legend in Muhammed Ali. As a kid growing up, while he was floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee near the end of his prime, our small gang of friends were caught up in everything the world of sports had to offer from "The Greatest" to Secretariat to the Big Red Machine to OJ, the Sabres and the Buffalo Braves.
At the time we were fierce competitors when we played any sport, with every game played as if it were for the championship of the world. There was no slacking and no time for injuries, unless you took a baseball to the nose on a wild hop at 2nd, an elbow to the nose taking it to the hole, an errant kick to the groin on a kickoff return or slash to the shin on a two-on-one break playing street hockey. And gloating? Any of the young ones like myself knew the price of excessive celebration was a beat down from the older kids.
My Ol' Friend Don and I grew up together as friends and foes playing sports and I hadn't talked with him in a while. Don can be cantankerous at times, a probable offshoot of a tough childhood that saw him at constant odds with his parents and his brother. But what he lacked in diplomacy he always more than made up for with some pretty good insight.
We had a pretty good chat and it started with Muhammad Ali.
MP: What did you think of the passing of Ali?
OFD: I really hated his act growing up but in hindsight he was a really incredible figure.
MP: I think he may have liked you.
OFD: Why's that?
MP: Because you may have grown a bit in your world-view as you've aged. Ali once said, "The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." In chatting with you now, you've mellowed a bit.
OFD: Yeah. Well. Screw you. There are still a lot of things wrong with the world and I'll bitch when it's necessary. But now is not a time to bitch about the things I hated about Ali growing up.
MP: Which was?
OFD: It's nothing really.
Edmonton tough-guy Dave Semenko once fought Muhammed Ali in a three-round exhibition fight back in 1983. That the little sport of hockey could be on display with a legend like Ali is pretty much all that needs to be said about "The Greatest."
On Friday the sports world lost a legend in Muhammed Ali. As a kid growing up, while he was floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee near the end of his prime, our small gang of friends were caught up in everything the world of sports had to offer from "The Greatest" to Secretariat to the Big Red Machine to OJ, the Sabres and the Buffalo Braves.
At the time we were fierce competitors when we played any sport, with every game played as if it were for the championship of the world. There was no slacking and no time for injuries, unless you took a baseball to the nose on a wild hop at 2nd, an elbow to the nose taking it to the hole, an errant kick to the groin on a kickoff return or slash to the shin on a two-on-one break playing street hockey. And gloating? Any of the young ones like myself knew the price of excessive celebration was a beat down from the older kids.
My Ol' Friend Don and I grew up together as friends and foes playing sports and I hadn't talked with him in a while. Don can be cantankerous at times, a probable offshoot of a tough childhood that saw him at constant odds with his parents and his brother. But what he lacked in diplomacy he always more than made up for with some pretty good insight.
We had a pretty good chat and it started with Muhammad Ali.
MP: What did you think of the passing of Ali?
OFD: I really hated his act growing up but in hindsight he was a really incredible figure.
MP: I think he may have liked you.
OFD: Why's that?
MP: Because you may have grown a bit in your world-view as you've aged. Ali once said, "The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." In chatting with you now, you've mellowed a bit.
OFD: Yeah. Well. Screw you. There are still a lot of things wrong with the world and I'll bitch when it's necessary. But now is not a time to bitch about the things I hated about Ali growing up.
MP: Which was?
OFD: It's nothing really.
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Off the top of my head--thoughts on various headlines
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Central Scouting has taken a liking to Buffalo as a home for the Combine
Word on the street is that the NHL and the Buffalo Sabres are in talks for the city to hold next year's NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo for the third straight year. Buffalo showcased its wares to the league in 2015 and 2016 featuring HARBORCENTER, a two ring practice facility complete with seating capacity for 1,800+ at the main rink. Dan Marr, the director of NHL Central Scouting, told the gathered media yesterday, "Right now we're talking with Buffalo for 2017. A couple other NHL cities have expressed interest, but the facilities here all under one roof, it's a very nice fit."
--It's not a very nice fit. It's a great fit. In addition to the space, training facilities and ample locker room space, there are three NHL-size rinks right there if the NHL wishes to start on-ice testing. Which they should do. Equally as important is hotel rooms in the area as two recently opened Marriott hotels are right on HARBORCENTER's doorstep offering over 300 rooms.
***
Central Scouting has taken a liking to Buffalo as a home for the Combine
Word on the street is that the NHL and the Buffalo Sabres are in talks for the city to hold next year's NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo for the third straight year. Buffalo showcased its wares to the league in 2015 and 2016 featuring HARBORCENTER, a two ring practice facility complete with seating capacity for 1,800+ at the main rink. Dan Marr, the director of NHL Central Scouting, told the gathered media yesterday, "Right now we're talking with Buffalo for 2017. A couple other NHL cities have expressed interest, but the facilities here all under one roof, it's a very nice fit."
--It's not a very nice fit. It's a great fit. In addition to the space, training facilities and ample locker room space, there are three NHL-size rinks right there if the NHL wishes to start on-ice testing. Which they should do. Equally as important is hotel rooms in the area as two recently opened Marriott hotels are right on HARBORCENTER's doorstep offering over 300 rooms.
***
Friday, June 3, 2016
Buffalo Sabres top-three prospects by position--Defensemen
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
When GM Tim Murray was hired by the Buffalo Sabres one of the first things he started working on was shoring up the forward ranks. In the Ryan Miller trade with St. Louis he acquired two "heavies" in Chris Stewart and prospect William Carrier, but it wasn't until his trade with the Los Angeles Kings did he start shifting some of the defensive depth he had on hand for more forwards.
That began two weeks later when Murray traded defenseman Brayden McNabb plus other pieces to Los Angeles for two more heavies in forward prospects Nic Deslauriers and Hudson Fasching. Although McNabb was generally rated as fifth-best defensive prospect in the system at the time, he's proven that he can not only stick at the NHL-level, but also handle some heavy minutes in the top-four with the proper d-partner. It was a minor blow to the defense corps but yet was still significant as McNabb was a lefty. That move grew in importance when coupled with a major move by Murray 11 months later. Murray jumped at the opportunity to land forward Evander Kane but it took a number of quality pieces including the Sabres top defenseman, former Calder Trophy winner, Tyler Myers.
Myers was at the top of the food chain at the time and with his exit, the Sabres had holes to fill on defense up and down the blueline. Defenseman Zach Bogosian also came over in the trade with Winnipeg but was second on the righty depth-chart to Rasmus Ristolainen and although he could have played the left side last season, head coach Dan Bylsma had him on the second paring.
When GM Tim Murray was hired by the Buffalo Sabres one of the first things he started working on was shoring up the forward ranks. In the Ryan Miller trade with St. Louis he acquired two "heavies" in Chris Stewart and prospect William Carrier, but it wasn't until his trade with the Los Angeles Kings did he start shifting some of the defensive depth he had on hand for more forwards.
That began two weeks later when Murray traded defenseman Brayden McNabb plus other pieces to Los Angeles for two more heavies in forward prospects Nic Deslauriers and Hudson Fasching. Although McNabb was generally rated as fifth-best defensive prospect in the system at the time, he's proven that he can not only stick at the NHL-level, but also handle some heavy minutes in the top-four with the proper d-partner. It was a minor blow to the defense corps but yet was still significant as McNabb was a lefty. That move grew in importance when coupled with a major move by Murray 11 months later. Murray jumped at the opportunity to land forward Evander Kane but it took a number of quality pieces including the Sabres top defenseman, former Calder Trophy winner, Tyler Myers.
Myers was at the top of the food chain at the time and with his exit, the Sabres had holes to fill on defense up and down the blueline. Defenseman Zach Bogosian also came over in the trade with Winnipeg but was second on the righty depth-chart to Rasmus Ristolainen and although he could have played the left side last season, head coach Dan Bylsma had him on the second paring.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Buffalo Sabres top-three prospects by position--Goaltenders
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
With the Buffalo Sabres firmly in build-mode as they look to distance themselves even further from the ignominy of the 2014 and 2015 basement seasons, the solid foundation they laid using a huge return for "the core" moved the team towards respectability as they finished last season 23rd in the league with a 12-win/27-point year-over-year improvement . It took a coaching overhaul, two consecutive second-overall picks and a number of big moves involving many parts, but GM Tim Murray--who was also a part of a huge transition for the club when he was hired just over two years ago--got the things moving rather quickly as he added young-vets to the roster to hasten the rebuild.
Unfortunately, those players don't grow on trees and in order to acquire said vets, a bevy of draft picks and prospects were sent the other way to consummate the deals and because of it the prospect pool taking pretty good hit. But opportunity knocked and Murray answered with open arms.
He still has holes to fill on the big club and he also had a Rochester affiliate that finished near the bottom of the league, a direct indication as to how much of a hit the prospect pool took, but the cavalry will be headed to Rochester over the next couple of seasons and the Sabres are slated to have 21 draft picks in the next two years.
Today we begin to look at the remnants of a prospect pool that was ranked No. 1 overall by Hockey'sFuture a little over a year ago. And we begin in net with the top three goaltending prospects.
With the Buffalo Sabres firmly in build-mode as they look to distance themselves even further from the ignominy of the 2014 and 2015 basement seasons, the solid foundation they laid using a huge return for "the core" moved the team towards respectability as they finished last season 23rd in the league with a 12-win/27-point year-over-year improvement . It took a coaching overhaul, two consecutive second-overall picks and a number of big moves involving many parts, but GM Tim Murray--who was also a part of a huge transition for the club when he was hired just over two years ago--got the things moving rather quickly as he added young-vets to the roster to hasten the rebuild.
Unfortunately, those players don't grow on trees and in order to acquire said vets, a bevy of draft picks and prospects were sent the other way to consummate the deals and because of it the prospect pool taking pretty good hit. But opportunity knocked and Murray answered with open arms.
He still has holes to fill on the big club and he also had a Rochester affiliate that finished near the bottom of the league, a direct indication as to how much of a hit the prospect pool took, but the cavalry will be headed to Rochester over the next couple of seasons and the Sabres are slated to have 21 draft picks in the next two years.
Today we begin to look at the remnants of a prospect pool that was ranked No. 1 overall by Hockey'sFuture a little over a year ago. And we begin in net with the top three goaltending prospects.
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