Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-4-2017
NHL.com has it's annual series featuring one team every day. The now 31-in-31 series lead off with the Buffalo Sabres this year. Buffalo beat writer Joe Yerdon did some fine work laying out where the Sabres are at this juncture and asking three questions for the team moving forward as well as delving into who their top prospects are. In a short video, NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen answers the question of whether Buffalo fans, "who are aching and begging" for hockey in April, get their wish. Rosen's answer is, "No. No. I just don't see it from Buffalo this season."
First off, let me start by saying that anything can happen in a season when a hockey team has talent and good goaltending. The Buffalo Sabres have some very talented players in Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly, Kyle Okposo and Evander Kane and they have a starting goalie in Robin Lehner as well as a very capable back up in Chad Johnson.
The Sabres missed the playoffs badly last season while finishing with three points less than they did the previous year but why they missed has been up for debate for many months. Some have claimed it was the coach while others claimed a lack of playoff caliber talent, especially on defense. I'm of the opinion that coaching was the main culprit in their demise followed very closely by injuries, as the talent was there to at the very least, win more games than they did. Was there enough talent to make them a playoff team? Probably not, but the talent they had seemed smothered by a rigid adherence to a system that took all creativity, flow and reaction out of the game.
Eichel, O'Reilly, Okposo and Kane missed a combined 60 games last year due to injury. In 268 games played they combined for 91 goals and 109 assists or roughly .34 goals/game and .75 points/game. Three of them were 20-goals scorers--Kane (28,) Eichel (24) and O'Reilly (20)--while Okposo hit the 19-goal mark. Buffalo also had four other double-digit goal scorers. There are two problems that people often times like to point out with their scoring--there were no defensemen in that group of double-digit goal scorers and a good chunk of their scoring came from the league's best power play.
Fair enough. New GM Jason Botterill brought in a new coach in Phil Housley who was hired to correct those deficiencies and we'll see what he can do five-on-five with basically it's the same group up front that the Sabres had last season.
The defense is always the main talking point with Buffalo and rightfully so as the Sabres' 34.3 shots against/game were the most given up by any team in the league last season. Yet their 2.82 GAA was tied for 19th in the league and despite all that rubber hitting Buffalo goalies, their .918 Sv% was tied for fourth. Botterill needed to bolster the Sabres blueline and he did so by acquiring Nathan Beaulieu and Marco Scandella which should help defensively and, hopefully, on offense as well.
With any decent amount of good coaching, the talent is there to surpass last season's point total and if things go really well, they could climb into playoff bubble territory. However, the Sabres main obstacle this year my not lie so much in getting their act together as it does with the strength of the Eastern Conference, especially in the Metropolitan Division, where Buffalo finished with a 6-13-5 record last year.
The playoff structure goes like this: the top three teams from each division make the playoffs and the next two teams, regardless of division, are in as wild cards. Last season the NY Rangers grabbed the first wild card spot with 102 points while the Toronto Maple Leafs nudged out both the NY Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning by one point to snag the second wild card spot. In 2015-16 the Metropolitan Division sent five teams to the playoffs and in the four years under this playoff structure they've sent at least one wild card team to the playoffs every year.
At the top of the Metropolitan Division is the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins who haven't missed the playoffs in 11 years. The NY Ranges have missed the playoffs once in the last 12 seasons while the Washington Capitals have missed the playoffs once in the last 10. Columbus seems to have found their groove, the Islanders made the playoffs the two years prior to just missing out last season and one can never count out Philadelphia as the Flyers always seem to be hovering around that area.
The Atlantic Division also poses a problem for Buffalo, but to a lesser degree as the Sabres went 13-13-4 against divisional foes. There seems to be a bit more flux right now although one could counter that by saying there are couple of up and coming teams, like Toronto, that can change the course of the standings.
In looking at the division, Tampa Bay had an off year last year and might be looked at as the best team in the division. Barring injuries, a problem the Lightning had last season, they look to be a shoe-in. Up in Quebec, as Carey Price goes, so does the Montreal Canadiens. They've missed the playoffs once in the last five seasons, the one where Price missed all but 12 games in 2015-16.
Those two look to be locks for the playoffs once again and it leaves just one opening in the Atlantic Division.
Last year the Ottawa Senators finished second in the division while the Boston Bruins finished in third. The Sens made it to the conference final last year but also have altered missing the playoffs twice in the last four seasons while the Bruins missed the playoffs two consecutive seasons before returning last year.
Toronto is an up and coming team that has the talent to be an annual playoff contender down the road. The Leafs squeaked into the playoffs last season with a very young group who had unusually good luck on the injury front but they could very easily be back in the thick of things with a year of experience under their belts. It was the only time the Leafs made the playoffs in a full regular season since the 2004-05 lockout.
Down in Florida it's a little more scatter-brained as the Panthers made the playoffs only twice since the turn of the century but have seemingly been on the upswing lately while the Detroit Red Wings missed the 2017 playoffs for the first time since the 1990-91 season and look to be retooling.
Could the Buffalo Sabres pull off a 17-point surprise in the standings and make the playoffs? Probably not. However, they should be in for a marked improvement with their on-ice product. The Sabres looked terrible for long stretches last season due to a number of factors mostly dictated by injuries to key players and a disconnect between coach and players.
As stated at the top, the Sabres have talent and they have solid goaltending which are two factors that increase their chances of closing in on a playoff spot, but they may not have enough at this time. However, with the way the Atlantic as laid out, I wouldn't completely count them out.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Friday, August 4, 2017
Casey Mittelstadt kickin' it at WJ Summer Showcase plus, Eichel 8/9?
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-3-2017
There was much ado about the Buffalo Sabres taking center Casey Mittelstadt with the eighth-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. The Sabres already have Jack Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly anchoring the top six and center Sam Reinhart has been playing No. 2 RW while Johan Larsson had been centering the third line. In Larsson's absence after his injury last season, Zemgus Girgensons took his spot and forward Evan Rodrigues also played there after the team moved him from the wing.
In other words, the center position is stacked, so why pick another center, especially when Buffalo desperately needed to add to the d-prospect pool and a player like Swedish defenseman Timothy Liljegren was available?
It was the second year in a row that the Sabres picked eighth-overall and the second year in a row the team opted for a forward over a defenseman. At the 2016 NHL Draft held in Buffalo, NY, the hometown Sabres and then GM Tim Murray selected winger Alexander Nylander in the first round. Granted, Nylander happened play a position of need in the system but many, myself included, felt that the Sabres may have been better served selecting defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who went to the Montreal Canadians with the next pick.
Simply put, whether you're Murray in 2016 or new Sabres GM Jason Botterill this past June, best player available is the mantra. And my oh my, it seems as if Botterill did pretty well.
Sure, it's only summer, but Mittelstadt is really garnering attention. Back in early July he had himself a grand Sabres Development Camp and topped it off by leading his Team White to the annual French Connection 3-on-3 Championship and dazzled in the process. That was all well and good, but that was 3-on-3 against a decent pool of prospects.
However, Mittelstadt is continuing to turn heads, this time at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Michigan. the WJSS is an audition for the upcoming World Junior Championships which will be held in Buffalo this year. Players from four countries are playing a round-robin format with the USA and Canada beginning the tournament with split squads. The other two countries are Finland and Sweden.
The Sabres are represented by Mittelstadt and three other WJC hopefuls--forward Cliff Pu (CAN,) forward Marcus Davidsson (SWE) and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (FIN.) All have performed fairly well with Mittelstadt outperforming all of them. In fact, the 6'0" 199 lb. center from Eden Prarie, Minnesota is sizzling at the summer event with three goals and five assists in four games.
Team USA coach Bob Motzko said (via Amy Moritz of the Buffalo News,) that Mittelstadt has been "outstanding."
"He's a year older, a year wiser," continued Motzko. "He really stepped forward as a go-to guy. Ben Smith on our staff likes to say, 'Raise your hand. Tell us you're here.' And every day he's raised his hand and is standing tall.
"He has outstanding skill and play-making. Can change a game at any moment and is showing leadership, too. I don't know if we put him in a lot of those situations a year ago because of the older group that was here. Well they're gone and it's his turn and he's sure stepping forward right now and showing that he's got the ability to be a very special player."
Botterill told the gathered media after the first round of the draft that they were "ecstatic to get [Mittlestadt.] We view him as [a player] with great skill-level and [he can] play with pace and we think he can fit well without our group of dynamic players such as Eichel, O'Reilly and Reinhart over the next couple of years."
Mittelstadt is committed to the University of Minnesota next season and where he goes from there will be determined by the strides he makes both on the ice and in the weight room. He's proved that he can play against, and even dominate at times, his peers from high school to the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers prior to the draft and he's doing it again this summer.
It's something that should have those in Sabreland pretty excited.
*****
According to an Associated Press report yesterday, franchise center Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres are discussing a maximum-term contract of eight years. Botterill had said that getting Eichel signed long-term would be one of his priorities this summer and although it's not earth shattering that and eight-year deal is in the works, the great part about it is that there is news on their negotiations.
Earlier last month at the close of development camp Botterill told the gathered media, "Our conversations with Jack and the group have gone extremely well. We'll continue this throughout the summer and see if we can find a common ground because, from our standpoint, we certainly want to get something done. And everything we've heard from Jack and his agents is they want to get something done too."
In their piece yesterday, the AP went right to Sabres owner Terry Pegula who was watching his other professional team, the Buffalo Bills, at training camp in Rochester. Said Pegula, "I can tell you this, we want Jack and Jack wants to be in Buffalo."
In an April article in the Buffalo News Eichel was quoted as saying, "I want to be here for a long time. That's the way I look at it. I don't want to go anywhere else. I don't want anybody to think that I want to be somewhere else. ... I want to be a Sabre and I want to be a Sabre for a long time and I want to be a part of Buffalo when we win. I know it's an organization that is capable of doing that, and I want to be a part of it and I want to be a centerpiece of it."
What we have now is a team that wants the player, player who wants to play for the team and both sides looking at an 8-year contract extension. The only thing left is the price.
The Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid reached a record-breaking cap-hit of $12.5 million on an 8-year deal back in early July with the interesting part being McDavid was said to have left some money on the table as initial reports had him around a $13.5 million AVV. That contract for McDavid, who was drafted first overall in 2015, one spot ahead of Eichel, pretty much raised the bar.
Eichel won't be getting close to $12.5 million but for those of us who thought his AVV would be in the $8-9 million range, the McDavid singing blew those thought up and now we're hoping it's less than $10 million.
Are we looking at an Evgeni Malkin AVV of $9.5 million? Or would they be looking to slide in a cap hit that's between Alexander Ovechkin's $9.538M and Anze Kopitar's even $10 million. Or, are they looking to go all-in and place Eichel on the same salary level of three-time Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews who both have a $10.5 million AVV?
This Sabres fan hopes that it goes no higher than a $9.5 million cap-hit with $9 million being optimal.
Make it happen, boys.
There was much ado about the Buffalo Sabres taking center Casey Mittelstadt with the eighth-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. The Sabres already have Jack Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly anchoring the top six and center Sam Reinhart has been playing No. 2 RW while Johan Larsson had been centering the third line. In Larsson's absence after his injury last season, Zemgus Girgensons took his spot and forward Evan Rodrigues also played there after the team moved him from the wing.
In other words, the center position is stacked, so why pick another center, especially when Buffalo desperately needed to add to the d-prospect pool and a player like Swedish defenseman Timothy Liljegren was available?
It was the second year in a row that the Sabres picked eighth-overall and the second year in a row the team opted for a forward over a defenseman. At the 2016 NHL Draft held in Buffalo, NY, the hometown Sabres and then GM Tim Murray selected winger Alexander Nylander in the first round. Granted, Nylander happened play a position of need in the system but many, myself included, felt that the Sabres may have been better served selecting defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who went to the Montreal Canadians with the next pick.
Simply put, whether you're Murray in 2016 or new Sabres GM Jason Botterill this past June, best player available is the mantra. And my oh my, it seems as if Botterill did pretty well.
Sure, it's only summer, but Mittelstadt is really garnering attention. Back in early July he had himself a grand Sabres Development Camp and topped it off by leading his Team White to the annual French Connection 3-on-3 Championship and dazzled in the process. That was all well and good, but that was 3-on-3 against a decent pool of prospects.
However, Mittelstadt is continuing to turn heads, this time at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Michigan. the WJSS is an audition for the upcoming World Junior Championships which will be held in Buffalo this year. Players from four countries are playing a round-robin format with the USA and Canada beginning the tournament with split squads. The other two countries are Finland and Sweden.
The Sabres are represented by Mittelstadt and three other WJC hopefuls--forward Cliff Pu (CAN,) forward Marcus Davidsson (SWE) and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (FIN.) All have performed fairly well with Mittelstadt outperforming all of them. In fact, the 6'0" 199 lb. center from Eden Prarie, Minnesota is sizzling at the summer event with three goals and five assists in four games.
Team USA coach Bob Motzko said (via Amy Moritz of the Buffalo News,) that Mittelstadt has been "outstanding."
"He's a year older, a year wiser," continued Motzko. "He really stepped forward as a go-to guy. Ben Smith on our staff likes to say, 'Raise your hand. Tell us you're here.' And every day he's raised his hand and is standing tall.
"He has outstanding skill and play-making. Can change a game at any moment and is showing leadership, too. I don't know if we put him in a lot of those situations a year ago because of the older group that was here. Well they're gone and it's his turn and he's sure stepping forward right now and showing that he's got the ability to be a very special player."
Botterill told the gathered media after the first round of the draft that they were "ecstatic to get [Mittlestadt.] We view him as [a player] with great skill-level and [he can] play with pace and we think he can fit well without our group of dynamic players such as Eichel, O'Reilly and Reinhart over the next couple of years."
Mittelstadt is committed to the University of Minnesota next season and where he goes from there will be determined by the strides he makes both on the ice and in the weight room. He's proved that he can play against, and even dominate at times, his peers from high school to the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers prior to the draft and he's doing it again this summer.
It's something that should have those in Sabreland pretty excited.
*****
According to an Associated Press report yesterday, franchise center Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres are discussing a maximum-term contract of eight years. Botterill had said that getting Eichel signed long-term would be one of his priorities this summer and although it's not earth shattering that and eight-year deal is in the works, the great part about it is that there is news on their negotiations.
Earlier last month at the close of development camp Botterill told the gathered media, "Our conversations with Jack and the group have gone extremely well. We'll continue this throughout the summer and see if we can find a common ground because, from our standpoint, we certainly want to get something done. And everything we've heard from Jack and his agents is they want to get something done too."
In their piece yesterday, the AP went right to Sabres owner Terry Pegula who was watching his other professional team, the Buffalo Bills, at training camp in Rochester. Said Pegula, "I can tell you this, we want Jack and Jack wants to be in Buffalo."
In an April article in the Buffalo News Eichel was quoted as saying, "I want to be here for a long time. That's the way I look at it. I don't want to go anywhere else. I don't want anybody to think that I want to be somewhere else. ... I want to be a Sabre and I want to be a Sabre for a long time and I want to be a part of Buffalo when we win. I know it's an organization that is capable of doing that, and I want to be a part of it and I want to be a centerpiece of it."
What we have now is a team that wants the player, player who wants to play for the team and both sides looking at an 8-year contract extension. The only thing left is the price.
The Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid reached a record-breaking cap-hit of $12.5 million on an 8-year deal back in early July with the interesting part being McDavid was said to have left some money on the table as initial reports had him around a $13.5 million AVV. That contract for McDavid, who was drafted first overall in 2015, one spot ahead of Eichel, pretty much raised the bar.
Eichel won't be getting close to $12.5 million but for those of us who thought his AVV would be in the $8-9 million range, the McDavid singing blew those thought up and now we're hoping it's less than $10 million.
Are we looking at an Evgeni Malkin AVV of $9.5 million? Or would they be looking to slide in a cap hit that's between Alexander Ovechkin's $9.538M and Anze Kopitar's even $10 million. Or, are they looking to go all-in and place Eichel on the same salary level of three-time Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews who both have a $10.5 million AVV?
This Sabres fan hopes that it goes no higher than a $9.5 million cap-hit with $9 million being optimal.
Make it happen, boys.
Thursday, August 3, 2017
And then there was one--Zemgus Girgensons
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-2-2017
The Sabres announced yesterday that defenseman Nathan Beaulieu was re-signed for two years at a $2.4 million AAV. Beaulieu was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens on June 17, 2017 for a third round draft pick. With the signing, all three players that filed for arbitration were re-signed by the club before their scheduled hearings. Forward Johan Larsson re-upped for a 2yr./$2.92 million deal while goalie Robin Lehner was re-signed at 1yr./$4 million.
In early June, new GM Jason Botterill had nine restricted free agents to consider. Forward Marcus Foligno was traded to Minnesota in the Marco Scandella deal while Jean Dupuy, Justin Kea and Brady Austin were not offered contracts. Goalie Linus Ullmark signed a 2 yr./$1.5 million deal on June 13 and Evan Rodrigues re-signed on July 27. With Larsson and Lehner re-signing, the Sabres have only one RFA left, forward Zemgus Girgensons.
Girgensons presents a curious case for Botterill and the Sabres. The former first rounder (2012, 14th-overall) is coming off of two poor seasons where he was relegated to bottom-six duty and more often than not found himself in a checking/defensive role. The Riga, Latvia native handled it very well, but coming off of a 15-goal season in 2014-15, more was expected of him than 14 goals and 20 assists in 146 games over the course of the following two seasons.
The Sabres as a whole fell well short of expectations last season which lead to the firings of GM Tim Murray and head coach Dan Bylsma, who was only in his second season. Much was made of the turmoil in Buffalo last season as there were disconnects between coach and players. Injuries certainly played a part in the Sabres 26th place finish but throughout much of the season, Bylsma and his players seemed to be on different pages. It was something that may not have been there in 2015-16 when they were making great strides while coming out of the cellar, but in one particular case, there certainly were signs that all was not well.
Back on October 16, 2015 Girgensons and Bylsma engaged in a conversation that went well above the norms of a player and coach talking as "it was clear from Girgensons’ frank facial expressions," wrote Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News, "they weren’t discussing the weather." The two stood at the red line after practice for 10 minutes or, "the longest on-ice conversation for the Sabres in at least a decade," according to Vogl.
From thence the conversation involving Girgensons revolved around his seeming inability to grasp the X's and O's of Bylsma's system. Or maybe it was a harbinger of things to come with the team as they were welded to a system that didn't seem to be working.
Regardless of what transpired, Bylsma is gone and Girgensons, who is the longest tenured Sabres' player, has a new coach, his fourth in Buffalo since his debut on October 2, 2013. Phil Housley takes the reigns as the Sabres new bench boss and how this affects Girgensons, or whether or not he'll be a fit for what Housley wants to do remains to be seen.
What we do know is that Girgensons does offer a power game with some scoring ability and had played well in a defensive role under Bylsma. We also know that he made $1.15 million last season and probably won't be singing for much more considering he only had 16 points (7+9) in 75 games last season.
Another chapter in the curious case of Zemgus Girgensons is about to unfold. Whether it's in Buffalo or somewhere else is yet to be determined as he's the last free agent left for Botterill.
The Sabres announced yesterday that defenseman Nathan Beaulieu was re-signed for two years at a $2.4 million AAV. Beaulieu was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens on June 17, 2017 for a third round draft pick. With the signing, all three players that filed for arbitration were re-signed by the club before their scheduled hearings. Forward Johan Larsson re-upped for a 2yr./$2.92 million deal while goalie Robin Lehner was re-signed at 1yr./$4 million.
In early June, new GM Jason Botterill had nine restricted free agents to consider. Forward Marcus Foligno was traded to Minnesota in the Marco Scandella deal while Jean Dupuy, Justin Kea and Brady Austin were not offered contracts. Goalie Linus Ullmark signed a 2 yr./$1.5 million deal on June 13 and Evan Rodrigues re-signed on July 27. With Larsson and Lehner re-signing, the Sabres have only one RFA left, forward Zemgus Girgensons.
Girgensons presents a curious case for Botterill and the Sabres. The former first rounder (2012, 14th-overall) is coming off of two poor seasons where he was relegated to bottom-six duty and more often than not found himself in a checking/defensive role. The Riga, Latvia native handled it very well, but coming off of a 15-goal season in 2014-15, more was expected of him than 14 goals and 20 assists in 146 games over the course of the following two seasons.
The Sabres as a whole fell well short of expectations last season which lead to the firings of GM Tim Murray and head coach Dan Bylsma, who was only in his second season. Much was made of the turmoil in Buffalo last season as there were disconnects between coach and players. Injuries certainly played a part in the Sabres 26th place finish but throughout much of the season, Bylsma and his players seemed to be on different pages. It was something that may not have been there in 2015-16 when they were making great strides while coming out of the cellar, but in one particular case, there certainly were signs that all was not well.
Back on October 16, 2015 Girgensons and Bylsma engaged in a conversation that went well above the norms of a player and coach talking as "it was clear from Girgensons’ frank facial expressions," wrote Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News, "they weren’t discussing the weather." The two stood at the red line after practice for 10 minutes or, "the longest on-ice conversation for the Sabres in at least a decade," according to Vogl.
From thence the conversation involving Girgensons revolved around his seeming inability to grasp the X's and O's of Bylsma's system. Or maybe it was a harbinger of things to come with the team as they were welded to a system that didn't seem to be working.
Regardless of what transpired, Bylsma is gone and Girgensons, who is the longest tenured Sabres' player, has a new coach, his fourth in Buffalo since his debut on October 2, 2013. Phil Housley takes the reigns as the Sabres new bench boss and how this affects Girgensons, or whether or not he'll be a fit for what Housley wants to do remains to be seen.
What we do know is that Girgensons does offer a power game with some scoring ability and had played well in a defensive role under Bylsma. We also know that he made $1.15 million last season and probably won't be singing for much more considering he only had 16 points (7+9) in 75 games last season.
Another chapter in the curious case of Zemgus Girgensons is about to unfold. Whether it's in Buffalo or somewhere else is yet to be determined as he's the last free agent left for Botterill.
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Mittelstadt leads prospect pool that's anything but empty
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-31-2017
Buffalo Sabres top prospect Casey Mittelstadt had an impressive development camp earlier this month culminating with his Team White winning the French Connection 3-on-3 tournament. Buffalo's 2017 first-round selection (8th-overall) provided a little razzle-dazzle and displayed some snipe as he stole the show, according to Jourdan LaBarber of Sabres.com, at the tournament.
Mittelstadt is continuing to role at the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Michigan. The 6' 0" 199 lb. Edina, Minnesota native is on USA White for that tournament and started out strong by notching a goal and adding an assist against Team Finland and Sabres 2017 second-round draft pick, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Mittlestadt's goal came with 7:52 left in the third period as he jumped on a turnover at the Finn blueline, went in all alone on Luukkonen and calmly roofed a back-hander to put the Americans up 4-2.
It's not surprising that Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com/Sabres.com has the 18 yr. old Mittelstadt on top of his 2017 Summer prospect rankings. Baker had a tough time selecting between Mittelstadt and 2016 first round pick Alexander Nylander, who was also taken eighth overall. "You can argue that the hands, vision, sense and overall offensive upside of Mittelstadt and Nylander are comparable," wrote Baker. "Both are superior stickhandlers and playmakers that bring the ability to string together electrifying shifts in the offensive zone.
"In the end," concluded Baker, "Mittlestadt's battle skills, construction of a complete 200-foot game and competence playing the center position give the stocky Minnesotan the edge in settling the top overall spot."
The good part about Baker having a tough time deciding upon his top prospect is that the Sabres have some top prospects to debate about. While Mittelstadt and Nylander are clearly at the top of the food chain right now the Sabres have prospects in the pool that are filling out the system rather nicely.
When Buffalo went nuclear on their rebuild, which included former GM Tim Murray decimating the Rochester Americans there was a huge void in the system. The Amerks have had many first-year players entering the pro ranks with a support system that was generally turned over twice in the past two years. However, some of those rookies from the 2015-16 season will now be entering their third professional season and if they don't make the big club, Rochester will be better for it.
Two picks from the 2013 NHL Draft--forwards Justin Bailey (52nd) and Nick Baptiste (69th)--have two professional seasons under their belts and have shown strong year-over-year growth despite playing on poor teams. Bailey went from 20 goals in 70 games his first year in Rochester to 23 goals in 52 games last season. Baptiste went from 13 goals in 62 games to 29 goals in 59 games. Both also saw extended looks from the Sabres in 2016-17.
Joining them on the development growth chart is 2015 free agent forward Evan Rodrigues, who just signed a two-year contract extension with Buffalo. Rodrigues rode shotgun on Jack Eichel's wing in college and proved that he's not a product of playing wing with a franchise player. He had the exact same stat-line of 30 points (9+21) the last two seasons but did it in 24 less games last year. He also got an extended stay in Buffalo matching Bailey with 30 appearances for the Sabres.
Goalie Linus Ullmark has had a lot of reps in his first two North American pro seasons. In his first year he was summoned to the Sabres and played in 20 NHL games producing a very respectable stat-line of a 2.60 GAA and .913 Sv%. Ullmark was Rochester's No. 1 goalie last season and he went 26-27-2 with a 2.80 GAA and .909 Sv%. He'll be getting another full year of seasoning with the Amerks in 2017-18 as well.
That would be the first wave of youngins making their way through the ranks. Last year that group was joined by Nylander, Casey Nelson (2016, FA,) Hudson Fasching (2013, 118th, LAK,) and Vaclav Karabacek (2014, 49th,) among others.
This year we'll see defenseman Brendan Guhle as a first year pro. Guhle was selected 51st-overall in the 2015 draft and has had tastes of both Rochester and Buffalo. Back in 2015 it looked as if he was poised to make the club out of camp, but a "welcome to the NHL, boy" hit by Dion Phaneuf ended Guhle's preseason and he was sent back to junior. Last year he was summoned to Buffalo on an emergency basis and played three strong games for the Sabres leaving some angry that he wasn't on the club to begin with.
However, it's all about development, as new GM Jason Botterill will attest to. Guhle finished his junior career with a strong WHL season and will take the next step as a full-time pro with the Amerks even though he could probably hang with the big boys in Buffalo.
Guhle leads the next wave of prospects working their way through the system. Defenseman Devante Stephens (2015, 122nd) will be joining the Amerks blueline after three years in junior. Two college players will also be joining the Amerks--winger C.J. Smith and center Sean Malone. Murray signed Smith signed in March out of UMASS-Lowell after the junior decided to forgo his senior season. Smith had 51 points (23+28) in 41 games for the River Hawks in a tough Hockey-East division. Malone was selected in the sixth round (159th) in 2013 and graduated from Harvard. He signed a pro contract on April 8th and played for the Sabres that night.
You could say that there are no superstars in the system from those first two waves post-rebuild, and it would be accurate, the Sabres already have their first round picks from 2013-15 playing in the NHL. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (2013, 8th) is on the top-pairing for Buffalo and 2014 second-overall pick Sam Reinhart is a part of the top-six forward group. Eichel, who was selected second-overall in 2015, is on the cusp of being the franchise player he was drafted for.
Despite Eichel jumping right from college to pro and Reinhart skipping the AHL save for three games, the prospect pool still has potential stars in it like Mittelstadt, Nylander and even Guhle. The rest will be allowed to develop at their own pace and become what they will. Having superstars is a great thing but having a prospect pool that can yield stars and quality role players is just as important as Botterill knows from his Pittsburgh Penguins days. And despite some claims that the prospect pool is weak, former GM Murray didn't leave an empty cupboard.
Buffalo Sabres top prospect Casey Mittelstadt had an impressive development camp earlier this month culminating with his Team White winning the French Connection 3-on-3 tournament. Buffalo's 2017 first-round selection (8th-overall) provided a little razzle-dazzle and displayed some snipe as he stole the show, according to Jourdan LaBarber of Sabres.com, at the tournament.
Mittelstadt is continuing to role at the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase in Plymouth, Michigan. The 6' 0" 199 lb. Edina, Minnesota native is on USA White for that tournament and started out strong by notching a goal and adding an assist against Team Finland and Sabres 2017 second-round draft pick, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Mittlestadt's goal came with 7:52 left in the third period as he jumped on a turnover at the Finn blueline, went in all alone on Luukkonen and calmly roofed a back-hander to put the Americans up 4-2.
It's not surprising that Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com/Sabres.com has the 18 yr. old Mittelstadt on top of his 2017 Summer prospect rankings. Baker had a tough time selecting between Mittelstadt and 2016 first round pick Alexander Nylander, who was also taken eighth overall. "You can argue that the hands, vision, sense and overall offensive upside of Mittelstadt and Nylander are comparable," wrote Baker. "Both are superior stickhandlers and playmakers that bring the ability to string together electrifying shifts in the offensive zone.
"In the end," concluded Baker, "Mittlestadt's battle skills, construction of a complete 200-foot game and competence playing the center position give the stocky Minnesotan the edge in settling the top overall spot."
The good part about Baker having a tough time deciding upon his top prospect is that the Sabres have some top prospects to debate about. While Mittelstadt and Nylander are clearly at the top of the food chain right now the Sabres have prospects in the pool that are filling out the system rather nicely.
When Buffalo went nuclear on their rebuild, which included former GM Tim Murray decimating the Rochester Americans there was a huge void in the system. The Amerks have had many first-year players entering the pro ranks with a support system that was generally turned over twice in the past two years. However, some of those rookies from the 2015-16 season will now be entering their third professional season and if they don't make the big club, Rochester will be better for it.
Two picks from the 2013 NHL Draft--forwards Justin Bailey (52nd) and Nick Baptiste (69th)--have two professional seasons under their belts and have shown strong year-over-year growth despite playing on poor teams. Bailey went from 20 goals in 70 games his first year in Rochester to 23 goals in 52 games last season. Baptiste went from 13 goals in 62 games to 29 goals in 59 games. Both also saw extended looks from the Sabres in 2016-17.
Joining them on the development growth chart is 2015 free agent forward Evan Rodrigues, who just signed a two-year contract extension with Buffalo. Rodrigues rode shotgun on Jack Eichel's wing in college and proved that he's not a product of playing wing with a franchise player. He had the exact same stat-line of 30 points (9+21) the last two seasons but did it in 24 less games last year. He also got an extended stay in Buffalo matching Bailey with 30 appearances for the Sabres.
Goalie Linus Ullmark has had a lot of reps in his first two North American pro seasons. In his first year he was summoned to the Sabres and played in 20 NHL games producing a very respectable stat-line of a 2.60 GAA and .913 Sv%. Ullmark was Rochester's No. 1 goalie last season and he went 26-27-2 with a 2.80 GAA and .909 Sv%. He'll be getting another full year of seasoning with the Amerks in 2017-18 as well.
That would be the first wave of youngins making their way through the ranks. Last year that group was joined by Nylander, Casey Nelson (2016, FA,) Hudson Fasching (2013, 118th, LAK,) and Vaclav Karabacek (2014, 49th,) among others.
This year we'll see defenseman Brendan Guhle as a first year pro. Guhle was selected 51st-overall in the 2015 draft and has had tastes of both Rochester and Buffalo. Back in 2015 it looked as if he was poised to make the club out of camp, but a "welcome to the NHL, boy" hit by Dion Phaneuf ended Guhle's preseason and he was sent back to junior. Last year he was summoned to Buffalo on an emergency basis and played three strong games for the Sabres leaving some angry that he wasn't on the club to begin with.
However, it's all about development, as new GM Jason Botterill will attest to. Guhle finished his junior career with a strong WHL season and will take the next step as a full-time pro with the Amerks even though he could probably hang with the big boys in Buffalo.
Guhle leads the next wave of prospects working their way through the system. Defenseman Devante Stephens (2015, 122nd) will be joining the Amerks blueline after three years in junior. Two college players will also be joining the Amerks--winger C.J. Smith and center Sean Malone. Murray signed Smith signed in March out of UMASS-Lowell after the junior decided to forgo his senior season. Smith had 51 points (23+28) in 41 games for the River Hawks in a tough Hockey-East division. Malone was selected in the sixth round (159th) in 2013 and graduated from Harvard. He signed a pro contract on April 8th and played for the Sabres that night.
You could say that there are no superstars in the system from those first two waves post-rebuild, and it would be accurate, the Sabres already have their first round picks from 2013-15 playing in the NHL. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (2013, 8th) is on the top-pairing for Buffalo and 2014 second-overall pick Sam Reinhart is a part of the top-six forward group. Eichel, who was selected second-overall in 2015, is on the cusp of being the franchise player he was drafted for.
Despite Eichel jumping right from college to pro and Reinhart skipping the AHL save for three games, the prospect pool still has potential stars in it like Mittelstadt, Nylander and even Guhle. The rest will be allowed to develop at their own pace and become what they will. Having superstars is a great thing but having a prospect pool that can yield stars and quality role players is just as important as Botterill knows from his Pittsburgh Penguins days. And despite some claims that the prospect pool is weak, former GM Murray didn't leave an empty cupboard.
Monday, July 31, 2017
Four Sabres prospects at 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-29-2017
The Buffalo Sabres have a solid presence in Plymouth, Michigan as four players will take their first steps at trying to make their 2018 World Junior teams. Casey Mittelstadt (USA,) Cliff Pu (CAN,) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (FIN) and Marcus Davidsson (SWE) begin play today in the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase held in Plymouth, Michigan. The event runs through August 5.
Yesterday all teams held practices with a split USA team scrimmaging each other and the tournament will begin today in earnest as USA White takes on Finland at 1 p.m. For a full schedule see below.
The first game has plenty of intrigue for Sabres fans as two 2017 draft picks go head to head to kick things off with Mittelstadt (USA White) taking on Luukkonen (FIN.) Mittelstadt was selected eight-overall after falling to the Sabres while Luukkonen was taken by Buffalo in the second round at No. 54. Both had an extremely good development camp in Buffalo earlier this month as Mittelstadt lead Team White to the French Connection 3-on-3 Championship while Luukkonen showed off an impressive skill-set even stopping a sneaky Mittelstadt from in tight very early in the tournament.
In the second game today Davidsson and Sweden will take on USA Team Blue at 4:10 p.m. Davidsson was also a second rounder (37th) in 2017. Davidsson didn't make the 2017 World Juniors but Kris Baker of Sabresprospects.com/Sabres.com said that after spending a year playing professional hockey against men, Davidsson will be "a shoe-in" to make Team Sweden in 2018.
Pu is the elder statesman of the bunch. The 2016 third round pick of Buffalo (69th) is 19 and will be entering his fourth year at London with the OHL's Knights. Baker points out that even though Pu had an outstanding year in London (35 goals and 51 assists in 63 games, the Canadian squad is loaded with talent up-front and he may not be a shoe-in for the Team Canada when the 2018 WJC hits Buffalo in late December. That said, a strong Summer Showcase will go a long way in convincing Hockey Canada that they need to find a place for him.
Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin heads a list of 2018 draft eligible players that includes, according to NHL.com's "forwards Brady Tkachuk and Oliver Wahlstrom, and defenseman Quinton Hughes for the U.S., Sweden center Isac Lundestrom and Finland forward Jesse Ylonen."
Both the US and Canada will combine their split squads for the final games.
Below is the full schedule of events from USAHockey.com:
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The Buffalo Sabres have a solid presence in Plymouth, Michigan as four players will take their first steps at trying to make their 2018 World Junior teams. Casey Mittelstadt (USA,) Cliff Pu (CAN,) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (FIN) and Marcus Davidsson (SWE) begin play today in the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase held in Plymouth, Michigan. The event runs through August 5.
Yesterday all teams held practices with a split USA team scrimmaging each other and the tournament will begin today in earnest as USA White takes on Finland at 1 p.m. For a full schedule see below.
The first game has plenty of intrigue for Sabres fans as two 2017 draft picks go head to head to kick things off with Mittelstadt (USA White) taking on Luukkonen (FIN.) Mittelstadt was selected eight-overall after falling to the Sabres while Luukkonen was taken by Buffalo in the second round at No. 54. Both had an extremely good development camp in Buffalo earlier this month as Mittelstadt lead Team White to the French Connection 3-on-3 Championship while Luukkonen showed off an impressive skill-set even stopping a sneaky Mittelstadt from in tight very early in the tournament.
In the second game today Davidsson and Sweden will take on USA Team Blue at 4:10 p.m. Davidsson was also a second rounder (37th) in 2017. Davidsson didn't make the 2017 World Juniors but Kris Baker of Sabresprospects.com/Sabres.com said that after spending a year playing professional hockey against men, Davidsson will be "a shoe-in" to make Team Sweden in 2018.
Pu is the elder statesman of the bunch. The 2016 third round pick of Buffalo (69th) is 19 and will be entering his fourth year at London with the OHL's Knights. Baker points out that even though Pu had an outstanding year in London (35 goals and 51 assists in 63 games, the Canadian squad is loaded with talent up-front and he may not be a shoe-in for the Team Canada when the 2018 WJC hits Buffalo in late December. That said, a strong Summer Showcase will go a long way in convincing Hockey Canada that they need to find a place for him.
Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin heads a list of 2018 draft eligible players that includes, according to NHL.com's "forwards Brady Tkachuk and Oliver Wahlstrom, and defenseman Quinton Hughes for the U.S., Sweden center Isac Lundestrom and Finland forward Jesse Ylonen."
Both the US and Canada will combine their split squads for the final games.
Below is the full schedule of events from USAHockey.com:
| Saturday, July 29 | Finland Practice | 8:15-8:45 a.m. |
| USA Blue Practice (Olympic Rink) | 9:00-9:30 a.m. | |
| Sweden Practice | 9:00-9:30 a.m. | |
| USA White vs. Finland | 1:00 p.m. | |
| USA Blue vs. Sweden | 4:10 p.m | |
| Sunday, July 30 | Finland Practice | 8:15-8:45 a.m. |
| USA White Practice (Olympic Rink) | 9:00-9:30 a.m. | |
| Sweden Practice | 9:00-9:30 a.m. | |
| Canada Practice | 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m | |
| USA Blue vs. Finland | 1:00 p.m. | |
| USA White vs. Sweden | 4:10 p.m. | |
| Monday, July 31 | USA Blue Practice | 9:30-10:30 a.m. |
| USA White Practice | 10:45-11:45 a.m. | |
| Canada Practice (Olympic Rink) | 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. | |
| Finland Practice | 12:00-1:15 p.m. | |
| Sweden Practice | 1:30-2:45 p.m. | |
| Tuesday, August 1 | Canada Red Practice | 9:00-9:30 a.m. |
| Canada White Practice | 9:45-10:15 a.m. | |
| Finland Practice (Olympic Rink) | 12:00-1:30 pm. | |
| Sweden Practice (Olympic Rink) | 1:45-3:00 p.m. | |
| Canada Red vs. USA White | 4:08 p.m. | |
| Canada White vs. USA Blue | 7:18 p.m. | |
| Wednesday, August 2 | Finland Practice | 8:15-8:45 a.m. |
| USA Practice (Olympic Rink) | 9:00-9:30 a.m. | |
| Sweden Practice | 9:00-9:30 a.m. | |
| Canada Practice (Olympic Rink) | 10:00-11:15 a.m. | |
| Canada vs. Finland | 1:08 p.m. | |
| USA vs. Sweden | 4:18 p.m. | |
| Thursday, August 3 | Canada Practice (Olympic Rink) | 8:00-11:00 a.m. |
| Finland Practice | 10:00-11:15 a.m. | |
| Sweden Practice | 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. | |
| Canada Practice | 1:00-3:30 p.m. | |
| Friday, August 4 | USA Practice | 9:00-9:30 a.m. |
| Finland Practice (Olympic Rink) | 9:00-9:30 a.m. | |
| Canada Practice | 9:45-11:00 a.m. | |
| Sweden vs. Canada | 1:08 p.m. | |
| Finland vs. USA | 4:18 p.m. | |
| Saturday, August 5 | Sweden Practice | 9:00-9:30 a.m. |
| Finland Practice (Olympic Rink) | 9:00-9:30 a.m. | |
| USA Practice | 10:00-10:30 a.m. | |
| Canada Practice | 10:45-11:45 a.m. | |
| Sweden vs. Finland | 4:08 p.m. | |
| USA vs. Canada | 7:18 p.m. |
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Saturday, July 29, 2017
Sabres re-sign forward Evan Rodrigues at two-years, $1.3 million
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-27-2017
The Sabres re-signed restricted free agent Evan Rodrigues today to a two-year deal with a $650,000 AAV. The first year of the deal is a two-way contract for the waiver's exempt Rodrigues and will pay him the same $650K salary whether he plays in Rochester or Buffalo, according to CapFriendly. The second year is a one-way deal.
Rodrigues signed with the Sabres as a free agent out of Boston University in 2015 after riding shotgun on Jack Eichel's wing for the Terriers. Rodrigues finished second in the league in scoring (to Eichel) that season with 54 points (18+36) in 35 games for BU while adding three goals and six assists in six post season games. The Terriers reached the NCAA championship game that year but lost to the Providence Friars in the Frozen Four Final.
One could easily think that the Rodrigues signing was a nod by then GM Tim Murray to Eichel as the Sabres were set him second-overall two months later. There were also those weren't sure if Rodrigues could stand alone without Eichel. After a slow start to his first pro campaign, Rodrigues showed the same skills he displayed in college. It took him 17 games to record his first goal for the Amerks and he only had three assists in the process. He tallied eight more goals and 18 more assists the rest of the way as he got a better feel for the way the pro game was played. He also got a taste of the NHL that year recording a goal and an assists in two games for the Sabres.
Rodrigues didn't look out of place in Buffalo for those two games and he took that experience with him back to Rochester for the 2016-17 season. He ended up with the exact same Amerks stat line of nine goals and 21 assists but did so in only 48 games as opposed to 72 the prior season. He also played in 30 games for the Sabres scoring four goals and adding two assists.
Although drafted as a winger, Rodrigues found himself playing center, often times playing both, sometimes within the same game. After one game in Columbus (a 4-3 loss) where he scored the first goal of the game (and the first one on the Blue Jackets Sergei Bobrovsky in 182:50), he was asked by a reporter if it was an easy transition for him. "I've been doing it all year," he replied. "There's no real difficulty in that. You're either taking draws or you're not."
Probably more difficult for him than switching positions was an AHL environment where the structure isn't there an oft times players aren't where they should be. Rodrigues has a strong hockey IQ and he told me later in that same post-game interview about the differences in the two leagues. "The players around here (the NHL) are really smart up here," he said. "I've been able to kind of read off of them and play my game." When asked if it was more structured he said, "Yeah, a little bit. I think that's what I'm kind of taking advantage of, knowing where guys are going to be. And I'm playing with good players too so both of those things together are working in my favor."
With the Rodrigues signing, Sabres GM Jason Botterill has only two more restricted free agents to re-sign--F, Zemgus Girgensons and D, Nathan Beaulieu who has an arbitration case scheduled for August 4.
As for Rodrigues, there are openings in the Sabres forward group and although we're not sure he has the chops yet to run shotgun again on Eichel's wing, he's certainly developed well enough to make a strong push for a spot amongst the top-12 forwards. If he doesn't make it, expectations are high for him to have an impact season in Rochester.
The Sabres re-signed restricted free agent Evan Rodrigues today to a two-year deal with a $650,000 AAV. The first year of the deal is a two-way contract for the waiver's exempt Rodrigues and will pay him the same $650K salary whether he plays in Rochester or Buffalo, according to CapFriendly. The second year is a one-way deal.
Rodrigues signed with the Sabres as a free agent out of Boston University in 2015 after riding shotgun on Jack Eichel's wing for the Terriers. Rodrigues finished second in the league in scoring (to Eichel) that season with 54 points (18+36) in 35 games for BU while adding three goals and six assists in six post season games. The Terriers reached the NCAA championship game that year but lost to the Providence Friars in the Frozen Four Final.
One could easily think that the Rodrigues signing was a nod by then GM Tim Murray to Eichel as the Sabres were set him second-overall two months later. There were also those weren't sure if Rodrigues could stand alone without Eichel. After a slow start to his first pro campaign, Rodrigues showed the same skills he displayed in college. It took him 17 games to record his first goal for the Amerks and he only had three assists in the process. He tallied eight more goals and 18 more assists the rest of the way as he got a better feel for the way the pro game was played. He also got a taste of the NHL that year recording a goal and an assists in two games for the Sabres.
Rodrigues didn't look out of place in Buffalo for those two games and he took that experience with him back to Rochester for the 2016-17 season. He ended up with the exact same Amerks stat line of nine goals and 21 assists but did so in only 48 games as opposed to 72 the prior season. He also played in 30 games for the Sabres scoring four goals and adding two assists.
Although drafted as a winger, Rodrigues found himself playing center, often times playing both, sometimes within the same game. After one game in Columbus (a 4-3 loss) where he scored the first goal of the game (and the first one on the Blue Jackets Sergei Bobrovsky in 182:50), he was asked by a reporter if it was an easy transition for him. "I've been doing it all year," he replied. "There's no real difficulty in that. You're either taking draws or you're not."
Probably more difficult for him than switching positions was an AHL environment where the structure isn't there an oft times players aren't where they should be. Rodrigues has a strong hockey IQ and he told me later in that same post-game interview about the differences in the two leagues. "The players around here (the NHL) are really smart up here," he said. "I've been able to kind of read off of them and play my game." When asked if it was more structured he said, "Yeah, a little bit. I think that's what I'm kind of taking advantage of, knowing where guys are going to be. And I'm playing with good players too so both of those things together are working in my favor."
With the Rodrigues signing, Sabres GM Jason Botterill has only two more restricted free agents to re-sign--F, Zemgus Girgensons and D, Nathan Beaulieu who has an arbitration case scheduled for August 4.
As for Rodrigues, there are openings in the Sabres forward group and although we're not sure he has the chops yet to run shotgun again on Eichel's wing, he's certainly developed well enough to make a strong push for a spot amongst the top-12 forwards. If he doesn't make it, expectations are high for him to have an impact season in Rochester.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
"Prime Years" recap of the Sabres drafts from 2005-09
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-26-2017
In a previous series from August, 2015 we looked at the five Sabres drafts from 2005-2009 and how they affected the team years later when those players would be in, or would be entering, their prime playing years.
Here are the links for each draft covered in the series:
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Buffalo selected 37 players during those years and at the time of the series only two--Tyler Ennis (2008, 26th-overall) and Marcus Foligno (2009, 104th)--were still on the Sabres roster. Of Buffalo's five first round picks from those years, the Sabres whiffed on two as neither Marek Zagrapan (2005, 13th) or Dennis Persson (2006, 24th) played a game in the NHL. Zack Kassian (2009, 13th) played in only 27 games for the Sabres before he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 2012.
The best of Buffalo's first-rounders from that group were Tyler Myers (2008, 12th) and Ennis. Myers spent one more season in junior after the draft and hit the NHL in a big way. He had a banner 2009-10 season scoring 48 points (11+37) in 82 games and took home the Calder Trophy for NHL Rookie of the year. However, that would be the high-water mark in Buffalo for the 6'8" 229 lb. defenseman. With his production steadily declining and injuries beginning to enter into the equation, Myers was part of the 2014 Evander Kane blockbuster trade with Winnipeg. His final totals in Buffalo: 365 games, 45 goals, 105 assists and a minus-31 plus/minus rating.
Ennis was the last man standing from that group and was with the Sabres until new GM Jason Botterill shipped him and Foligno to the Minnesota Wild in the Marco Scandella deal on June 30, 2017. The 5'9" 170 lb. Ennis had jitterbug qualities and was fun to watch. He won the AHL's Red Garrett Award for Rookie of the Year for 2009-10 and made an impact later that season with nine points (3+6) in 10 games for the Sabres. Ennis would hit the 20-goal mark three times in the ensuing five seasons and was on pace for 20 goals in his injury-shortened 2011-12 season as well as the 2012-12 lockout-shortened season. Much was expected of him but injuries derailed his career in Buffalo. He played in only 74 games over the last two seasons and finished his career in Buffalo with 97 goals and 139 assists in 419 games.
Of the remaining picks from those years, no player other than the two Tylers have played in more than 400 NHL games and of the 37 picks, 21 never made it to the NHL. Five played less than 100 games, only two other than Myers and Ennis have scored 50 or more goals and only three other than the Tylers have totaled more than 100 points.
When Tim Murray was hired by Buffalo in January, 2014, there was a gaping hole in their roster as that group of players would have been at various points of their prime playing years. With the team in transition as it traded away the veteran core group, there was no one left to take their place. The new GM with a long scouting background had said that he was looking at bringing in young-vets in the 24-26 yr. old range to help take the heat off of the top picks they were about to draft.
Murray traded for Zach Bogosian (2008, 3rd,) Kane (2008, 4th,) Ryan O'Reilly (2009, 33rd) and Robin Lehner (2009, 46th.) Before Buffalo, defenseman Bogosian played in 393 games for the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise notching 127 points (40+87) and had a minus-38 plus/minus rating. Kane had played in 361 games for Atlanta/Winnipeg scoring 221 points (109+113) in 361 games while O'Reilly had 246 points (90+156) in 427 games for the Colorado Avalanche. Goalie Robin Lehner played in 86 games for the Ottawa Senators before coming to Buffalo. All were right in the age range Murray was looking for.
Buffalo no longer has any of their draft picks in that range after the trade that sent Ennis and Foligno to the Wild which means that the Sabres have no homegrown player on the team drafted prior to 2012. Jason Pominville was drafted by Buffalo but he was traded to Minnesota and although he came back as a part of the Ennis/Foligno/Scandella trade, the longest tenured Sabre and oldest of the draft picks right now is Zemgus Girgensons who was drafted 14th-overall in the 2012 NHL Draft.
Next we'll look at Buffalo's 2010 Draft which came up woefully empty save for one player. The players from that draft class are considered to be in their primes right now as they're all right around 25 yrs. old. After that we'll look at the 2011 Draft where the Sabres didn't fare much better. Until then, here's a list of Buffalo draft picks from 2005-09 that played in the NHL ranked by total number of NHL games played in their careers.
D, Myers--473
F, Ennis--419
F, Nathan Gerbe (2005, 142nd)--394
D, Chris Butler (2005, 96th)--388
D, Mike Weber (2006, 57th)--351
F, Foligno--347
F, Kassian--313
F, Paul Byron (2007, 179th)--281
D, Brayden McNabb (2009, 66th)--238
G, Jonas Enroth (2006, 46th)--153
F, Corey Tropp (2007, 89th)--149
D, Alex Biega (2006, 147th)--94
F, Luke Adam (2008, 44th)--90
D, Marc-Andre Gragnani (2005, 87th)--78
D, TJ Brennan (2007, 31st)--53
G, Connor Knapp (2009, 164th)--2
In a previous series from August, 2015 we looked at the five Sabres drafts from 2005-2009 and how they affected the team years later when those players would be in, or would be entering, their prime playing years.
Here are the links for each draft covered in the series:
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Buffalo selected 37 players during those years and at the time of the series only two--Tyler Ennis (2008, 26th-overall) and Marcus Foligno (2009, 104th)--were still on the Sabres roster. Of Buffalo's five first round picks from those years, the Sabres whiffed on two as neither Marek Zagrapan (2005, 13th) or Dennis Persson (2006, 24th) played a game in the NHL. Zack Kassian (2009, 13th) played in only 27 games for the Sabres before he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 2012.
The best of Buffalo's first-rounders from that group were Tyler Myers (2008, 12th) and Ennis. Myers spent one more season in junior after the draft and hit the NHL in a big way. He had a banner 2009-10 season scoring 48 points (11+37) in 82 games and took home the Calder Trophy for NHL Rookie of the year. However, that would be the high-water mark in Buffalo for the 6'8" 229 lb. defenseman. With his production steadily declining and injuries beginning to enter into the equation, Myers was part of the 2014 Evander Kane blockbuster trade with Winnipeg. His final totals in Buffalo: 365 games, 45 goals, 105 assists and a minus-31 plus/minus rating.
Ennis was the last man standing from that group and was with the Sabres until new GM Jason Botterill shipped him and Foligno to the Minnesota Wild in the Marco Scandella deal on June 30, 2017. The 5'9" 170 lb. Ennis had jitterbug qualities and was fun to watch. He won the AHL's Red Garrett Award for Rookie of the Year for 2009-10 and made an impact later that season with nine points (3+6) in 10 games for the Sabres. Ennis would hit the 20-goal mark three times in the ensuing five seasons and was on pace for 20 goals in his injury-shortened 2011-12 season as well as the 2012-12 lockout-shortened season. Much was expected of him but injuries derailed his career in Buffalo. He played in only 74 games over the last two seasons and finished his career in Buffalo with 97 goals and 139 assists in 419 games.
Of the remaining picks from those years, no player other than the two Tylers have played in more than 400 NHL games and of the 37 picks, 21 never made it to the NHL. Five played less than 100 games, only two other than Myers and Ennis have scored 50 or more goals and only three other than the Tylers have totaled more than 100 points.
When Tim Murray was hired by Buffalo in January, 2014, there was a gaping hole in their roster as that group of players would have been at various points of their prime playing years. With the team in transition as it traded away the veteran core group, there was no one left to take their place. The new GM with a long scouting background had said that he was looking at bringing in young-vets in the 24-26 yr. old range to help take the heat off of the top picks they were about to draft.
Murray traded for Zach Bogosian (2008, 3rd,) Kane (2008, 4th,) Ryan O'Reilly (2009, 33rd) and Robin Lehner (2009, 46th.) Before Buffalo, defenseman Bogosian played in 393 games for the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise notching 127 points (40+87) and had a minus-38 plus/minus rating. Kane had played in 361 games for Atlanta/Winnipeg scoring 221 points (109+113) in 361 games while O'Reilly had 246 points (90+156) in 427 games for the Colorado Avalanche. Goalie Robin Lehner played in 86 games for the Ottawa Senators before coming to Buffalo. All were right in the age range Murray was looking for.
Buffalo no longer has any of their draft picks in that range after the trade that sent Ennis and Foligno to the Wild which means that the Sabres have no homegrown player on the team drafted prior to 2012. Jason Pominville was drafted by Buffalo but he was traded to Minnesota and although he came back as a part of the Ennis/Foligno/Scandella trade, the longest tenured Sabre and oldest of the draft picks right now is Zemgus Girgensons who was drafted 14th-overall in the 2012 NHL Draft.
Next we'll look at Buffalo's 2010 Draft which came up woefully empty save for one player. The players from that draft class are considered to be in their primes right now as they're all right around 25 yrs. old. After that we'll look at the 2011 Draft where the Sabres didn't fare much better. Until then, here's a list of Buffalo draft picks from 2005-09 that played in the NHL ranked by total number of NHL games played in their careers.
D, Myers--473
F, Ennis--419
F, Nathan Gerbe (2005, 142nd)--394
D, Chris Butler (2005, 96th)--388
D, Mike Weber (2006, 57th)--351
F, Foligno--347
F, Kassian--313
F, Paul Byron (2007, 179th)--281
D, Brayden McNabb (2009, 66th)--238
G, Jonas Enroth (2006, 46th)--153
F, Corey Tropp (2007, 89th)--149
D, Alex Biega (2006, 147th)--94
F, Luke Adam (2008, 44th)--90
D, Marc-Andre Gragnani (2005, 87th)--78
D, TJ Brennan (2007, 31st)--53
G, Connor Knapp (2009, 164th)--2
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