A Sabrecentric recap plus a little food for thought on this Fourth of July

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-4-2018


The Buffalo Sabres opted to follow a defense-heavy/Swede-heavy 2018 NHL Draft by jumping into development camp earlier than normal. Sabres D-Camp was usually scheduled after the Fourth of July but this year it was moved up to the last weekend in June, which happened to butt up against the start of free agency. That, along with the trade of Ryan O'Reilly made for a very busy week.

Some things may have been missed in the process so what better time to play a little ketchup today as we munch on our All-American burgers and enjoy fireworks.

A quick recap of the draft had the Sabres and GM Jason Botterill taking five defensemen out of six picks, three of them being from Sweden and one with Swedish heritage. The parade of Swedes was lead by first overall pick D, Rasmus Dahlin followed later by the picks of defensemen Linus Lindstrand Cronholm (4th round) and William Worge Kreu (7th.) Hulking defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (2nd) was born in the U.S. and played in the USHL for the National Development Program. He is the son of former NHL d-man Kjell Samuelsson who was born in Sweden.

The Sabres selected Czech-native Matej Pekar, a center who played in the USHL, with the first pick of the fourth round and with their first pick in the seventh round they took defenseman Miska Kukkonen out of Finland.

Interesting to note that for the second year in a row under Botterill, the Sabres did not select a player from the Canadian Hockey League. Botterill's reasoning was that for later round picks, players attending college or playing overseas allows for more development time. "In a scenario where you have an extended period of four years (as opposed to two years for CHL players,)" he said at the draft, "in most situations for Europeans or college players it allows you more opportunity to develop."

All six of those draft picks were on the ice last week for D-camp.

One thing we were able to see at camp right off the bat was just how great a skater Dahlin is. For those of us who couldn't make it out to HarborCenter, there were tweets galore showing Dahlin almost effortlessly glide through drills. We also had the opportunity to see Dahlin level Pekar with a check after the feisty Czech was said to have delivered a cheap shot to the franchise defenseman.

Here's a quick shot of that hit thanks to Highlight Haven:





Sabres development camp is what the name says it is as it's mainly about teaching young players how to be professionals and getting them acclimated to the work involved at the professional level. Players from five different draft classes with Eric Cornel being the farthest reaching (2014, 44th-overall.) But it isn't all about drills as they do have some competitive fun as the camp closes with the annual French Connection 3-on-3 Tournament.

Four teams with nine players each played a round-robin to determine seeding for the semi-finals with the winner of the semi-final rounds playing for the championship.

The tournament was streamed live via sabres.com.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-4-2018


For the second year in a row, Casey Mittelstadt (2017, 8th) and his Team Martin (White) won the tournament. Mittelstadt must have learned something from the previous year as his team hit the win column until the final round robin game. They dismissed of Team Robert (Gray) in the semi-final and Team Perreault (Navy) in the finals.

Mittelstadt was the star of the show but it wasn't without some peril as Pekar hounded the hell out of him in their round-robin match. It got to the point where sticks were raised between the two and with a lot of in your face intensity. Pekar's focus on Mittelstadt frustrated the talented center but come the semi finals, Pekar laid off (perhaps at the insistence of management) and Mittelstadt was allowed to more fully play his game.

Pekar drew comparisons to Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand who's known as "The little ball of hate" as he's got a gadfly-like intensity that annoys the hell out of people. In addition to that, Pekar did have his moment of revenge against Dahlin in the tournament's first game as he smoked the defenseman with a nifty deek at the right dot and proceeded to send a wicked wrister far-side.

Defenseman Brendan Guhle (2015, 51st) was drafted for his skating and athleticism and was a man amongst boys as he breezed across the ice in a display of skating that was awe-inspiring. His finish wasn't quite there but he showed the type of talents that have him on the cusp of full-time NHL duty.

Other notes:

--Goalie Hunter Shepard was a camp invite and wowed the crowd with a spectacular display of goaltending in Team Robert's second game. Although the 6'0' 205 lb. Minnesota-Duluth junior is a bit small by today's goalie standards he impressed to the point where an eye should be kept on him once he finishes his college career.

--Rasmus Asplund was the object of former GM Tim Murray's desire in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft held in Buffalo. Since selecting him 33rd overall fans in Sabreland have been getting reports about a strong two-way player who's got a great feel for what's happening around him and that's what we saw 3-on-3.

--Winger Victor Olofsson (2014, 181st) was off the radar in Sabreland for three years until his breakout season in Sweden last year. His 29 goals lead the league and we had the opportunity to see his wicked shot during the 3-on-3. It's impressive.

--When the name Max Afinogenov is invoked, one thinks of a fast, dart-like skater who make a lot happen on the ice and that's what we saw with Vasily Glotov (2016, 190th.) Glotov was a wizard with his skating and had some finish, but did a lot of chopping with not a lot of chips flying.

--Undrafted left-winger Pascal Aquin was signed by the Rochester Americans in early May. The 6'1" 185 lb. native of Le Gardeur, Quebec was consistently in the mix throughout as he displayed plenty of speed and moves while also scoring the lone shootout goal in the Championship Game.

There were others who made a strong impression from goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (2017, 54th) to free agent signee Andrew Oglevie (2018, Notre Dame) to fellow free agent Lawrence Pilut (2018, SHL) to, of course Dahlin who simply wowed even without scoring much.


French Connection Tournament Highlights via sabres.com

*****

Botterill and the Sabres have had a busy off season dating back to early June when they relinquished the rights 2016 draft picks Vojtech Budik (130th,) Brandon Hagel (159th) and Buffalo native Austin Osmanski (189th.)

Buffalo signed three players from that 2016 draft class--Alexander Nylander (8th,) Asplund and Cliff Pu (69th)--to their entry-level deals while Casey Fitzgerald (86th) and Brett Murray (99th) are still in college with Philip Nyberg (129th) continuing his development playing in Sweden.

Also signed to his entry-level deal was Luukkonen.

Botterill and company also qualified six restricted free agents:  Justin Bailey (2013, 52nd,) Nicholas Baptiste (2013, 69th,) Sean Malone (2013, 159th,) Sam Reinhart (2014, 2nd,) C.J. Smith (2017, FA) and Danny O'Regan (2012, 138th, SJS) who came over from the San Jose Sharks in the Evander Kane deal.

The Sabres did not qualify a trio lead by last year's starting goaltender. Robin Lehner was arbitration-eligible and was allowed to walk, He recently singed with the NY Islanders. Russian free agent Victor Antipin was released and after searching for a home in the NHL, will head back to the KHL. Scott Wilson wasn't qualified but the Sabres signed him to a two-year deal on July 1, the start of free agency.


*****

Speaking of free agency, Botterill went to work filling a few holes in the organization when he signed UFA goalie Carter Hutton to a team friendly three-year deal. Hutton was a starter for the St. Louis Blues last season. They also landed another goalie to take the reigns in Rochester as Scott Wedgewood signed a one-year, two-way deal with Buffalo.

Defenseman Brandon Hickey was signed to his entry-level deal on July 1 as well. Hickey came to Buffalo in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes that saw Hudson Fasching head to the desert.

Hickey was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 3rd round (64th) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The 6'2" 204 lb. puck-mover spent a full four years at Boston University which included playing with present Sabres Jack Eichel, Evan Rodrigues and O'Regan. During that time his rights were traded to Arizona as part of the Mike Smith deal.

The acquisition and signing of Hickey adds more depth to the prospect pool and a quality defenseman for the Rochester Americans.


*****

Botterill did some wheelin' and dealin' in addition to the Fasching/Hickey deal as he continued to mold the Sabres to his liking. Between the draft and the start of free agency, Botterill hooked up with his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, to land LW Conor Sheary along with D, Matt Hunwick.

Sheary was traded for to help fill a gaping hole at left wing for the Sabres while Hunwick may end up in Rochester.

But that trades and the moves before were small change compared to the blockbuster O'Reilly trade. Botterill moved O'Reilly, a player that just didn't seem to fit with where he wanted the team to go, to St. Louis for a lottery-protected first rounder, a second rounder, prospect Tage Thompson and veterans Patrick Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka.

The trade, which was consummated on July 1, firmly put Botterill's stamp on his club.



Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July celebration.

Players to watch at Sabres development camp--Rasmus Dahlin...(and)

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-27-2018


Workouts begin today at HarborCenter for the Buffalo Sabres Development Camp.

Here's the schedule via sabres.com:

Wednesday, June 27:  2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m.
Thursday, June 28: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Friday, June 29: 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. and 10:45 to 11:45 a.m.
Saturday, June 30: French Connection Tournament: 10:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Forty-two players are scheduled to be in attendance including 2018 first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin as well as Buffalo's other five draftees from this past weekend:

--LHD Mattias Samuelsson, 32nd-overall
--C Matej Pekar, 94th
--LHD Linus Lindstrand Cronholm, 117th
--RHD Miska Kukkonen, 125th
--LHD William Worge Kreu, 187th

Center Eric Cornell represents the ranking member of the 2014 draft class as he was selected 44th-overall that year while Worge Kreu, as the last pick in for Buffalo in the 2018 draft, represents the newest member.

Cornel is amongst eight players who played at the pro-level last season while GM Jason Botterill, AGM Randy Sexton and Co. invited 12 undrafted players, two of which have already been signed by the Rochester Americans to AHL contracts--LW, Pascal Aquin (Charlottetown, QMJHL) and D, Tobie Paquette-Bisson (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL.) The invitees include six wingers, four defensemen and two goalies.

Outside of the eight who played at the pro level and the invitees, the breakdown of where the rest of the prospects played can be found here. Ten players attended college last year, nine played overseas, two (Samuelsson and Pekar) played in the USHL and one player, Cliff Pu, was in Canadian Junior.

Having said that, it's probably best to remember that this is a development camp and not training camp. Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen put it this way when talking about his camp. “I’ve always said this: ‘It’s not an evaluation camp in July. It’s an educational camp — fun, teaching what it means to be a pro," he told the Columbus Dispatch. "We’ll evaluate them when we get to hockey season. Not in July.”

Which is how it should be as players are coming in from all areas of the world having finished their seasons at different time and having vastly different periods away for team workouts and on-ice competition.

However, the Sabres brass and those in attendance will come away from the workouts and eventual 3-on-3 with some thoughts on these prospects and where they might be later this summer and into the fall. We're very familiar with the likes of Casey Mittelstadt and Brendan Guhle, who will take on more of a leadership role for this group, but there are others who have plenty of intrigue surrounding them, as well as another group that are looking to make a great impression. Here are some players to look at during this week's Sabres Development Camp.


LHD, Rasmus Dahlin

Obviously. Sabreland will get the opportunity to watch some of the traits that make him so special, like his skating and stickwork and in the 3-on-3 they'll be able to see how he navigates in tight areas.


LW, Alexander Nylander

With him it will be his size and the shape that he's in. Everything is critical for him right now in the eyes of the organization.  “Probably the most important offseason of training in his young life, really,” Sexton said to the gathered media post-draft on Saturday. “It’s critical for him.”

We know he has the skill, which will be on display, but where's that compete. Hopefully we'll see
some of that in the 3-on-3.


LW, Victor Olofsson

Will be great to see first-hand just what kind of sniping ability the SHL's leading goal-scorer last season has


LHD, Lawrence Pilut

Pilut signed with Buffalo after winning the Swedish Hockey League's Defenseman of the Year Award. This camp will be more about his skating and stickwork as opposed to the way he loves to jump into the play in games.


RHD, Casey Fitzgerald

The right side on defense will have openings in the near future and the offensive-minded Fitzgerald has had his name brought up by Sabres brass recently. For him it will be if he's improved upon his skating which was pretty solid to begin with. Botterill and Co. will get the opportunity to see if he's improved in those areas and hopefully can figure out why his overall numbers have dropped since his banner freshman season of 27 points (4+23) in 39 games with a plus-27 rating for Boston College (Hockey East.)


RHD, Will Borgen

Another d-man who has opportunity in front of him on the right side of the defense corps. Borgen got a good taste of the AHL this year while playing in eight games for the Amerks after leaving St. Cloud State early. The defensive defenseman is an excellent skater and he keeps it simple in his own end. Maneuverability in tight should be his focus although he should be able to handle any of the forwards thrown at him in competitive drills.


G, Jonas Johansson

As part of the 2014 draft class, Johansson is one of the "elder statesmen" of camp. The 6'5" 214 lb. Johansson made the move to North America full time last season and struggled while spending most of his time in the ECHL. Last year's backup to Linus Ullmark, Adam Wilcox, just re-signed with Rochester and looks to be the starter. Unless Johansson can make an impression, beginning this week.


LW, Linus Weissbach

Enjoy his hands and skating ability. The seventh-rounder (2017, 192nd) continued to impress after making the jump from Tri-City of the USHL (19g, 28a in 49 games) to the University of Wisconsin
where he scored 26 points (10+16) in 34 Big-10 games.


D, Griffin Luce

Staying in the Big-10, Luce has the bloodlines (grandfather Don Luce is a former Sabre) and some impressive size (6'3" 214 lbs.) When his Michigan Wolverines played Mittelstadt and his Minnesota Golden Gophers, Luce was relentless in his pursuit and coverage of Buffalo's 2017 first-rounder showing the ability to stay with talented players. A solid player with definite hockey tools.


C, Cliff Pu

Pu is back again and look for him to take charge in his third development camp. The 6'2" 191 lb. center just signed his entry-level deal after working on his all-around game in the OHL this season.

Rasmus Dahlin and fellow prospects hit the ice tomorrow for Sabres D-Camp.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-26-2018


There's a lot of love being thrown around Washington Street these days. Everyone in Sabreland loved the fact that the lottery was kind, giving Buffalo the first overall pick this year, Buffalo fans love what their seeing in the future as defenseman Rasmus Dahlin joins center Jack Eichel as cornerstones of the franchise and Dahlin himself said he loves the fans and Buffalo as well.

"Yeah, they are great fans. I heard so many great things about them," said Dahlin post-draft to the gathered media. "Like they love hockey in that city and I can see that, when they come to me, they know me and I don’t even play in the NHL. So they probably love hockey. So, yeah, I’ve heard so many great things about them. I’m super excited to meet all the fans.

"I've been like finally -- put on the Buffalo Sabres jersey. I've been [to Buffalo] twice and I love that city.  I can't wait to get everything started."

Dahlin has all kinds of love, beginning with the game he plays. "I love to play hockey and why put pressure when you can paly the game that you love."

The cool part about Dahlin's selection, which came after the tank, the drafting of Eichel and 2014 second-overall pick Sam Reinhart, the coaching changes and the fall back to the bottom of the league, is that through it all, he's not the lone centerpiece of a rebuild. As GM Jason Botterill said at Dahlin's introductory press conference yesterday, "We're excited about our young players such as Jack (Eichel) Sam (Reinhart), Rasmus Ristolainen," Botterill told the gathered media yesterday. "He can be part of this group to grow together. We certainly have to have better results on the ice. But in communicating with other players, they're certainly excited to bring Rasmus into our group here and just how they can grow together as a core.

"He doesn't need to be the savior."

Conspicuously omitted from that core was the name Ryan O'Reilly. The center has been the subject of trade rumors for much of the off season so perhaps there was a bit of a Freudian slip there. Or perhaps when Botterill was talking "core" it was simply that the 27 yr. old O'Reilly didn't enter his thought-process when grouping those young players who are all 23 or younger.

Regardless, the cool part is that there is core, and a very talented one at that, whom Botterill will build around.

The Sabres do have some players already on the team that they will be moving forward with and some young players with pro experience who may make the jump to the big club or might be very close. Botterill's core plus those groupings will make up the team near-term but the future, after Eichel, Dahlin, et al, really centers around the prospects and they'll be in town this week for Sabres Development Camp this week.

Originally a rather quiet affair that took place in early July at Dwyer Arena, tucked away on the campus of Niagara University in Niagara Falls, NY, the camp has evolved into an event. With owner Terry Pegula pumping huge money into HarborCenter and all it's first class facilities, the team made moved camp to downtown Buffalo.

The structure of the camp has changed as well. As usual, the on-ice workouts are there over a three-day period but the team put an emphasis on the annual three-on-three tournament as it's keynote event. Prior to last season, the big event was the Blue and Gold Scrimmage which took place on the fourth day of camp and saw 17,115 fans come out on a hot July day to watch Eichel on the ice in 2015. The following year it was moved to HarborCenter where some 1,600 fans attended and last year the scrimmage was eliminated.

The three-on-three tournament was always on the final day and was geared more towards the hockey department than the casual fan and as of last year, The French Connection Tournament, as the three-on-three tourney was named, took center stage as the closing event. The event will take place at 10:45 am on Saturday and will be streamed live on Sabres.com.

A total of 42 prospects are scheduled to hit the ice beginning tomorrow including all six players selected at the 2018 NHL Draft as well as camp invitees.

The list (Jersey number, Position, Name, League[s] last year, Drafted, **2017 Camp attendee)

Pro

46--C, Eric Cornel (AHL) 2014, 44th-overall **
34--G, Jonas Johansson (ECHL, AHL) 2014 61st **
45--D, Brendan Guhle (AHL, NHL) 2015, 51st **
43--D, Will Borgen (NCAA, AHL) 2015, 92nd, **
53--D, Devante Stephens (ECHL, AHL) 2015, 122nd **
92--LW, Alexander Nylander (AHL) 2016, 8th, **
83--C, Vasily Goltov (QMJHL, ECHL, AHL) 2016, 190th **
37--C, Casey Mittelstadt (NCAA, NHL) 2017, 8th **


College

44--D, Brandon Hickey (Boston U., H-East)  2014, 64th (CGY)
57--C, Max Willman (Brown, ECAC) 2014, 121nd  **
77--C, Christopher Brown (Boston College, H-East)  2014, 151st **
48--D, Ivan Chukarov (UMass, NCAC)  2015, 182nd  **
56--D, Casey Fitzgerald (Boston College, H-East) 2016, 86th  **
81--LW, Brett Murray (Penn State, Big-10) 2016, 99th **
86--D, Philip Nyberg (UConn, H-East) 2016, 129th  **
73--D, Jacob Bryson (Providence, H-East) 2017, 99th  **
63--LW, Linus Weissbach (Wisconsin, Big-10) 2017, 192nd**
52--C, Andrew Ogilvie (Notre Dame, H-East) 2018 FA


CHL

59--RW, Cliff Pu (London/Kingston, OHL) 2016, 69th  **


Overseas

61--LW, Victor Olofsson (Frolunda, SHL) 2014, 181st  **
74--C, Rasmus Asplund (Farjestad, SHL) 2016, 33rd  **
62--C, Marcus Davidsson (Djurgardens, SuperElit, SHL) 2017 37th  **
01--G, Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen (LeKi, Metsis/HPK, SM-Liiga) 2017 54th  **
10--D, Lawrence Pilut (HV-71, SHL)  2018 FA
26--D, Rasmus Dahlin (Frolunda, SuperElit, SHL) 2018 1st
65--D, Linus Lindstrand Cronholm (Malmo U-18, SuperElit)  2018 117th
41--D, Miska Kuukonen (Ives U-20, Jr. A, SM-Liiga) 2018 125th
67--D, William Worge Kreu (Linkoping U-18, SuperElit)  2018 187th



USA Hockey

42--C, Matej Pekar (Muskegon, USHL) 2018 94th
85--D, Mattias Samuelsson (U.S. NTDP, USHL) 2018 32nd


Camp Invitees

76--LW, Pascal Aquin (Charlottetown, QMJHL) FA, Rochester
24--RW, Vito Bavaro (Sacred Heart, NCAA)
54--Brandon Biro (Penn State, Big-10)
38--RW, Cole Coskey (Saginaw, OHL)
51--RW, Max Patterson (Swift Current, WHL)
75--LW, Joe Snively (Yale, ECAC)
58--D, Griffin Luce (Michigan, Big-10)
72--D, Connor Mackey (Minnesota State, WCHA)
70--Tobie Paquette-Bisson (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL) FA, Rochester
78--Andrew Peski (Univ. of North Dakota, NCHC)
50--G, Jake Keilly (Clarkson, ECAC)
33--G, Hunter Shepard (Minnesota-Duluth, NCHC)