Where's the bottom for this Buffalo Sabres franchise?

In 1956 the New York Football Giants won the NFL Championship and for five of the next six seasons they made it to the NFL championship game only to lose. Regardless of that fact the Giants were considered a model franchise but after their 14-10 loss to the Chicago Bears in the 1963 championship game, New York went 17 consecutive seasons without making the playoffs and got progressively worse (4-23-1 in 1973 and '74 combined) before stagnating well below the .500 mark until the 80's.

Football fans largely ignored the Giants and in a pre-ESPN era where game highlights were mainly shown via local news broadcasts and in Sunday pre-game or halftime shows (think Monday Night Football with a national audience,) out of sight, out of mind. As the New York football Giants continued floundering through another lost season, just when you thought it couldn't get worse, it did. On November 19, 1978 with New York up 17-12 over the Philadelphia Eagles late in the game, the 'brain'-trust on the sideline scoffed at the thought of kneeling to run out the clock and 'boldly' decided to run a complicated play. Quarterback Joe Pisarcik's handoff to Larry Csonka was flubbed and Eagles cornerback Herm Edwards scooped up the fumble for the winning touchdown.

Why this story in a blog about the Buffalo Sabres?

It's about finding the bottom.

What Buffalo's lineup might look like in 2021 w/extra goalie + taxi squad

The National Hockey League is really trying to get things rolling on January 13 and their tentative agreement with the NHL Players Association is a big step in that direction. Yesterday it was announced that plans are in the works for a 56-game season with training camps set to open January 3 for the 24 teams that made the 2020 NHL Playoffs. The seven teams that missed out would open camps on December 31 giving them very little but still very necessary time to shake off nine months of cobwebs. 

That means the Buffalo Sabres can hit the ice on New Year's Eve.

Some other notes via TSN's Frank Seravalli:

--there will be no exhibition games

--the season is tentatively set to end May 8 with the Stanley Cup being awarded the first week in July

--there are still some snags which includes ratification by the NHL Board of Governors and the NHLPA and what will happen with the five Canadian Provinces and any Covid-19 restrictions which will affect the "All-Canadian" division for this season

Also from Servalli, in addition to player escrow and salary deferrals agreed upon by the two sides:

--players may choose to opt out of the 2020-21 season

--no change to the rosters as they will be capped at 23 men with an $81.5 million salary cap

--a maximum of 29 players will be allowed to practice and travel with the club which includes the 23-man roster plus four to six members (number decided by the club) for the team's "taxi squad," which must include a goalie

--taxi squad players will be treated as if they were in the American Hockey League:  they will need to clear waivers to be "sent down" and they will be paid an AHL salary if on a two-way deal

As of now the four divisions remain as laid out pending Canadian decisions on pandemic travel and restrictions. For the Sabres that means a division featuring:  Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals. And, from Elliotte Friedman this morning on twitter, "playoffs will be top four in each division -- each division produces a champion for the Stanley Cup Semifinal."

That's a huge "ouch!" for the Sabres as they're trying to break a league-long, nine-year playoff drought in what might be the toughest of four divisions.

With that said, hockey's coming and Buffalo will be icing a team and this is what the roster and taxi squad might look like:

Taylor Hall - Jack Eichel - Sam Reinhart

Jeff Skinner - Eric Staal - Dylan Cozens

Victor Olofsson - Cody Eakin - Kyle Okposo

Zemgus Girgensons - Curtis Lazar - Tobias Rieder 

Rasmus Dahlin - Henri Jokiharju

Brandon Montour - Rasmus Ristolainen

Jake McCabe - Henri Jokiharju

Linus Ullmark

Carter Hutton

Those are the 20 givens with training camp and/or waivers-eligibility deciding the other three roster spots and the four to six man taxi squad.

We'll begin filling out the roster with Tage Thompson who is no longer waivers-exempt so he'll be on the 23-man roster and add in Rasmus Asplund who played one and a half seasons in Rochester plus 29 games for the Sabres last year. Asplund also played for Vasteras IK in Sweden's second-tier professional hockey league. Buffalo signed veteran defenseman Matt Irwin to a one-year deal.

The taxi squad will be interesting as the team will probably opt to keep young players in the NHL for proper development. If we start with the mandatory third goalie, the Sabres will probably assign 31 yr. old Dustin Tokarski to the taxi squad. The veteran goalie is on a two-year, two-way deal and should easily clear waivers. That would allow 25 yr. old Jonas Johansson another year in the minors to further develop.

Center Artuu Routsalainen was off to a roaring start for Ilves of Finland's top league, Liiga. The 2019 free agent signee has 27 points (16+11) in only 19 games and should be making a strong push for a roster spot during camp.

Andrew Oglevie is set to begin his third pro season after two partial seasons with the Rochester Americans. The 25 yr. old forward is on a two-way deal and produced 39 points (20+19) in 83 games for the Amerks over two seasons. He is waivers-exempt.

Defenseman Casey Nelson has been in the Sabres organization since he signed a free agent deal coming out of college in 2016. Nelson has played in 151 AHL games and 93 NHL games and is signed to a two-way deal. He will need to clear waivers again.

Buffalo could stop there as they fulfilled NHL requirements and leaving it as so gives them room to expand should a player or two have an impact at training camp.

Many saw 24 yr. old defenseman Will Borgen as set to make a strong push for a roster spot this season. The rugged 6'3" 196 lb. righty has made marked progress in Rochester for two seasons and with a strong camp he could displace Irwin on the roster. And even though Sabreland has counted out forward Casey  Mittlestadt, a good camp and/or a move to the wing could be his ticket to the NHL this season. Mittelstadt came to life in the second half of last season for the Amerks and was showing very good improvement before the season was halted. Having either or both of those two make the roster would be a huge plus for Buffalo.

One final possibility for either a spot on the roster or as a reserve is left wing C.J. Smith who's done yeoman's work since signing with the organization in 2017. Smith most of his time with the Amerks (57 goals and 129 points in 169 games) and didn't look too far out of place in 13 games for the Sabres (2 goals.) With left side in Buffalo is loaded up front, a one-way deal and a probable leadership role in Rochester, Smith may not be in the Sabres plans. However, a strong camp and the fact that he's not waivers exempt could put him in the conversation come January 13.

Down goes Buffalo. Detroit up next tonight.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-25-2019


For as good as the Buffalo Sabres have been this season, their Achilles heel has been their performances on the road. They're most definitely getting it right at home as a the Sabres are sporting a rather robust 5-0-0 record (which includes two wins in overtime and one in the shootout) while outscoring their opponents 22-11, their play on the road has been suspect.

After getting shellacked by the NY Rangers last night 6-2 their road record is a pedestrian 3-2-1 and they've played their three worst games this season away from KeyBank Center. They were outplayed in Columbus but pulled out a point against the Blue Jackets, were manhandled by the Anaheim Ducks, and outplayed by an opportunistic Rangers team last night. They were outscored by a combined 15-7 in those three losses.

The most noticeable shortcoming in those three games is from Buffalo's top line as Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson have combined for one goal and zero assists at even strength with a minus-12 total rating. Teams are taking advantage of having the last change at home and are able to match up their best checking lines against the Sabres top line and so far Buffalo has had no answer.

Scandella, Girgensons lead comeback in Pittsburgh last night. Training camp closes.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-29-2019


That headline was a fun to write because it will draw the ire from a number of fans in Sabreland who see Buffalo Sabres defenseman Marco Scandella and forward Zemgus Girgensons, among others, as utter deplorables. Having both players score to help Buffalo overcome a 2-0 deficit at Pittsburgh before the Sabres eventual 3-2 win in the shootout was satisfying in a way. About the only thing better would have been for Vladimir Sobotka to score the shootout winner instead of Casey Mittelstadt, which would have a medal-sweep by "The Deplorables." 

Of course, it's only preseason, unless you're talking about 18 yr. old Dylan Cozens whom many believe should have a spot on the Sabres roster based upon one very strong preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Or Rasmus Asplund who performed very well in his role as a two-way forward to the point where a case could be made for him to be in a fourth-line role in Buffalo. Asplund outperformed fourth-line/depth players on the Sabres as well as Mittelstadt and there was a groundswell calling for Mittelstadt to be cut and Asplund up with the big club. Both Cozens and Asplund would be welcome faces to replace a group we've seen plenty of the past two-plus seasons. And they will be in Buffalo, just not now.

As we head towards the final cuts this year, fans in Sabreland are tired of seeing the likes of Scandella, Girgensons, Johan Larsson and Vladimir Sobotka on the team and would gladly throw the likes of Mike Card and Michael Funk in there if just for a change of faces. Last year young players Alexander Nylander and Tage Thompson were pined for as replacements for some in that group even though Nylander wasn't ready. Nor was Thompson, as we found out after watching him for a couple months.

Star power and intrigue at the 5th annual Sabres Prospects Challenge

Published by hockkeybuzz.com, 9-6-2019

The 5th annual Buffalo Sabres Prospects Challenge begins tonight. Prospects from the Sabres, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins will get the opportunity to show what they've got against their peers in the round-robin tournament that ends on Monday. The event will be held at Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo adjacent to KeyBank Center and admission is $10.

Sabres fans get to see their prospect pool in a competitive environment, some of whom will be donning the Blue and Gold for the first time. And for those attending tonight's game at 7:30 pm, they'll have the added bonus of seeing 2019 first-overall pick Jack Hughes in action as he'll be skating for the Devils.

Hughes is the marquis name at the tournament and one can expect a heavy dose of the 5'10" 166 lb. Orlando, Florida native as he'll be bringing his speed, vision and skill-set to the rink for the first time in a Devils sweater. Fans of all four teams will be watching their own prospects but Hughes is the player that should grab the attention of every fan base.

Impressions of, and questions concerning--D, Will Borgen

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-4-2019

Will Borgen--Defenseman

DOB:  December 19, 1996 (age, 22)

Draft:  2015 fourth round (90th-overall)

How acquired:  Drafted by Buffalo

Last contract signed:  March 25, 2018;  3yr./$2.775 million ELC ($650,000 base salary)
Final year of contract: 2020-21

2018-19 Stats:  4 games | 0 goals | 0 assists | 0 points | -5 | 16:33 ATOI

Buffalo Career Stats:  4 games | 0 goals | 0 assists | 0 points | -5 | 16:33 ATOI

What we wrote preseason:  N/A

What we wrote mid-season:  N/A

Impressions on his play this year:  Borgen's name is often mentioned as a possible replacement for Rasmus Ristolainen should the latter be traded. Having a 22 yr. old step right into an NHL lineup in a top-six role is reaching a bit, especially with a defense that struggled mightily last season. If this were a team like the Nashville Predators with an established defense within an established system, the probability for success on the part of both Borgen and the team would increase greatly.

However, was we and former head coach Phil Housley found out, the Sabres are not the Predators.

There's a lot to like about Borgen. At 6'3" 196 lbs. he's got great size and a frame that can be bulked up. Borgen plays a physical game but he can also add offense, skates well and is in constant motion on the ice. The fourth-rounder really made strides in college and was a force in Rochester this season logging big minutes for a rookie.

What Borgen needs most the next year or two is experience and exposure to high-pressure situations and full-time top-pairing duties, which is something he probably won't find in Buffalo. What he also needs whenever he's ready to make the jump is to have an NHL situation where the coach and the players know what their doing, which was something that didn't happen last season. Rochester will offer the minutes and the stability for further growth and development next season and unless a combination of things happen, that's where Borgen will probably start the season. And that's a good thing.

Questions moving forward:  Can he add a little more bulk to his frame and offense to his game? What does the future hold for Ristolainen? How long will Zach Bogosian's recovery be and will he be ready to suite up in October? What kind of camp will Borgen have? How far along is he on the development curve? How will Ralph Krueger's system affect both Buffalo and Rochester?

Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.

Five games left and this is the expected effort from most of the Sabres tonight

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-30-2019


The Buffalo Sabres, fifth-worst in the NHL, face off against the NY Islanders, who are all but assured of a playoff spot, tonight at 7 pm. Here's Buffalo's projected lineup from those at the Nassau Coliseum rink for their morning skate:

Olofsson-Eichel-Reinhart
Skinner-Mittelstadt-Pominville
Sheary-Larsson-Nylander
Wilson-Girgensons-Okposo

Dahlin-Borgen
Pilut-Montour
Scandella-Nelson Good luck to: --Victor Olofsso, get that first NHL goal --Alexander Nylander, keep the pattern going--3 straight w/o a point, points in 3 straight (2+2), 3 straight w/o a point...
--Will Borgen, keep up the good work

Thank you.

Defenseman Will Borgen gets the call. Sabres visit last place Ottawa

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-26-2019


With the Buffalo Sabres out of the playoffs and their AHL affiliate off until tomorrow, why not bring up another youngin from Rochester? And so they did. Amerks defenseman Will Borgen got the call to Buffalo and could appear in his first NHL game tonight against the Ottawa Senators.

Borgen was selected by Buffalo in the fourth round (92nd-overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft and signed a three-year entry-level deal last year after leaving St. Cloud State as a junior. The 6'2" 188 lb. defenseman had a solid collegiate career and was one of only four college players to make the trip to Pyeong Chang, South Korea with the U.S. Men's Hockey team in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

In his first full pro season Borgen has appeared in 66 games for Rochester scoring two goals and adding seven assists to go along with a plus-7 rating but what has really stood out is his solid defensive play and the sandpaper with which he plays the game. It's something he emphasized when he came to Rochester after leaving St. Cloud State to play eight games for the Amerks at the end of last season. "I'm a physical defenseman," he told the gathered media back then. "I like to just play my role, play defense and get the pucks to the forwards and let them do the offense."

However, as he became more acclimated to the pro game and more comfortable with his place in it, he began working on the offensive aspects of the game. Keith Wozniak of letsgoamerks.com talked with Amerks head coach Chris Taylor and assistant coach Gord Dineen about Borgen's progress with Dineen pointing out he "didn't look out of place at all playing with (2018 first-overall pick) Rasmus Dahlin in the rookie tournament (last summer) and it carried over into the regular season."

"He's come a long way," continued Dineen, "but I will say he was further ahead at the start of the season than I expected him to be."

Sabres prospecst take on Boston tonight after taking names vs. NJ

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-8-2018


It was pretty much everything a Sabres fan could want out of the first Prospects Challenge game. From Rasmus Dahlin scoring two goals and adding an assist to Victor Olofsson showing off his quick release and wicked shot to Alexander Nylander with some magic stickwork while potting one of two Sabres short handed goals to Tage Thompson getting on his horse and scoring the second shortie on a breakaway, a lot of things clicked for the youngins last night (see highlights below.)

This is the future of the Buffalo Sabres and for the 1,800 fans in attendance at HarborCenter they put on a helluva show in a 6-4 win over the New Jersey Devils last night.

With no disrespect to center Casey Mittelstadt, Dahlin leads this wave of young players. The fact Dahlin nudges out Mittelstadt, who played so well in his short six-game stint in Buffalo last season leading to a No. 2 center slot heading into this season, is an indication of just how good the prospect pool is at the top.

Dahlin was the first pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and was said to have franchise-changing qualities. At Sabres development camp Dahlin's skill level was on display as he flew through drills with ease and did everything except dominate the score sheet in the 3-on-3 tournament. However, that was against his fellow prospects and camp invitees. The Prospects Challenge would be his first taste of action against the best prospects from other NHL teams and after Round-1, the reviews were outstanding.

"Obviously he's a special player," Sabres Prospects coach Chris Taylor told the gathered media post game. On Dahlin's second goal the 18 yr. old native of Sweden jumped on a loose puck in the neutral zone and fed tournament invitee Myles Powell at the Devil's blueline before barreling towards the net. Powell sent a low shot far side that was kicked out to the right circle where Dahlin was there to blast home the rebound. Using that play as an example, Taylor said Dahlin's "instincts are amazing," and that "he's a smart player, knows when to go (on the attack) and when not to go" while also having "the confidence and ability to get back."

Sabres fans might be breathing a brief sigh of relief at Nylander's performance. Nylander was said to be engaged throughout the game and his shorthanded goal was a product of following the play and heading to open ice in front of the net. The skill Nylander showed on that goal was the type that had him labeled as possibly the most skilled player in his draft class yet his Houdini acts on the ice have him moving perilously towards bust status.

Nylander's shortie was set up by Rasmus Asplund who drew two defenders to the Devils left face off circle and outworked them to get the puck to a wide open Nylander. Asplund also set up Victor Olofsson for a one-timer on the powerplay. Olofsson used that patented one-timer on many occasions in Sweden while on his way to a league-leading 27 goals in the SHL last season, but his quick release blast from the slot wowed the fans at HarborCenter who were seeing it live for the first time.

The Svensk Brigade of Dahlin, Olofsson, Asplund and Nylander stole the headlines at this one but there were many other who made their mark. Thompson, acquired from the St. Louis Blues in the Ryan O'Reilly trade, showed great speed for a big man (6'5" 205 lbs.) as he jumped on a puck in the neutral zone while shorthanded and went in for a breakaway. He also showed off some deft stickwork with a deke and a shot that went top-shelf from in tight. Matej Pekar (2018, 94th) had two assists in the game and defenseman Will Borgen (2015, 92nd) patrolled the ice with a physicality that everyone at HarborCenter noticed.

Buffalo went into this tournament with what is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, prospect pools in the NHL and it showed. Dahlin lead the charge, the rest got their jiggy on and the Devils had no answer of which SB nation's John Fischer wrote, "On the ice, [the Sabres] were mostly a better team from start to finish. Their passes were better. Their puck control was better. They committed fewer and less costly turnovers. They appeared to have more attack time than New Jersey. They definitely had more odd-man rushes and breakaways. Their special teams were better. Most importantly, their best players on paper were the best players on the ice."

For Sabres fans the future, especially encapsulated in Fischer's last sentence, is pretty exciting.


*****

The Sabres take on the Boston Bruins tonight at 7 pm and despite The Athletic's Corey Pronman ranking
 the Bruins prospect system as 27th in the league, they still have some good quality players in the system. Boston's prospects beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in the matinee yesterday.



2018 Prospects Challenge highlights--NJ Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres (via sabres.com)

 

 

Quick Scoresheet:

 

Rasmus Dahlin--3 pts. (2 goals, 1 assist)

Rasmus Asplund--2pts (2 assists)

Matej Pekar--2 pts. (2 assists)

Victor Olofsson--1 pt. (1 goal)

Tage Thompson--1 pt. (1 goal)

Cole Coskey--1 pt. (1 goal)

Alexander Nylander--1 pt. (1 goal)

Kevin Hancock--1 pt. (1 assist)

Oscari Laaksonen--1 pt. (1 assist)

Eric Cornel--1 pt. (1 assist)

Myles Powell--1 pt. (1 assist)

 

Primary assists:

 

Asplund--2

Hancock, Powell, Dahlin--1 each

Dahlin helps Buffalo's thin, but slowly improving prospect pool on defense

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-21-2018


While going through past blogs prior to the NHL Entry Draft, I came across a piece from 2015 just prior to the draft. In it we looked at the defense core depth and it was extremely thin at the time.

The 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs showcased a Norris Trophy defenseman in the Chicago Blackhawks' Duncan Keith and a future Norris winner in then 24 yr. old Tampa Bay Lightning d-man, Victor Hedman (who just won the trophy last night.) The duo put on a clinic in the finals that year.

At the time Keith was 31 yrs. old and the elder statesmen of a group of high-quality d-men featuring Norris Trophy winner PK Subban, who was with the Montreal Canadiens, and fellow Norris winner Erik Karlsson (OTT) who lead a group of 25 yr. olds that included Drew Doughty (LAK,) Alex Pietrangelo (STL) and Roman Josi (NSH.) After Hedman there was another wave of d-men just cutting their teeth in Oliver-Ekman Larsson (ARI,) Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton (BOS,) Olli Matta (PIT) and 19 yr. old stud Aaron Ekblad (FLA.)

The Sabres at the time were coming off a scorched-earth rebuild that left their team mostly barren on the back-end. At the time just before the 2015 NHL Draft, the Sabres had young players with promise in 23 yr. old Mark Pysyk, 20 yr. olds Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov and...that's about it. The pipeline had Jake McCabe and Chad Ruhwedel at the top followed by Brady Austin, who played five NHL games and Jerome Leduc, who never saw the NHL ice. Anthony Florentino and Brycen Martin, both of whom are in the minors, rounded out the group.

Since that piece was done, the Sabres traded Zadorov and Pysyk and allowed Ruhwedel to walk. Buffalo's depth on defense struggled for the last three seasons as players drafted beginning in 2015 began making their way up through the system and GM's tried to fill holes with minor-league vets and free agent signings.

The Sabres did well in landing coveted college free agent Casey Nelson in 2016 and SHL Defenseman of the year, Lawrence Pilut last month. They also signed Victor Antipin out of the KHL in 2017 but that didn't work out so well. Antipin had a rough season that ended with him being carted off on a stretcher with four games to go. Buffalo GM Jason Botterill recently said that, contrary to some reports, Antipin has not signed a KHL contract and is looking to come back to the NHL.

As dreary as the last few years have been on defense, there is light at the end of the tunnel and the drafting of defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will shove this slow moving train even closer to the bright light of tomorrow. Dahlin is considered a franchise defenseman (some say generational) and will immediately be plugged into the lineup in a top-four role. What that does for the depth chart can't be understated as those on the big club will begin to fall into roles to suit them while those in the pipeline can continue to develop at lower levels.

There are still big holes on the back-end from Buffalo on down, but make no mistake, the selection of Dahlin allows for the organization to build quality depth, something that's desperately needed.

Barring any trades, the Sabres lineup on defense looks to have Dahlin, Rasmus Ristolainen, Marco Scandella, Zach Bogosian, Jake McCabe, Casey Nelson and Nathan Beaulieu right now with the possibility that their top d-prospect could be in the mix.

Although semantics will have Dahlin as the Sabres top prospect from the time he's drafted until opening day, why bother putting him there for this exercise? We'll start with the idea that he'll be with the Sabres beginning October 4 against the Boston Bruins and look at these tree as Buffalo's top d-prospects right now.

LHD, Brendan Guhle (2015, 51st-overall)

Guhle began his first pro season with the Rochester Americans and spent plenty of time playing top-pairing minutes in all situations. There's a lot to like about the 6'2" 196 lb. native of Edmonton, Alberta and Sabres fans are still wondering how he dropped to Buffalo at pick No. 51. Guhle is very athletic and skates extremely well, has exceptional on-ice vision and moves the puck seemingly with ease, all of which was on display in Rochester to start the season.

However, Guhle did hit some speed bumps along the way. After a short, two-game call-up in January he was sent back to Rochester and suffered a lower body injury. He would be recalled again for an extended 16-game stint in Buffalo where he struggled a bit before being sent down to Rochester for the AHL playoffs at the end of the NHL regular seaosn. In the latter part of that call-up he suffered an upper-body injury that cause him to miss an April 2 game against Toronto. He seemed well after that but had a miserable performance as the Amerks were swept by the Syracuse Crunch (TBL) in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

What happened to Guhle, when it happened and how much it affected him is still somewhat of a mystery but his playoff performance against a very fast and talented Crunch team left the organization with question marks. Maybe he's not quite ready to join the Sabres on the opening night roster and will need a little more seasoning before he and the team can feel comfortable with him up in Buffalo.

Having Dahlin in the top-six is huge for the organization as they can do what Botterill wants to do with all of his prospects, let them fully develop before bringing them up. If Guhle has an outstanding camp and makes the opening night roster, fine. If he doesn't he can get more seasoning in Rochester. It's a win/win for player and team.

LHD, Lawrence Pilut (FA, 2018)

This could be a huge signing for Buffalo as Botterill and Co. were able to land the SHL's 2018 Defenseman of the Year. The 22 yr. old Pilut has been playing in Sweden's top professional league for the last four years and had a breakout 2017-18 campaign with 38 points which lead all SHL defensemen.

Pilut is an offensive-minded defenseman who skates well and has a good shot which you'll see in the highlights that are out there but here's what his coach, Johan Lindbom also had to say about his defenseman. "Larry (as the team called him) was very talented at a young age," said Lindbom. "Maybe a little too small from the beginning but he's a fighter. He takes his hockey very seriously. He practices very hard and that's what makes him successful.

"He's not the toughest, he's not the strongest in front of the net but he reads the play really well."

Lindbom and his staff were keen on honing the defensive aspects of Pilut's game as the 5'11" 179 lb. rearguard never saw a play he didn't want to jump into, and that's what he'll need to work on in North America, especially with the smaller rink.

Were it a year or two ago, Pilut could have been considered a candidate to make the Sabres if he had a strong camp. Right now, with the addition of Dahlin and having Guhle with a full pro season under his belt, Pilut slips nicely into the No. 2 d-prospect spot.

RHD, William Borgen (2015, 92nd)

There was a lot of fear rippling through Sabreland wondering whether or not the Sabres would be able to sign the St. Cloud State University standout. Buffalo fans had already been jilted by Jimmy Vesey and Cal Petersen, both college prospects who finished school and opted for free agency.

Borgen, however, chose to sign with Buffalo after his junior season in college. The 6'2" 189 lb. native of Moorehead, MN finished his career with five goals and 36 assists in 106 games for the Huskies and came in for a brief eight-game cup of coffee on an amateur tryout with the Rochester Americans this season.

Other than his NHL-ready frame, one of the things that stands out with Borgen is that he's a righty, something severely lacking in the Sabres d-prospect pool right now. He's also a defensive defenseman but don't let that lead you into believing he's some pylon on the back end as he has excellent skating ability.

Borgen was tabbed for the 2016 US World Junior squad and was also selected for the 2018 Olympic team, though he never dressed. He's projected to be a long-term project player that will continue to hone his defense while trying to find some of the scoring touch he had in high school. With Dahlin Guhle and possibly Pilut paving the way the next few years, Borgen will have all the time he needs to develop properly.

Borgen & Mittelstadt = good news in a bad season + @Leafs tonight

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-26-2018


Officers at the Peace Bridge can rest a little easier today because the Buffalo Sabres announced the signings of college players Will Borgen and Casey Mittelstadt. Borgen a junior defenseman out of St. Cloud State was signed yesterday to an amateur tryout contract  for Rochester plus the Sabres signed him to his three-year entry deal that begins next season. Mittelstadt just finished his freshman season at Minnesota and signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Sabres and he's expected to join the club this week, according to a tweet from TSN's Bob McKenzie.

The Sabres as a whole have been drafting and signing college players for a while most notably over the past couple years when which includes the selection of Mittelstadt eighth-overall in the 2017 NHL Draft and the signings of two prominent college free agents-D, Casey Nelson (2016) and F, C.J. Smith (2017.) But fans in Buffalo were still anxious about Borgen and Mittelstadt as they'd seen a couple of college players walk away from the team.

Forward Jimmy Vesey wasn't a Buffalo draft pick, but former GM Tim Murray took a gamble and sent a third round pick to Nashville for the exclusive negotiating rights to Vesey. The Predators got their third round pick back and the Sabres ended up losing out on the deal when Vesey signed with the NY Rangers.

A bigger blow to the collective Sabreland psyche came when goalie Cal Petersen, a 2013 fifth round pick (129th overall,) played out his college career and signed with the LA Kings. Petersen, who looks like he could become a legitimate NHL starter was a prospect whom the Sabres invested a draft pick and development time on and in opting for the Kings, he sent a knife right through a fan-base where many were already dealing with an inferiority complex.

Fear of rejectgion permeated much of twitterland when it came to Mittelstadt and Borgen, but all those fears can be put to rest as the two put pen to paper.

Borgen, who's probably ticketed for a year or so of development in Rochester next season will step into a situation where the Amerks are getting ready for the playoffs. It was a great signing for Rochester and the Amerks in that his entry-level deal won't kick in until next season.

As for Mittelstadt, he has the look of a player that could very well fit right into the NHL right now, and he'll get his shot sometime through the final six games of the season, which will burn a year off his entry-level deal. He will not be eligible to play for the Amerks this season.

Somehow I feel that Sabres GM Jason Botterill won't lose sleep over that. It's been an atrocious season for the Sabres so it's nice to have both Borgen and Mittelstadt in the fold.


*****

Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News was in Toronto yesterday while the Sabres had a day off and he tweeted this from Leafs coach Mike Babcock about the Sabres/Leafs game tonight, "there's not team they'd rather beat than us," said the coach.

Which is true, or at least it should be for every Sabres player. In a lost season there is very little to play for so going up against a rival should get the blood pumping. If it doesn't, there something seriously wrong.

This is the third meeting between Buffalo and Toronto this season. The Sabres won the first meeting on March 5 by a 5-3 score with goalie Chad Johnson in net then dropped the second one 10 days later, 5-2, with Robin Lehner in net. Both of those games were played in Buffalo.

The Leafs are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, at least when it comes to playing at home. Toronto is on a club-record 13-game home winning streak and with 45 wins on the season have tied the franchise record for most wins in a season.

Buffalo is coming off of a 5-1 blowout loss in NY against the Rangers on Saturday night, have lost four in a row and five of their last six.

According to reports from the rink, this looks to be the Sabres lineup tonight against Toronto:

Wilson-ROR-Okposo
Girgensons-Eichel-Pominville
Nolan-Larsson-Reinhart
Pouliot-ERod-Baptist

Guhle-Ristolainen
Scandella-Nelson
Beaulieu-Falk


Rookie goaltender Linus Ullmark looks to be getting the start for Buffalo.


*****

Not to be forgotten, 2012 seventh-round pick (204th) Judd Peterson, a teammate of Borgen's at St. Cloud State, signed an ATO with Rochester and will be eligible for the playoffs. The 24 yr. old forward scored  65 points (37+28) in 151 college games.

Prospect watch is on as Sabres hit NYC to face Rangers

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-24-2018


What's bad for two NCAA Men's Hockey teams might turn out great for the Buffalo Sabres organization.

Prior to Round-1 of the NCAA men's hockey tournament, a twist of fate kept the Minnesota Golden Gophers out of the tournament as six teams advanced with wins when they only needed one of that group to lose to be in. Because of that, the Gophers and Sabres forward prospect Casey Mittelstadt (2017, 8th-overall) never made it into the tournament. Yesterday, No. 1 seed St. Cloud State was upset by Air Force to knock them and two Sabres prospects out of the tourney--defenseman Will Borgen (2015, 92nd) and forward Judd Peterson (2012, 204th.)

Of the two players, Borgen is garnering the most interest from the Sabres. The 6'2" 199 lb. Moorhead, Minnesota native just completed his junior season with the Huskies and has forged himself a pretty good resume'. He finished off this season being named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's Defensive Defenseman of the Year Award. Prior to that he was in PyongChang, South Korea representing team USA in the Olympics as the only college defenseman named to the team.

The ideal for both players, should they and the Sabres think they're ready to turn pro, would be for them to sign an amateur tryout contract with the Rochester Americans and eventually join the team for the playoffs. As a freshman, there's not too much urgency for Mittelstadt to go pro, but Borgen is a junior and if he remains in school for another season, there is the possibility that he could end up being an unrestricted free agent and bolt for another team.

Sabres GM Jason Botterill was said to have been watching as St. Cloud State was eliminated.

Buffalo hits the road tonight after an inauspicious 1-4-1 homestand. Last night they fell 3-0 to the Montreal Canadiens and finished their seasons series with an 0-2-2 record versus the Habs. The Sabres put on a lot of pressure and had numerous opportunities in the game but either missed or had the puck take an inopportune bounce.

Such has been the season.

Good new for Sabres fans is that the team is better on the road going 12-16-7 as opposed to their 11-23-5 home record. Bad news is that Buffalo is 0-1-1 vs. the Rangers this season, 3-5-2 in their last 10 vs. NY and 3-5-2 on the road.


*****

Interesting tweet from WGR550 Sabres beat reporter Paul Hamilton on Linus Ullmark, who only gave up one goal on 21 shots last night to the Canadiens:

"Linus Ullmark has played in the last three games and the Sabres have not scored a goal for him in his 150 minutes of work."

From Russia, with love? Sabres said to be signing KHL's Viktor Antipin

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 3-14-2017


First there was the swap with Florida where the Sabres traded defenseman Mark Pysyk and two pick for defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and the 33rd overall. Then Buffalo GM Tim Murray selected Vasily Goltov, a Russian center whom Sabres selected later that day in the seventh round.

Now word has it that the Sabres are about to sign a free agent defenseman from the Kontinental Hockey League once his season is over. Sportsnet's Elliot Freidman wrote in his "30 Thoughts" today that "24-year-old Viktor Antipin is expected to join Buffalo."

Antipin is a 5'11" 179 lb. defenseman who has played for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL for the past six seasons compiling 98 points (36+62) in 266 games with a plus-66 rating. In 69 playoff games for Metallurg he upped his .37 regular season points/game to .45 ppg with 31 points on 13 goals and 18 assists.

The Sabres are left to span the globe to find defensemen because of a very thin pool. It's a situation that's caused problems with the big club but has really wreaked havoc with their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Going into the season the Amerks had three veteran d-men they were going to anchor their defense with--Justin Falk, Taylor Fedun and Eric Burgdoerfer. However, because of injuries most notably to Kulikov (who's injured again) and Zach Bogosian (missed 26 games) the Sabres pulled Falk to the big club for 45 games (and counting,) Fedun for 25 and Burgdoerfer for another two. Casey Nelson, a 2016 college free agent signee (Minnesota State) was also in Buffalo for the first nine games of the season because of the Kulikov injury.

What remained in Rochester was a skeleton crew of defensemen that have been overwhelmed all season.

Help is on the horizon in that highly touted prospect Brendan Guhle will be turning pro next season, although it looks as if he'll be headed straight to the Sabres. St. Cloud State defenseman Will Borgen (2015, 92nd overall) will be in Rochester next season and Devante Stephens (2015, 122nd) will also be eligible to play in the AHL next season. The only Rochester defenseman under contract for next season is Nelson. Brady Austin (2012, 193rd) will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and whether or not they re-sign him is up in the air.

The Sabres were once again looking at the college free agent market and were said to be in on Minnesota State sophomore defenseman Daniel Brickley but he intends to return for his junior season. With him out of the equation Buffalo is said to be going after St. Lawrence d-man Gavin Bayreuther. According to Elliot in the same piece,  "It’s believed Dallas was the most aggressive pursuer, with Buffalo and Colorado lurking."

With the college FA market really thin this season and the team not expected to sign 2013 fifth round draft pick Anthony Florentino (Providence Friars,) I was told by Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com that the Sabres "were going hard for Euro FA's" right now and sure enough, with the news of the impending signing of Antipin, "There's the Euro."

Murray put himself in a tough spot when he focused almost exclusively on the forward group while using defensemen as currency in trades. There's been a huge shift in talent away from d-prospects and young players when he did his wheeling and dealing for young, veteran forwards. It's a self-inflicted bind he's got himself in and it will be interesting to see how they come out of this.

Right now Baker called Buffalo "desperate" and it's to the point where a real good (according to Baker) but not "amazing" prospect like Bayreuther will probably be able to burn the first year of his two-year contract this season, something they did with Nelson.

Prior to last year's draft Murray had not used a draft pick on a Russian as GM in Buffalo. There's always been this thought that he's had an aversion to players from the Motherland. Perhaps it's gotten to the point where every area in the world's been scouted so much, from North American colleges to Denmark, Finland and Sweden that there's really not much uncharted territory out there, except for maybe Russia because of the so-called "Russian Factor."

Times may be changing, see Artemi Panarin and Nikita Zaitsev, to name a couple, and teams may have no choice but to scour Russia for players.

And that includes Murray and the Buffalo Sabres.

No need for Buffalo to reach for a d-man at No. 8

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


Conventional wisdom has the Buffalo Sabres coming out of the eighth slot in the 2016 NHL Draft with one of the top-three defenseman--Olli Joulevi, Jakob Chychrun or Mikhail Sergachev. All three are left-hand shots, which happens to be a right/left area of need in the system and all have offensive acumen based upon strong skating. Yet each bring a little something different to the table.

Most mock drafts have at least one of them there for the Sabres yet some believe that all three will be gone before Buffalo is on the clock at No. 8. The cool part about what the Sabres have been able to accomplish these last three drafts is that key roster positions look to have been filled, those being top-two centers (along with strength and depth down the middle) and a top-pairing defenseman. In 2014 they selected a top-six center in Sam Reinhart who was moved to the wing because of the 2015 Draft where they drafted Jack Eichel and traded for Ryan O'Reilly. In 2013 the Sabres drafted Rasmus Ristolainen with the 8th-overall pick and he anchored the Buffalo defense last season.

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.

Notes as the Sabres visit frigid St. Paul looking to get hot

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


The Buffalo Sabres finally broke a six-game losing streak with a strong win against a good team in a hostile, yet, fun-loving, environment of the MTS Center, home of the Winnipeg Jets.

Lots of sub-plots to that contest beginning and ending with former Jet and present Sabre, Evander Kane. In between 20 yr. old rookie forward Sam Reinhart recorded a hat trick, the first of his career and, via Sabres PR, the first by a Sabres rookie since Jason Pominville did so on January 14, 2006 vs. the LA Kings.

The Jets at the time had a 19-19-3 record heading into the game and sat near the bottom of the Western Conference. It was a bit of a break for Buffalo as they'd just came off of a seven-game post-Christmas break schedule featuring games against the Boston Bruins, a home-and-home against the Washington Capitals, a three-game homestand vs. the NY Islanders, Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers then hit the road for the first of their three-game Midwest roadtrip in Chicago. All of those teams have more wins than losses and OT/SO losses combined and are in the top-10 of their respective conferences.

In light of that, and with the full knowledge of the rough patch the team went through in November facing some of the powerhouses of the Western Conference, I said to myself, "Self? Just how rough a schedule did the Sabres have the first part of the season?"

2015 Buffalo Sabres Draft Recap--Mind officially blown

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


The 2015 NHL Draft weekend was a mind-blowing experience for Buffalo Sabres fans, there's just no other way to put it, as some wheeling and dealing and a second-overall pick combined to make for a heightened sense of awareness and the promises of a very bright future beginning as early as next season.

Back in early February, the team was looking at three first round and two second round selections in the draft to go along with four other picks in rounds 4-7. On February 11th, Sabres GM Tim Murray traded one of the first rounders away in the blockbuster for top-line LW, Evander Kane. On Friday morning news came out that Murray traded another of his first rounders for 23 yr. old Ottawa goalie, Robin Lehner and just after they made Jack Eichel the second-overall pick in the 2015 draft, commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the Sabres had sent the 31st overall pick to Colorado as a part the Ryan O'Reilly blockbuster trade.

Other pieces were involved in all of the trades but when the Sabres settled in and around their draft table after the trade for O'Reilly, they were now looking at five selections and they'd be waiting until the middle part of the second round on Saturday to get their amateur scouts rolling.