Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-29-2018
The Buffalo Sabres need an NHL goalie after allowing starter Robin Lehner to walk and unrestricted free agent Carter Hutton seems to be their guy.
This year's crop of free agents may be one of the thinnest ever and it's not much different when it comes to netminders available. Jonathan Bernier, who was with the Colorado Avalanche last season may be the best of the group but word on the street is that he's leaning towards the Detroit Red Wings. Kari Lehtonen is hitting the open market after finishing a 5yr/$29.5 million contract with Dallas as a back up to Ben Bishop last season. Veteran Stanley Cup winning goalie Cam Ward is leaving the Carolina Hurricanes, the only team he's ever played for, and it looks as if he'll end up with the Chicago Blackhawks. The rest of the group includes names like Jaroslav Halak, Peter Mrazek, Eddie Lack and Andrew "The Hamburglar" Hammond.
With the release of Lehner and back-up goalie Chad Johnson moving on as well, the Sabres entered the off season with 24 yr. old Linus Ullmark and his 24 NHL games as their only goaltender. Buffalo GM Jason Botterill said at the end of season presser that Ullmark would be in Buffalo but never fully defined his role and as the off season is playing out, it looks as if he might be part of a 1A/1B goaltending tandem.
In which case Hutton seems like a pretty good addition to the team.
Hutton came out of UMass-Lowell and joined the Philadelphia Flyers organization as a free agent in 2010. The next three seasons would see him bounce between three different teams for two different organizations before getting his first-ever NHL start for the Blackhawks. He would move on to the Nashville Predators organization as a back-up to Pekka Rinne. In three years with the Preds Hutton appeared in 66 games posting a 33-23-12 record with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
After Nashville it was on to St. Louis and an opportunity to land the starter's job. But after two seasons the Blues settled on Jake Allen and Hutton is now on the move again, although this time he has some pretty impressive numbers to negotiate with. Last season the well-travelled journeyman went 17-7-3 with a 2.09 GAA and .931 sv% for the Blues.
The fit is good for Buffalo, but the price tag for his services might be steep as initial reports had him with a possible three-year deal at a $4 million cap-hit. Those numbers seem to have come down a bit with the three-year term remaining but with a price tag of $10-11 million, which is still pretty high for a career backup who may be looked upon in a 1A/1B role.
However, it's a thin market and as many as eight teams were said to be after his services so that's the price Buffalo will need to pay if they want him.
From what's been printed, Hutton is said to be a great locker room guy who knows his role and accepts it. He's made a long journey to get to the NHL-level and part of that was in Nashville when Sabres head coach Phil Housley was an assistant coach there. With Buffalo continuing to build with character being a necessary trait, if Hutton has that and can play his role effectively, which includes mentoring Ullmark, paying a 25-30% premium in a market like this shouldn't scare anyone away.
*****
Word on the street is that it's not a matter of if center Ryan O'Reilly could be traded but more like when. However, until a deal is consummated, O'Reilly is still valuable to the Sabres as No. 2 behind Jack Eichel and as protection for 19 yr. old Casey Mittelstadt as he enters his first full season of pro hockey.
Botterill isn't going to give O'Reilly away but should they end up trading him there's been many thoughts on who the Sabres could get to help ease Mittelstadt's transition to the No. 2 center role. Various names have been floating around but one I haven't heard yet is that of Washington's Jay Beagle. Although he was fourth on the depth-chart amongst Washington's centers, he anchored the Captial's penalty kill unit which finished 15th in league this season and was on the ice for every key faceoff the team had.
Like Hutton, Beagle left college and has been working his way up the ranks. The University of Alaska-Anchorage product joined the Capitals' organization as a free agent and signed his entry-level deal in March, 2008. Ten years later he has himself a Stanley Cup ring to add to his Kelly Cup and Calder Cup rings.
Beagle and his linemates faced the opposition's top talents and because of it his analytics took a beating. But in doing so, according to Peter Hassett of russianmachineneverbreaks.com, "he’ll be beloved in the area for decades as the meat-and-potatoes guy who grounded the Caps depth so that the top-liners could soar. And that ain't bad.
Might not be bad for Buffalo either.
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Friday, June 29, 2018
On the Sheary/Hunwick to Buffalo trade
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-28-2018
As is often the case when an protégé moves on from his mentor, Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill tapped into his ties with former boss Jim Rutherford to make a deal. Botterill acquired LW, Conor Sheary and veteran defenseman Matt Hunwick for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft in what turns out to be a hockey trade as the Sabres got two players to help them transition and the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to dump $5.25 million in combined salary.
Botterill spent 10 years in the Pittsburgh organization, his last three under Rutherford with two of them ending with the Stanley Cup, before taking Buffalo's GM position last season. He was invited to join the Penguins on the ice when they celebrated their second of back-to-back wins in 2017 and seemingly has maintained a strong relationship with the club.
In the deal for Buffalo, the Sabres get themselves some help at left wing. Just where Sheary ends up will be determined in September and October but for now he replaces another former Pen, Scott Wilson, as the only left-winger in the top-nine. Botterill sent a fifth round pick to the Detroit Red Wings last year for Wilson and he moved up and down the left side all season. The 26 yr. old native of Oakville, Ontario was not tendered a qualifying offer and is an unrestricted free agent.
The 26 yr. old Sheary had a breakout season for the Penguins two years ago scoring 53 points (23+30) in 61 regular season games but slid to 18 goals and 12 assists in 79 games last season. Perhaps most troubling in the eyes of Rutherford was that he scored only four goals in his last 44 games and played on the fourth line in the playoffs.
The need at left wing was an obvious reason to land the undrafted left winger, but Botterill told the gathered media yesterday that team was also "looking to improve even-strength scoring" and that Sheary "creates a lot of chances out there."
It's been quite the run for the undrafted free agent who signed an amateur tryout contract with Pittsburg's AHL team in Wilkes Barre-Scranton after graduating from UMass-Amherst (Hockey-East.) He produced 11 points (6+5) in 15 playoff games for the 'Baby Pens' and was rewarded with a two-year entry-level deal. After a highly successful year-and-a-half with Wilkes Barre (27 goals and 54 assists in 88 games,) Sheary got the call to Pittsburgh and never looked back. He made his mark in the 2015-16 playoffs with 10 points (4+6) in 23 playoff games as a rookie as the Pens won the Cup then followed that with his breakout season.
Although last season's struggles may be pointing to an unhappy ending to his fairy tale story, Sheary will bring much needed speed on the wing in Buffalo and he'll be put into a position to play with some very talented centers no matter which line he's on. "He can come in here," said Botterill, "whether it's with Jack [Eichel], Ryan [O'Reilly], Casey [Mittelstadt] and can play with one of our offensive centermen,(and not only) finish off chances from them but also get in on the forecheck and get pucks to our centermen."
Botterill did his old boss a favor by taking on Hunwick's contract in a salary dump for Pittsburgh. The addition of the 33 yr. old Hunwick further clogs the Sabres defense corps and it's hard to see him fitting in anywhere amongst the top-seven, much less the top-six. Botterill emphasized a couple of things when talking about him yesterday, "[he's] a player I followed closely over the years just with the ties to the University of Michigan," said Botterill, a Wolverine alum, "and how he handles himself as a pro."
Although Hunwick has the mobility that Botterill wants on his blueline, the former seventh-round pick and his $2.25 million AAV for the next two seasons looks to have been a necessary piece in landing Sheary.
For the Penguins, they get needed cap relief as they're looking to tweak their roster a bit. Pittsburgh extended winger Brian Rust with a 4yr./$14 million deal and still have a lot of holes to fill as they're edging upwards to the cap. Word on the street also has them interested in defenseman Jack Johnson who they hope will sign a friendly contract to play with good friend Sidney Crosby.
In all, the term 'hockey trade' usually involves players but this one gives both teams what they want and need and puts them in a win-win with little risk involved. The fourth-round pick Botterill sent to Pittsburgh could become a third rounder, according to capfriendly, if Sheary scores 20 goals or totals 40 points or if Hunwick is traded before the 2019 draft.
As is often the case when an protégé moves on from his mentor, Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill tapped into his ties with former boss Jim Rutherford to make a deal. Botterill acquired LW, Conor Sheary and veteran defenseman Matt Hunwick for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft in what turns out to be a hockey trade as the Sabres got two players to help them transition and the Pittsburgh Penguins were able to dump $5.25 million in combined salary.
Botterill spent 10 years in the Pittsburgh organization, his last three under Rutherford with two of them ending with the Stanley Cup, before taking Buffalo's GM position last season. He was invited to join the Penguins on the ice when they celebrated their second of back-to-back wins in 2017 and seemingly has maintained a strong relationship with the club.
In the deal for Buffalo, the Sabres get themselves some help at left wing. Just where Sheary ends up will be determined in September and October but for now he replaces another former Pen, Scott Wilson, as the only left-winger in the top-nine. Botterill sent a fifth round pick to the Detroit Red Wings last year for Wilson and he moved up and down the left side all season. The 26 yr. old native of Oakville, Ontario was not tendered a qualifying offer and is an unrestricted free agent.
The 26 yr. old Sheary had a breakout season for the Penguins two years ago scoring 53 points (23+30) in 61 regular season games but slid to 18 goals and 12 assists in 79 games last season. Perhaps most troubling in the eyes of Rutherford was that he scored only four goals in his last 44 games and played on the fourth line in the playoffs.
The need at left wing was an obvious reason to land the undrafted left winger, but Botterill told the gathered media yesterday that team was also "looking to improve even-strength scoring" and that Sheary "creates a lot of chances out there."
It's been quite the run for the undrafted free agent who signed an amateur tryout contract with Pittsburg's AHL team in Wilkes Barre-Scranton after graduating from UMass-Amherst (Hockey-East.) He produced 11 points (6+5) in 15 playoff games for the 'Baby Pens' and was rewarded with a two-year entry-level deal. After a highly successful year-and-a-half with Wilkes Barre (27 goals and 54 assists in 88 games,) Sheary got the call to Pittsburgh and never looked back. He made his mark in the 2015-16 playoffs with 10 points (4+6) in 23 playoff games as a rookie as the Pens won the Cup then followed that with his breakout season.
Although last season's struggles may be pointing to an unhappy ending to his fairy tale story, Sheary will bring much needed speed on the wing in Buffalo and he'll be put into a position to play with some very talented centers no matter which line he's on. "He can come in here," said Botterill, "whether it's with Jack [Eichel], Ryan [O'Reilly], Casey [Mittelstadt] and can play with one of our offensive centermen,(and not only) finish off chances from them but also get in on the forecheck and get pucks to our centermen."
Botterill did his old boss a favor by taking on Hunwick's contract in a salary dump for Pittsburgh. The addition of the 33 yr. old Hunwick further clogs the Sabres defense corps and it's hard to see him fitting in anywhere amongst the top-seven, much less the top-six. Botterill emphasized a couple of things when talking about him yesterday, "[he's] a player I followed closely over the years just with the ties to the University of Michigan," said Botterill, a Wolverine alum, "and how he handles himself as a pro."
Although Hunwick has the mobility that Botterill wants on his blueline, the former seventh-round pick and his $2.25 million AAV for the next two seasons looks to have been a necessary piece in landing Sheary.
For the Penguins, they get needed cap relief as they're looking to tweak their roster a bit. Pittsburgh extended winger Brian Rust with a 4yr./$14 million deal and still have a lot of holes to fill as they're edging upwards to the cap. Word on the street also has them interested in defenseman Jack Johnson who they hope will sign a friendly contract to play with good friend Sidney Crosby.
In all, the term 'hockey trade' usually involves players but this one gives both teams what they want and need and puts them in a win-win with little risk involved. The fourth-round pick Botterill sent to Pittsburgh could become a third rounder, according to capfriendly, if Sheary scores 20 goals or totals 40 points or if Hunwick is traded before the 2019 draft.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
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)
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)
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Day-2 of 2018 NHL Draft was a quirky one for the Buffalo Sabres.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-24-2018
After the Buffalo Sabres added four more defensemen to the stable in the second day of the 2018 NHL Draft, the post-draft from the media scrum was not so much on the players picked as it was on how they got there.
Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was selected first overall, as expected, but as we headed into Day-2 of the draft no one was sure where the Sabres would go. The first round had finished up with a group of players having first-round ratings falling to the second round and Buffalo ended up selecting one of them in Mattias Samuelsson, son of former NHL'er Kjell Samuelsson.
Samuelsson was a familiar name at the draft and as the Sabres moved down the rounds the names became more obscure eventually, even for draftniks. Buffalo was without a third round pick and with the first pick in the fourth round they selected USHL Rookie of the Year, center Matej Pekar, who would be the only forward taken by the Sabres in the draft this year.
Buffalo used their second fourth-rounder (from Minnesota) to select LHD, Linus Lindstrand Cronholm who's name, like last year's pick of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (UPL) is being shortened with the acronym (LLC.) In the fifth round Buffalo stayed in Scandinavia to select Finnish RHD Miska Kukkonen and they ended their day with seventh round pick, LHD William Worge Kreu, their third Swede of the draft.
There's a lot to digest with Buffalo's selections which includes why GM Jason Botterill traded away the first pick in the sixth round this year to Toronto for their sixth-rounder in 2019. It was a move that left many scratching their head and added another area of intrigue in a Buffalo draft that was anything but conventional, especially when you consider that Botterill, a native of Canada, didn't select a player from the CHL for the second year in a row.
In trying to figure out what transpired yesterday, a good place to start would be with the team Botterill put together and how he allows them to do what they were hired to do. Last year the first time GM had to wing it with a staff from the previous regime as a May hire didn't allow any time to build his own. Botterill brought in Randy Sexton last season as assistant general manager and point-man for an amateur scouting staff directed by Ryan Jankowski.
At the conclusion of the draft Botterill told the gathered media, "there was an awkwardness last year," he said explaining that he was trying to get a feel for the people he had plus the uneasiness of the unknown with a new GM in charge. Botterill brought in Sexton, someone he'd worked with for seven years in Pittsburgh and Jankowski who, ironically in terms of this draft, was head scout then director of player personnel for Hockey Canada.
This year with his guys in place, he let them do their thing. "[As GM] you're part of amateur scouting, I follow it throughout the year, but it is a situation where you have to trust those people in those roles," he said. "If you dabble in it a little bit you almost mess it up a lot of times."
As point-man, Sexton took center stage at the post-draft media scrum and after being asked lightheartedly, "How's your Swedish," delved into some of the Sabres philosophy when it come to the draft.
"We don't draft by region. We don't draft by country," he said. "We scour the world for the best players that we can find that play a style that we want to play like going forward and then we work very diligently to learn as much as we can about them as human beings so that they map to our character criteria. We put them in the order that makes most sense based upon the highest probability to become a Sabre and we layer over a little bit of list management so that we can manage our list in a way that gets us the highest number of prospects at the highest part of the list we can get.
"This year it happened to fall that there were a lot of Swedes."
Dahlin was the first of six Swedes taken by NHL teams in the first round and there were 28 taken overall which equaled record highs set in 2009 and 2014. In those two years, defenseman Victor Hedman (TBL,) who just won the Norris Trophy and LW, Gabriel Landeskog (COL,) respectively, were taken with the second-overall pick. Dahlin was taken first overall following Mats Sundin (1989, TOR) as the only two Swedes to be selected with the top pick in the draft.
In all, NHL teams took 247 Swedes during the last 10 drafts with the nation of just over 10 million people (as of 2018 census) pumping out the most players, by far, of any other European country. For Botterill it's not a surprise.
"You look around at the success they've had at the international game, and in the NHL," he said. "So many Swedish defensemen have stepped in and played extremely well. They've done an outstanding job as a country from the development process, especially on the back end [with] the mobility [and] how a lot of NHL teams are now. Swedish players played [that style] growing up."
"We have the SHL and we put the young guys in the senior hockey league pretty quickly," said the 18 yr. old Dahlin, who's been competing against men for nearly two full seasons. "You learn to play against men. That's probably one of the things that helped me so much. I needed to compete every single shift in all situations out there because I was not the strong guy everyone else was, so it helped me out a lot."
Dahlin was the top pick and there were 18 other Swedes selected before the draft reached the top of the fourth round and Buffalo at pick No. 94. The Sabres selected Pekar, a USHL product who will be attending Miami (OH) University, before heading back to Scandinavia for their final three selections. With Samuelsson also heading to college (Western Michigan University) and the three picks from overseas, for the second year in a row the Sabres, even with Jankowski on board, did not select a player from Canadian Junior.
Strange? Maybe. Until we get to the reasoning behind it.
As laid out, the Sabres had their list. Samuelsson for them was the definitive pick at No. 32 and it's hard to argue with the fourth round selection of Pekar, who was named the 2017-18 USHL Rookie of the Year with 54 points (14+40) in 56 games.
After that it almost looked as if the CHL was shunned by Buffalo. But that wasn't the case. When asked if it was a coincidence or whether or not it's something they shy away from, Botterill stated that when it comes to mid-latter round picks, "the fact that you control [CHL] rights for only two years, you have to make a quicker decision on that.
"In a scenario where you have an extended period of four years, in most situations for Europeans or college players," he continued, "it allows you more opportunity to develop."
Sexton said simply that, having worked with Botterill seven years, "there was never a strong desire either way to select CHL players or not select them.
"It's just the luck of the draw."
A case in point for the extended development period can be seen in 2014 seventh round pick (181st,) Victor Olofsson. The smaller 5'11" 172 lb. winger took three years to find his game amongst pros before breaking out last season and winning the Borje Salming Trophy for most goals (27) in the league. The Sabres signed him to his entry-level deal in April.
Center Sean Malone is another example. The West Seneca, NY native was taken in the sixth round (159th) of the 2013 draft and spent four seasons at Harvard. He signed with the club last year, had a real strong rookie campaign in Rochester to the point where he is being looked at as a possibility for Buffalo's opening night roster this coming season.
Most in the hockey world will say that the training and coaching players receive from the time they're young until their draft eligible and beyond puts many on a fairly equal footing, pure talent not withstanding. Drive and desire are huge aspects for the Sabres (in addition to talent) as is the overall makeup of prospects as human beings.
Buffalo's Swedish scout Jan-Axel Alavaara has been with the club for two years (although he'll be moving on to take a position with Germany's Alder-Mannaheim.) In an interview with an overseas website concerning Dahlin, Alavaara delved into his work as a scout. " We have met and discussed 120 players. That's how scouting goes," he said using Google translate. "Everyone has different opinions and you will come up with who you want to bet [on]. Rasmus is a high profile guy, but there are some out there in the world who are great hockey players."
"We assess the entire package," continued Alavaara. "You talk to parents, with friends, with coaches, with everyone. As hockey looks like today, you really do not have any weaknesses at all as players. You have to keep an eye on everything around."
That would include a player like Samuelsson, the son of a NHL player, who was graded in the mid-lower first round of the draft but was still there at No. 32 to start Day-2.
According to Sexton, the Sabres had "lots of calls about trading that pick" but decided to go with the big (6'4" 218 lb.) left-handed defenseman from the USHL. "He was a player that we clearly had a high desired to have in Buffalo," said Sexton of Samuelsson, "and as a result there was no interest in trading away that opportunity."
Bloodlines played a role in the desire to keep pick No. 32 to select Samuelsson, according to Sexton. "The biggest [part] bloodlines can play besides natural talent is the true and deep understanding of what it takes to play at the NHL level," he said. "And I don't mean that lightly
"It's very difficult to play in our league," he continued, "and I've always believed that player who grew up in a hockey family, who's had a family member that has played and has gone through the difficult path it takes to get [to] and stay in the NHL, has a competitive advantage over some of the other players.
"In Mattias' case, he does have a clear understanding. In getting to know him through the interview process, we were struck by his maturity, we were struck by his strength of character, we were struck by his leadership and we were clearly struck by his true understanding of what it takes, and the commitment it takes to not only get to the NHL-level, but to stay and excel at he NHL-level."
And they'll have four years to determine if/how he fits into their plans.
This is year-two of the Botterill regime in Buffalo and it's his first draft with his scouting department in place. The 2018 NHL Draft for Buffalo will go down as a somewhat quirky one, especially with the rarely, if ever, seen trading of a top pick in the sixth round for a blind sixth-rounder the following year. To set the record straight on that, Botterill said that the team felt as if the player(s) they wanted at that spot would still be there at the top of the seventh round and therefore opted to land another pick in next year's draft.
Sabres development camp starts this coming week so most, if not all the players selected by Buffalo will be in attendance. Perhaps there will be more questions surrounding this quirky draft and how they came to find and select LLC, Kukkonen and Worge Kreu.
The Sabres went heavy with defensemen yet still have glaring holes in the pipeline in goal and on the wings which should be addressed, at least somewhat, during free agency. Buffalo selected four defensemen, also signd defenseman Lawrence Pilut out of the SHL and traded for soon to be UFA Brandon Hickey, who just completed his fourth and final season at Boston University and was a team mate of Jack Eichel's for a year.
One could assume that the prospect pool on defense is well stocked right now but we still might be left to wonder what would happen next year if the highest rated players on their board at the time of their selection happened to be defensemen?
Jason Botterill via Sabres.com
After the Buffalo Sabres added four more defensemen to the stable in the second day of the 2018 NHL Draft, the post-draft from the media scrum was not so much on the players picked as it was on how they got there.
Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was selected first overall, as expected, but as we headed into Day-2 of the draft no one was sure where the Sabres would go. The first round had finished up with a group of players having first-round ratings falling to the second round and Buffalo ended up selecting one of them in Mattias Samuelsson, son of former NHL'er Kjell Samuelsson.
Samuelsson was a familiar name at the draft and as the Sabres moved down the rounds the names became more obscure eventually, even for draftniks. Buffalo was without a third round pick and with the first pick in the fourth round they selected USHL Rookie of the Year, center Matej Pekar, who would be the only forward taken by the Sabres in the draft this year.
Buffalo used their second fourth-rounder (from Minnesota) to select LHD, Linus Lindstrand Cronholm who's name, like last year's pick of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (UPL) is being shortened with the acronym (LLC.) In the fifth round Buffalo stayed in Scandinavia to select Finnish RHD Miska Kukkonen and they ended their day with seventh round pick, LHD William Worge Kreu, their third Swede of the draft.
There's a lot to digest with Buffalo's selections which includes why GM Jason Botterill traded away the first pick in the sixth round this year to Toronto for their sixth-rounder in 2019. It was a move that left many scratching their head and added another area of intrigue in a Buffalo draft that was anything but conventional, especially when you consider that Botterill, a native of Canada, didn't select a player from the CHL for the second year in a row.
In trying to figure out what transpired yesterday, a good place to start would be with the team Botterill put together and how he allows them to do what they were hired to do. Last year the first time GM had to wing it with a staff from the previous regime as a May hire didn't allow any time to build his own. Botterill brought in Randy Sexton last season as assistant general manager and point-man for an amateur scouting staff directed by Ryan Jankowski.
At the conclusion of the draft Botterill told the gathered media, "there was an awkwardness last year," he said explaining that he was trying to get a feel for the people he had plus the uneasiness of the unknown with a new GM in charge. Botterill brought in Sexton, someone he'd worked with for seven years in Pittsburgh and Jankowski who, ironically in terms of this draft, was head scout then director of player personnel for Hockey Canada.
This year with his guys in place, he let them do their thing. "[As GM] you're part of amateur scouting, I follow it throughout the year, but it is a situation where you have to trust those people in those roles," he said. "If you dabble in it a little bit you almost mess it up a lot of times."
As point-man, Sexton took center stage at the post-draft media scrum and after being asked lightheartedly, "How's your Swedish," delved into some of the Sabres philosophy when it come to the draft.
"We don't draft by region. We don't draft by country," he said. "We scour the world for the best players that we can find that play a style that we want to play like going forward and then we work very diligently to learn as much as we can about them as human beings so that they map to our character criteria. We put them in the order that makes most sense based upon the highest probability to become a Sabre and we layer over a little bit of list management so that we can manage our list in a way that gets us the highest number of prospects at the highest part of the list we can get.
"This year it happened to fall that there were a lot of Swedes."
Dahlin was the first of six Swedes taken by NHL teams in the first round and there were 28 taken overall which equaled record highs set in 2009 and 2014. In those two years, defenseman Victor Hedman (TBL,) who just won the Norris Trophy and LW, Gabriel Landeskog (COL,) respectively, were taken with the second-overall pick. Dahlin was taken first overall following Mats Sundin (1989, TOR) as the only two Swedes to be selected with the top pick in the draft.
In all, NHL teams took 247 Swedes during the last 10 drafts with the nation of just over 10 million people (as of 2018 census) pumping out the most players, by far, of any other European country. For Botterill it's not a surprise.
"You look around at the success they've had at the international game, and in the NHL," he said. "So many Swedish defensemen have stepped in and played extremely well. They've done an outstanding job as a country from the development process, especially on the back end [with] the mobility [and] how a lot of NHL teams are now. Swedish players played [that style] growing up."
"We have the SHL and we put the young guys in the senior hockey league pretty quickly," said the 18 yr. old Dahlin, who's been competing against men for nearly two full seasons. "You learn to play against men. That's probably one of the things that helped me so much. I needed to compete every single shift in all situations out there because I was not the strong guy everyone else was, so it helped me out a lot."
Dahlin was the top pick and there were 18 other Swedes selected before the draft reached the top of the fourth round and Buffalo at pick No. 94. The Sabres selected Pekar, a USHL product who will be attending Miami (OH) University, before heading back to Scandinavia for their final three selections. With Samuelsson also heading to college (Western Michigan University) and the three picks from overseas, for the second year in a row the Sabres, even with Jankowski on board, did not select a player from Canadian Junior.
Strange? Maybe. Until we get to the reasoning behind it.
As laid out, the Sabres had their list. Samuelsson for them was the definitive pick at No. 32 and it's hard to argue with the fourth round selection of Pekar, who was named the 2017-18 USHL Rookie of the Year with 54 points (14+40) in 56 games.
After that it almost looked as if the CHL was shunned by Buffalo. But that wasn't the case. When asked if it was a coincidence or whether or not it's something they shy away from, Botterill stated that when it comes to mid-latter round picks, "the fact that you control [CHL] rights for only two years, you have to make a quicker decision on that.
"In a scenario where you have an extended period of four years, in most situations for Europeans or college players," he continued, "it allows you more opportunity to develop."
Sexton said simply that, having worked with Botterill seven years, "there was never a strong desire either way to select CHL players or not select them.
"It's just the luck of the draw."
A case in point for the extended development period can be seen in 2014 seventh round pick (181st,) Victor Olofsson. The smaller 5'11" 172 lb. winger took three years to find his game amongst pros before breaking out last season and winning the Borje Salming Trophy for most goals (27) in the league. The Sabres signed him to his entry-level deal in April.
Center Sean Malone is another example. The West Seneca, NY native was taken in the sixth round (159th) of the 2013 draft and spent four seasons at Harvard. He signed with the club last year, had a real strong rookie campaign in Rochester to the point where he is being looked at as a possibility for Buffalo's opening night roster this coming season.
Most in the hockey world will say that the training and coaching players receive from the time they're young until their draft eligible and beyond puts many on a fairly equal footing, pure talent not withstanding. Drive and desire are huge aspects for the Sabres (in addition to talent) as is the overall makeup of prospects as human beings.
Buffalo's Swedish scout Jan-Axel Alavaara has been with the club for two years (although he'll be moving on to take a position with Germany's Alder-Mannaheim.) In an interview with an overseas website concerning Dahlin, Alavaara delved into his work as a scout. " We have met and discussed 120 players. That's how scouting goes," he said using Google translate. "Everyone has different opinions and you will come up with who you want to bet [on]. Rasmus is a high profile guy, but there are some out there in the world who are great hockey players."
"We assess the entire package," continued Alavaara. "You talk to parents, with friends, with coaches, with everyone. As hockey looks like today, you really do not have any weaknesses at all as players. You have to keep an eye on everything around."
That would include a player like Samuelsson, the son of a NHL player, who was graded in the mid-lower first round of the draft but was still there at No. 32 to start Day-2.
According to Sexton, the Sabres had "lots of calls about trading that pick" but decided to go with the big (6'4" 218 lb.) left-handed defenseman from the USHL. "He was a player that we clearly had a high desired to have in Buffalo," said Sexton of Samuelsson, "and as a result there was no interest in trading away that opportunity."
Bloodlines played a role in the desire to keep pick No. 32 to select Samuelsson, according to Sexton. "The biggest [part] bloodlines can play besides natural talent is the true and deep understanding of what it takes to play at the NHL level," he said. "And I don't mean that lightly
"It's very difficult to play in our league," he continued, "and I've always believed that player who grew up in a hockey family, who's had a family member that has played and has gone through the difficult path it takes to get [to] and stay in the NHL, has a competitive advantage over some of the other players.
"In Mattias' case, he does have a clear understanding. In getting to know him through the interview process, we were struck by his maturity, we were struck by his strength of character, we were struck by his leadership and we were clearly struck by his true understanding of what it takes, and the commitment it takes to not only get to the NHL-level, but to stay and excel at he NHL-level."
And they'll have four years to determine if/how he fits into their plans.
This is year-two of the Botterill regime in Buffalo and it's his first draft with his scouting department in place. The 2018 NHL Draft for Buffalo will go down as a somewhat quirky one, especially with the rarely, if ever, seen trading of a top pick in the sixth round for a blind sixth-rounder the following year. To set the record straight on that, Botterill said that the team felt as if the player(s) they wanted at that spot would still be there at the top of the seventh round and therefore opted to land another pick in next year's draft.
Sabres development camp starts this coming week so most, if not all the players selected by Buffalo will be in attendance. Perhaps there will be more questions surrounding this quirky draft and how they came to find and select LLC, Kukkonen and Worge Kreu.
The Sabres went heavy with defensemen yet still have glaring holes in the pipeline in goal and on the wings which should be addressed, at least somewhat, during free agency. Buffalo selected four defensemen, also signd defenseman Lawrence Pilut out of the SHL and traded for soon to be UFA Brandon Hickey, who just completed his fourth and final season at Boston University and was a team mate of Jack Eichel's for a year.
One could assume that the prospect pool on defense is well stocked right now but we still might be left to wonder what would happen next year if the highest rated players on their board at the time of their selection happened to be defensemen?
Jason Botterill via Sabres.com
Randy Sexton via Sabres.com
Sunday, June 24, 2018
On Rasmus Dahlin and the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-23-2018
To no one's surprise, Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres last night to kick off a rather uneventful 2018 NHL Draft.
The 6'3" 185 lb. defenseman brings his franchise-changing game to a Sabres team that has struggled the last several years. Buffalo embarked on a rebuild, purposely dove to the bottom of the league two-years running, started on the road to respect then fell to last place last season. The NHL Draft Lottery was unkind to the Sabres in 2014 and 2105 as their last-place finished netted them the second overall pick but they year it smiled upon them as they won the rights to draft Dahlin.
The superlatives thrown at Dahlin and his game have been endless, yet warranted. He's an extremely gifted skater with a very high hockey IQ that lets him see things on the ice as if it were in slow motion. His highlight reels almost inevitably included rushes through a maze of players on the opposition who can't get the puck from him. Not on the highlight film is his game-to-game play from the back end where scouts have touted how well he starts the transition game from his own end through laser precision passes to the forwards.
As an 18 yr. old, his defense needs a little work but he has all the tools which includes great stickwork, excellent body positioning and angles plus great turns to defend an on-rushing player. He's pretty strong in front of the net and has been known to lay out some pretty good hits, but will need to bulk up a tad to be able to handle the best and strongest that the world has to offer at the NHL level.
What has come across so surprisingly during this whole process, however, is how maturely Dahlin has handled the media crush. His poise off the ice is equal to his poise on the ice and he fields questions as if he's been doing this for years. Dahlin was asked by the Sabres Brian Duff last night if he was an emotional guy to which Dahlin responded, "Yeah. I pretty much keep it inside." With a rather calm demeanor, a shrug and a little smile he continued saying, "Yeah, I'm super emotional right now, actually."
You couldn't tell.
Perhaps Jourdon LaBarber put it best when he wrote, "Dahlin's humility off the ice seems ironic, considering his play on the ice is anything but humble."
The Dahlin-era in Buffalo has begun.
*****
There were a record 14 defensemen taken off the board in the first round yesterday. Which was expected. It was a real good crop with all of them having the puck-moving traits that make for the defenseman d jour in the NHL today. The run on defensemen after Dahlin was selected first overall somewhat surprisingly began when Quinn Hughes was taken No. 7 by the Vancouver Canucks.
Hughes and fellow d-man Adam Boqvist (No. 8) were expected to go a little higher as many of the draft analysts rated them in the top five or six of this class.
At a draft where there was pretty much a consensus top-four featuring Dahlin and RW Andrei Svechnikov at Nos. 1 and 2 plus wingers Brady Tkachuk and Filip Zadina flip-flopping between Nos. 3 and 4, the Montreal Canadiens, in a very NFL-like move, opted to take center Jesper Kotkaniemi with the third-overall pick.
The Habs have been at the epicenter of trade rumors surrounding Buffalo center Ryan O'Reilly. With a dearth of talent down the middle, Montreal was said to be going after O'Reilly with some implying that the third-overall pick could possibly be involved. But the Canadiens kept it and much like NFL teams do when trying to land a franchise quarterback with their first pick, took the best center on the board.
Quality centers are hard to come by in the NHL. It's not that Kotkaniemi doesn't have top-six or even top-line potential, but it seemed to be somewhat of a reach for the Habs as they drafted for a position of need.
The same might be said for the Arizona Coyotes who drafted center Barrett Hayton who was generally considered amongst a group in the 11-20 range. They recently traded for Montreal's Alex Galchenyuk who they look to as a center despite the Habs punting that notion when trading him. 'Yotes GM John Chayka is a huge analytics fan so maybe he saw some numbers that jumped out at him, bur for all intents and purposes, Arizona's pick of Hayton at No. 5 was the surprise of the top-five.
Tkachuk went No. 4 to the Ottawa Senators who may need to top end defensemen if Erik Karlsson bolts via free agency next season. However, the took a player that was clearly the best player available. Dropping to No. 6 was Zadina who many thought was a top-three pick.
Heading down the draft all the names that one would associate with their pre-draft rankings made it into the picks until the Columbus Blue Jackets selected center Liam Foudy with the 18th-overall selection. The Philadelphia Flyers followed by picking another center in Jay O'Brien who was ranked in the lower second round then the Los Angeles Kings selected a center in Rasmus Kupari who dropped a few spots compared to his ranking.
Defenseman Ryan Merkely, who has top-10 or even top-five talent but had been the subject of reports concerning off ice maturity issues, was selected by the San Jose' Sharks with the 21st pick. He'll join a franchise in San Jose just re-signed a very talented winger in Evander Kane who's known for some off-ice issues of his own.
After some rankings/draft stability things began to get a bit out of whack leaving defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who had a top-20 ranking, there for the Toronto Maple Leafs at No. 29.
The biggest drop came at the expense of center Joseph Veleno who was ranked consistently in that 11-15 range before falling to the Red Wings at No. 30. Detroit used the pick they got from the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to select Veleno, which is rather ironic in itself. The Wings were the model organization as they made the playoffs 25 straight years, which included three Stanley Cups, but sent forward Tomas Tatar to the Knights for their 2018 first rounder as Vegas was bolstering their lineup for a playoff run that would take them to the Cup finals.
Finishing off the first round was the Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals who selected Russian defensemen Alexander Alexeyev.
Cheers to you, Ovie!
*****
Rounds 2-7 begin today at 11 am as Buffalo is once again ready to start the draft.
The Sabres have plenty of options there which includes selecting from a number of players who had first-round rankings but dropped. Forwards Noel Serron and centers Akil Thomas and Ryan Mcleod were all ranked in the top-16 North American Skaters by Central Scouting while defenseman Jared McIsaac was ranked 13th and fellow d-man Bode Wilde came in at No. 17.
Having projected first round talent in those numbers dropping to Buffalo gives them plenty of options which includes a trade-down. The Sabres do not have a third round pick thanks to last summer's trade with the Minnesota Wild and won't have another selection after No. 32 until pick 94. As mentioned in a previous blog, that's a prime area to land a goalie, which the Sabres system could really use.
I look to the Montreal Canadiens as a trade partner in that scenario. The Habs have four picks in the second round this year and perhaps they'd be interested in moving from No. 35 up to No. 32. Although they probably wouldn't give up pick 38 in the process, perhaps one of their late rounders (Nos. 56 or 62) could be had.
Perhaps Wilde, a 6'2" 198 lb. right-handed defenseman from the US National Program, could be the pick. He's an excellent skater with a great shot who could help fill a RHD void in the system but like other high-end offensive d-prospects, needs some work in his own end.
To no one's surprise, Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres last night to kick off a rather uneventful 2018 NHL Draft.
The 6'3" 185 lb. defenseman brings his franchise-changing game to a Sabres team that has struggled the last several years. Buffalo embarked on a rebuild, purposely dove to the bottom of the league two-years running, started on the road to respect then fell to last place last season. The NHL Draft Lottery was unkind to the Sabres in 2014 and 2105 as their last-place finished netted them the second overall pick but they year it smiled upon them as they won the rights to draft Dahlin.
The superlatives thrown at Dahlin and his game have been endless, yet warranted. He's an extremely gifted skater with a very high hockey IQ that lets him see things on the ice as if it were in slow motion. His highlight reels almost inevitably included rushes through a maze of players on the opposition who can't get the puck from him. Not on the highlight film is his game-to-game play from the back end where scouts have touted how well he starts the transition game from his own end through laser precision passes to the forwards.
As an 18 yr. old, his defense needs a little work but he has all the tools which includes great stickwork, excellent body positioning and angles plus great turns to defend an on-rushing player. He's pretty strong in front of the net and has been known to lay out some pretty good hits, but will need to bulk up a tad to be able to handle the best and strongest that the world has to offer at the NHL level.
What has come across so surprisingly during this whole process, however, is how maturely Dahlin has handled the media crush. His poise off the ice is equal to his poise on the ice and he fields questions as if he's been doing this for years. Dahlin was asked by the Sabres Brian Duff last night if he was an emotional guy to which Dahlin responded, "Yeah. I pretty much keep it inside." With a rather calm demeanor, a shrug and a little smile he continued saying, "Yeah, I'm super emotional right now, actually."
You couldn't tell.
Perhaps Jourdon LaBarber put it best when he wrote, "Dahlin's humility off the ice seems ironic, considering his play on the ice is anything but humble."
The Dahlin-era in Buffalo has begun.
*****
There were a record 14 defensemen taken off the board in the first round yesterday. Which was expected. It was a real good crop with all of them having the puck-moving traits that make for the defenseman d jour in the NHL today. The run on defensemen after Dahlin was selected first overall somewhat surprisingly began when Quinn Hughes was taken No. 7 by the Vancouver Canucks.
Hughes and fellow d-man Adam Boqvist (No. 8) were expected to go a little higher as many of the draft analysts rated them in the top five or six of this class.
At a draft where there was pretty much a consensus top-four featuring Dahlin and RW Andrei Svechnikov at Nos. 1 and 2 plus wingers Brady Tkachuk and Filip Zadina flip-flopping between Nos. 3 and 4, the Montreal Canadiens, in a very NFL-like move, opted to take center Jesper Kotkaniemi with the third-overall pick.
The Habs have been at the epicenter of trade rumors surrounding Buffalo center Ryan O'Reilly. With a dearth of talent down the middle, Montreal was said to be going after O'Reilly with some implying that the third-overall pick could possibly be involved. But the Canadiens kept it and much like NFL teams do when trying to land a franchise quarterback with their first pick, took the best center on the board.
Quality centers are hard to come by in the NHL. It's not that Kotkaniemi doesn't have top-six or even top-line potential, but it seemed to be somewhat of a reach for the Habs as they drafted for a position of need.
The same might be said for the Arizona Coyotes who drafted center Barrett Hayton who was generally considered amongst a group in the 11-20 range. They recently traded for Montreal's Alex Galchenyuk who they look to as a center despite the Habs punting that notion when trading him. 'Yotes GM John Chayka is a huge analytics fan so maybe he saw some numbers that jumped out at him, bur for all intents and purposes, Arizona's pick of Hayton at No. 5 was the surprise of the top-five.
Tkachuk went No. 4 to the Ottawa Senators who may need to top end defensemen if Erik Karlsson bolts via free agency next season. However, the took a player that was clearly the best player available. Dropping to No. 6 was Zadina who many thought was a top-three pick.
Heading down the draft all the names that one would associate with their pre-draft rankings made it into the picks until the Columbus Blue Jackets selected center Liam Foudy with the 18th-overall selection. The Philadelphia Flyers followed by picking another center in Jay O'Brien who was ranked in the lower second round then the Los Angeles Kings selected a center in Rasmus Kupari who dropped a few spots compared to his ranking.
Defenseman Ryan Merkely, who has top-10 or even top-five talent but had been the subject of reports concerning off ice maturity issues, was selected by the San Jose' Sharks with the 21st pick. He'll join a franchise in San Jose just re-signed a very talented winger in Evander Kane who's known for some off-ice issues of his own.
After some rankings/draft stability things began to get a bit out of whack leaving defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who had a top-20 ranking, there for the Toronto Maple Leafs at No. 29.
The biggest drop came at the expense of center Joseph Veleno who was ranked consistently in that 11-15 range before falling to the Red Wings at No. 30. Detroit used the pick they got from the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to select Veleno, which is rather ironic in itself. The Wings were the model organization as they made the playoffs 25 straight years, which included three Stanley Cups, but sent forward Tomas Tatar to the Knights for their 2018 first rounder as Vegas was bolstering their lineup for a playoff run that would take them to the Cup finals.
Finishing off the first round was the Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals who selected Russian defensemen Alexander Alexeyev.
Cheers to you, Ovie!
*****
Rounds 2-7 begin today at 11 am as Buffalo is once again ready to start the draft.
The Sabres have plenty of options there which includes selecting from a number of players who had first-round rankings but dropped. Forwards Noel Serron and centers Akil Thomas and Ryan Mcleod were all ranked in the top-16 North American Skaters by Central Scouting while defenseman Jared McIsaac was ranked 13th and fellow d-man Bode Wilde came in at No. 17.
Having projected first round talent in those numbers dropping to Buffalo gives them plenty of options which includes a trade-down. The Sabres do not have a third round pick thanks to last summer's trade with the Minnesota Wild and won't have another selection after No. 32 until pick 94. As mentioned in a previous blog, that's a prime area to land a goalie, which the Sabres system could really use.
I look to the Montreal Canadiens as a trade partner in that scenario. The Habs have four picks in the second round this year and perhaps they'd be interested in moving from No. 35 up to No. 32. Although they probably wouldn't give up pick 38 in the process, perhaps one of their late rounders (Nos. 56 or 62) could be had.
Perhaps Wilde, a 6'2" 198 lb. right-handed defenseman from the US National Program, could be the pick. He's an excellent skater with a great shot who could help fill a RHD void in the system but like other high-end offensive d-prospects, needs some work in his own end.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Dahlin-Day in Buffalo plus 7 forward prospects to keep an eye on
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-22-2018
It's a beautiful day, and it will be an even better night once GM Jason Botterill and the Buffalo Sabres entourage head up to the podium in Dallas, TX to select Rasmus Dahlin first-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.
For the organization, it's the opportunity to put seven years of rebuilding angst, anger and frustration in the rear view mirror and start heading towards the future. It was a stretch that hopefully will be forgotten soon and like a bad relationship that went on way too long, time will have healed all wounds with the pain and apathy of those years reduced to an unpleasant memory.
Forgive me for waxing poetic. I know I've been there before when we thought we said goodbye to the tank years with the 2015 draft-day makeover highlighted by the selection of Jack Eichel second overall. It didn't work, and with the trades that former GM Tim Murray made to augment Eichel and 2014 second-overall pick Sam Reinhart being moved on from, it's Botterill's gig and things seem to be going very well for him.
In the last two blogs we looked at a very thin prospect pool in goal, which will be taxed even further as the Sabres will not qualify RFA starting goalie Robin Lehner, and a pretty thin collection of defensemen. Luckily for Buffalo they won the lottery and the selection of Dahlin will not only help the d-corps fall into place, the Sabres also have the option of keeping their top d-prospect, Brendan Guhle in Rochester at least for some of the season.
The forward group has been much maligned for their lack of top-level talent and overall speed. While the latter is true from a physical standpoint, they may have been more the victim of playing the game slower. Most forwards on the Sabres last season had NHL skating ability, but the mess that was the team, which included a rookie coach in Phil Housley wouldn't allow for playing the game at a faster pace.
That will change beginning this season as the forward group should see an influx of both speed and talent, albeit those two traits being mutually exclusive in some of the players that will be in Buffalo next season. Who will be a part of the opening day roster is still up in the air beginning with Ryan O'Reilly and stretching down to Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson.
For as much grief as Murray got for his trades, and it's warranted as all three of his big-time acquisitions may be gone after only three years, his drafting was pretty solid. That includes the aforementioned Guhle (2015, second round) plus D, Will Borgen (2015, fourth round) and a few players that are apart of our Top-7 forwards to keep an eye on.
Having said that, the top forward prospect that has all of Sabreland quite excited is a 2017 pick from Botterill's first draft as a GM.
C, Casey Mittelstadt (2017, 8th-overall)
How many times have you heard "I can't believe he dropped to us there" when talking about a prospect at the draft. Such was the case with Mittelstadt as many viewed him as a top-five pick but the Sabres were able to land him at No. 8.
The 2017 Mr. Hockey winner from Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota joined the NCAA's Minnesota Golden Gophers for one season before signing his entry-level deal with the Sabres in March. He played in six games for Buffalo registering his first NHL goal and adding four assists.
There's a lot to be excited about when it comes to Mittelstadt and what he has to offer. He's got size (6'0" 199 lbs.) and plenty of skill (11 goals and 30 points in 34 games as a freshman for the Gophers) to go along with his excellent skating ability. Although he isn't the fastest he's pretty quick to areas and his hockey sense allows him to play the game at a faster pace. Mittelstadt faced a lot of rugged defensive hockey in the BIG 10 last season and had plenty of gumption to get where he needed to go, which were often the dirty areas of the ice, and find the player in open space.
Where he plays next year in Buffalo is wholly dependent upon O'Reilly. Should they trade the veteran center, Mittelstadt will be looked to as the team's No. 2 center but should O'Reilly stay, it's likely that he'll be moved to third-line center. Although I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of him getting time on the wing in that scenario.
The Sabres will be adding two high-end prospects this season in Dahlin and Mittelstadt. It's a duo that has those of us in Sabreland pretty excited.
C, Sean Malone (2013, 159th)
Is Malone the No. 2 forward prospect for Buffalo? No, not by any stretch, but this isn't about ranking prospects, its about prospects to keep an eye on and he looks like he'll be knocking on the door of the NHL this coming season.
The West Seneca, NY native was more that a token local pick when the Sabres snagged him in the sixth round of the 2013 NHL Draft. The solid 6' 0" 190 lb two-way center left Nichols High School and embarked on a collegiate career at Harvard. While with the Crimson he scored 42 goals and 99 points in 115 games which included a 18-goal, 42-point breakout in his senior season. Malone got a one game taste of the NHL at the end of the 2017-17 season and spent last year in Rochester.
After adjusting to the speed of the pro game, Malone ramped up his game to the point where he said he felt like himself. That player he's talking about plays a 200' game with a lot of speed and determination. Although he doesn't have the skill-level to crack the top-six or even top-nine, once he gets up to speed at the NHL level, Malone has the ability to be a stalwart and clutch faceoff guy in a fourth-line checking role.
LW, C.J. Smith (2017, FA)
Smith is another player who isn't top-three amongst the prospect rankings, but one we should keep an eye on heading into the season.
The Sabres have no left wingers to speak of and the U-Mass Lowell product showed plenty of skill and speed to be considered for the openings on Buffalo's left side. At 5'11" 185 lbs. Smith doesn't have ideal NHL size, but he proved last season he could hang with the big boys at the pro level. Smith tied for second on the Amerks with 17 goals and was third on the team in scoring with 44 points, which tied him for 10th amongst rookies in the AHL.
In addition to his skills on offense, Smith plays a solid two-way game and is strong on the defensive side of the equation. What he has to offer at the NHL level is still unknown but he has a nice foundation with which to build upon, quite possibly in a third-line left wing role for the Sabres.
LW, Alexander Nylander (2016, 8th)
What was said about Smith's opportunity on the left side in Buffalo is also true for Nylander. So why is an eighth-overall pick behind a free agent who plays the same position? It's how the two seem to have approached the game in Rochester. As a free agent, Smith had a lot to prove whereas Nylander comes off as a player who's been in prima donna mode.
Nylander may have had the highest skill-level at the 2016 NHL Draft but the knock on him was that he disappeared, something we've seen in Rochester the last two seasons. In 116 games for the Amerks he's scored only 18 goals and 55 points. Put that up against what Smith has done in less than half the games.
Having said that, it's still a bit too early to give up on him. Nylander is an extremely gifted hockey player who has all the tools to take a spot in the top-six. But until he gets his head on straight, he's looking more like a bust than he is an NHL player.
C, Rasmus Asplund (2016, 33rd)
There has been a lot of anticipation with Asplund and when he would finally arrive in North America and the reason for it was his exceptional play at the pro level in his native Sweden.
Asplund won't wow you with his stats (8+20 in 50 games for Färjestad BK last season) but he does everything else extremely well. "He's quick and shifty, using his speed and turning ability to gaine time and space," reported The Draft Analyst, and he plays a full 200' game. Asplund is not afraid of the dirty areas on the ice and has a high compete-level.
Should he continue to develop properly, Asplund has all the attributes of a top-end, third-line center.
RW, Nicholas Baptiste (2013, 69th)
The right side of Buffalo's forward group is pretty full right now with Reinhart, Kyle Okposo and Jason Pominville in the top nine and Baptiste hasn't had much time, if any, on the left side. That makes for a pretty tough road to hoe for him.
At this point in his career, the 22 yr. old Baptiste is out of waiver options so if the Sabres want to keep him, he'll need to stay in Buffalo or they risk losing him. It's been a pretty choppy ride for Baptiste thus far in his pro career as he's spent most of it in Rochester. His AHL stats are decent (38+31 in 121 games) and he's managed seven goals (plus four assists) in 47 NHL games. But he just hasn't been able to break through quite yet.
We've seen spurts of what Baptiste can be as he has plenty of speed and can score from all areas using a wide array of shots. It's consistency that's lacking in his game, which is typical of young player and if he ever gets that ironed out, because of the speed and skill he has, Baptiste could be a force in the top-nine or even top-six.
He's got a lot riding on this season and it would behoove him to have a great camp and bust his way into the top nine.
RW, Victor Oloffson (2014, 181st)
Although there hasn't been much anticipation about Olofsson making his North American debut prior to last season, the numbers he put up in 2017-18 certainly raised some eyebrows.
Olofsson was a beast in Sweden with Frolunda as he lead the SHL with 27 goals while finishing with 43 points. It took the 5'11" 172 lb. sniper three full seasons to break out in Sweden's top league but did so in style as he finished with the Håkan Loob Trophy for most goals scored in the season.
Frolunda used him in the circle on the powerplay where Olofsson unleashed a deadly shot and there's no doubt that he's one of the most skilled shooters in the Sabres prospect pool. Can he find his place in Rochester playing on the smaller North American rink is one of the questions with Olofsson as is how he'll be able to keep his smaller frame out of trouble with the bigger, stronger, heavier competition in the AHL.
That said, having an influx of talent like his should bring good things for the Amerks and hopefully , Buffalo as well.
It's a beautiful day, and it will be an even better night once GM Jason Botterill and the Buffalo Sabres entourage head up to the podium in Dallas, TX to select Rasmus Dahlin first-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.
For the organization, it's the opportunity to put seven years of rebuilding angst, anger and frustration in the rear view mirror and start heading towards the future. It was a stretch that hopefully will be forgotten soon and like a bad relationship that went on way too long, time will have healed all wounds with the pain and apathy of those years reduced to an unpleasant memory.
Forgive me for waxing poetic. I know I've been there before when we thought we said goodbye to the tank years with the 2015 draft-day makeover highlighted by the selection of Jack Eichel second overall. It didn't work, and with the trades that former GM Tim Murray made to augment Eichel and 2014 second-overall pick Sam Reinhart being moved on from, it's Botterill's gig and things seem to be going very well for him.
In the last two blogs we looked at a very thin prospect pool in goal, which will be taxed even further as the Sabres will not qualify RFA starting goalie Robin Lehner, and a pretty thin collection of defensemen. Luckily for Buffalo they won the lottery and the selection of Dahlin will not only help the d-corps fall into place, the Sabres also have the option of keeping their top d-prospect, Brendan Guhle in Rochester at least for some of the season.
The forward group has been much maligned for their lack of top-level talent and overall speed. While the latter is true from a physical standpoint, they may have been more the victim of playing the game slower. Most forwards on the Sabres last season had NHL skating ability, but the mess that was the team, which included a rookie coach in Phil Housley wouldn't allow for playing the game at a faster pace.
That will change beginning this season as the forward group should see an influx of both speed and talent, albeit those two traits being mutually exclusive in some of the players that will be in Buffalo next season. Who will be a part of the opening day roster is still up in the air beginning with Ryan O'Reilly and stretching down to Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson.
For as much grief as Murray got for his trades, and it's warranted as all three of his big-time acquisitions may be gone after only three years, his drafting was pretty solid. That includes the aforementioned Guhle (2015, second round) plus D, Will Borgen (2015, fourth round) and a few players that are apart of our Top-7 forwards to keep an eye on.
Having said that, the top forward prospect that has all of Sabreland quite excited is a 2017 pick from Botterill's first draft as a GM.
C, Casey Mittelstadt (2017, 8th-overall)
How many times have you heard "I can't believe he dropped to us there" when talking about a prospect at the draft. Such was the case with Mittelstadt as many viewed him as a top-five pick but the Sabres were able to land him at No. 8.
The 2017 Mr. Hockey winner from Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota joined the NCAA's Minnesota Golden Gophers for one season before signing his entry-level deal with the Sabres in March. He played in six games for Buffalo registering his first NHL goal and adding four assists.
There's a lot to be excited about when it comes to Mittelstadt and what he has to offer. He's got size (6'0" 199 lbs.) and plenty of skill (11 goals and 30 points in 34 games as a freshman for the Gophers) to go along with his excellent skating ability. Although he isn't the fastest he's pretty quick to areas and his hockey sense allows him to play the game at a faster pace. Mittelstadt faced a lot of rugged defensive hockey in the BIG 10 last season and had plenty of gumption to get where he needed to go, which were often the dirty areas of the ice, and find the player in open space.
Where he plays next year in Buffalo is wholly dependent upon O'Reilly. Should they trade the veteran center, Mittelstadt will be looked to as the team's No. 2 center but should O'Reilly stay, it's likely that he'll be moved to third-line center. Although I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of him getting time on the wing in that scenario.
The Sabres will be adding two high-end prospects this season in Dahlin and Mittelstadt. It's a duo that has those of us in Sabreland pretty excited.
C, Sean Malone (2013, 159th)
Is Malone the No. 2 forward prospect for Buffalo? No, not by any stretch, but this isn't about ranking prospects, its about prospects to keep an eye on and he looks like he'll be knocking on the door of the NHL this coming season.
The West Seneca, NY native was more that a token local pick when the Sabres snagged him in the sixth round of the 2013 NHL Draft. The solid 6' 0" 190 lb two-way center left Nichols High School and embarked on a collegiate career at Harvard. While with the Crimson he scored 42 goals and 99 points in 115 games which included a 18-goal, 42-point breakout in his senior season. Malone got a one game taste of the NHL at the end of the 2017-17 season and spent last year in Rochester.
After adjusting to the speed of the pro game, Malone ramped up his game to the point where he said he felt like himself. That player he's talking about plays a 200' game with a lot of speed and determination. Although he doesn't have the skill-level to crack the top-six or even top-nine, once he gets up to speed at the NHL level, Malone has the ability to be a stalwart and clutch faceoff guy in a fourth-line checking role.
LW, C.J. Smith (2017, FA)
Smith is another player who isn't top-three amongst the prospect rankings, but one we should keep an eye on heading into the season.
The Sabres have no left wingers to speak of and the U-Mass Lowell product showed plenty of skill and speed to be considered for the openings on Buffalo's left side. At 5'11" 185 lbs. Smith doesn't have ideal NHL size, but he proved last season he could hang with the big boys at the pro level. Smith tied for second on the Amerks with 17 goals and was third on the team in scoring with 44 points, which tied him for 10th amongst rookies in the AHL.
In addition to his skills on offense, Smith plays a solid two-way game and is strong on the defensive side of the equation. What he has to offer at the NHL level is still unknown but he has a nice foundation with which to build upon, quite possibly in a third-line left wing role for the Sabres.
LW, Alexander Nylander (2016, 8th)
What was said about Smith's opportunity on the left side in Buffalo is also true for Nylander. So why is an eighth-overall pick behind a free agent who plays the same position? It's how the two seem to have approached the game in Rochester. As a free agent, Smith had a lot to prove whereas Nylander comes off as a player who's been in prima donna mode.
Nylander may have had the highest skill-level at the 2016 NHL Draft but the knock on him was that he disappeared, something we've seen in Rochester the last two seasons. In 116 games for the Amerks he's scored only 18 goals and 55 points. Put that up against what Smith has done in less than half the games.
Having said that, it's still a bit too early to give up on him. Nylander is an extremely gifted hockey player who has all the tools to take a spot in the top-six. But until he gets his head on straight, he's looking more like a bust than he is an NHL player.
C, Rasmus Asplund (2016, 33rd)
There has been a lot of anticipation with Asplund and when he would finally arrive in North America and the reason for it was his exceptional play at the pro level in his native Sweden.
Asplund won't wow you with his stats (8+20 in 50 games for Färjestad BK last season) but he does everything else extremely well. "He's quick and shifty, using his speed and turning ability to gaine time and space," reported The Draft Analyst, and he plays a full 200' game. Asplund is not afraid of the dirty areas on the ice and has a high compete-level.
Should he continue to develop properly, Asplund has all the attributes of a top-end, third-line center.
RW, Nicholas Baptiste (2013, 69th)
The right side of Buffalo's forward group is pretty full right now with Reinhart, Kyle Okposo and Jason Pominville in the top nine and Baptiste hasn't had much time, if any, on the left side. That makes for a pretty tough road to hoe for him.
At this point in his career, the 22 yr. old Baptiste is out of waiver options so if the Sabres want to keep him, he'll need to stay in Buffalo or they risk losing him. It's been a pretty choppy ride for Baptiste thus far in his pro career as he's spent most of it in Rochester. His AHL stats are decent (38+31 in 121 games) and he's managed seven goals (plus four assists) in 47 NHL games. But he just hasn't been able to break through quite yet.
We've seen spurts of what Baptiste can be as he has plenty of speed and can score from all areas using a wide array of shots. It's consistency that's lacking in his game, which is typical of young player and if he ever gets that ironed out, because of the speed and skill he has, Baptiste could be a force in the top-nine or even top-six.
He's got a lot riding on this season and it would behoove him to have a great camp and bust his way into the top nine.
RW, Victor Oloffson (2014, 181st)
Although there hasn't been much anticipation about Olofsson making his North American debut prior to last season, the numbers he put up in 2017-18 certainly raised some eyebrows.
Olofsson was a beast in Sweden with Frolunda as he lead the SHL with 27 goals while finishing with 43 points. It took the 5'11" 172 lb. sniper three full seasons to break out in Sweden's top league but did so in style as he finished with the Håkan Loob Trophy for most goals scored in the season.
Frolunda used him in the circle on the powerplay where Olofsson unleashed a deadly shot and there's no doubt that he's one of the most skilled shooters in the Sabres prospect pool. Can he find his place in Rochester playing on the smaller North American rink is one of the questions with Olofsson as is how he'll be able to keep his smaller frame out of trouble with the bigger, stronger, heavier competition in the AHL.
That said, having an influx of talent like his should bring good things for the Amerks and hopefully , Buffalo as well.
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