Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-7-2019
When you look at the starting lineup for last night's Buffalo Sabres/New Jersey Devils Prospects Challenge game, one of the things that stands out for Buffalo is the number of mid to lower-round picks and free agents on the roster. It was a pleasant surprise to see 2019 first round pick (7th-overall) Dylan Cozens on the ice after undergoing thumb surgery just after development camp and Sabres fans got their first taste of defenseman Henri Jokiharju (2017, 10th, CHI) in the Blue and Gold. Jokiharju was obtained by Buffalo in July for former first rounder, Alexander Nylander.
The next highest draft pick was center Rasmus Asplund who was picked in the second round (33rd) of the 2016 NHL Draft after the Sabres traded up for him. After that Buffalo's roster consisted of three third-rounders, five fourth-rounders, one sixth round pick, one seventh round pick and six undrafted players.
A 6-4 win, after jumping out to a 6-0 lead is pretty good for a group with so little top-end draft picks.
Monday, September 9, 2019
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Star power and intrigue at the 5th annual Sabres Prospects Challenge
The 5th annual Buffalo Sabres Prospects Challenge begins tonight. Prospects from the Sabres, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins will get the opportunity to show what they've got against their peers in the round-robin tournament that ends on Monday. The event will be held at Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo adjacent to KeyBank Center and admission is $10.
Sabres fans get to see their prospect pool in a competitive environment, some of whom will be donning the Blue and Gold for the first time. And for those attending tonight's game at 7:30 pm, they'll have the added bonus of seeing 2019 first-overall pick Jack Hughes in action as he'll be skating for the Devils.
Hughes is the marquis name at the tournament and one can expect a heavy dose of the 5'10" 166 lb. Orlando, Florida native as he'll be bringing his speed, vision and skill-set to the rink for the first time in a Devils sweater. Fans of all four teams will be watching their own prospects but Hughes is the player that should grab the attention of every fan base.
Friday, September 6, 2019
Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster--LW, Victor Olofsson
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-5-2019
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
LW--Victor Olofsson
24 yrs. old
5'11" 181 lbs.
2014, 7th round (181st-overall)
Career Stats: 6 games | 2 goals | 2 assists | 4 points | +1
In a way, winger Victor Olofsson is a key player for the Sabres organization moving forward. Having a former seventh-round pick make an impact at the NHL level would prove to be a big step for Buffalo and makes it a tad easier to fill in other holes in the lineup without overspending for talent in free agency.
There's no question that any big strides players like 19 yr. old Rasmus Dahlin, and 21 yr. old Casey Mittelstadt this season will be directly proportional to any success Buffalo might have in 2019-20 and we can fit Olofsson, a 24 yr. old rookie, right into that narrative as well.
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
LW--Victor Olofsson
24 yrs. old
5'11" 181 lbs.
2014, 7th round (181st-overall)
Career Stats: 6 games | 2 goals | 2 assists | 4 points | +1
In a way, winger Victor Olofsson is a key player for the Sabres organization moving forward. Having a former seventh-round pick make an impact at the NHL level would prove to be a big step for Buffalo and makes it a tad easier to fill in other holes in the lineup without overspending for talent in free agency.
There's no question that any big strides players like 19 yr. old Rasmus Dahlin, and 21 yr. old Casey Mittelstadt this season will be directly proportional to any success Buffalo might have in 2019-20 and we can fit Olofsson, a 24 yr. old rookie, right into that narrative as well.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster--C, Evan Rodrigues
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-4-2019
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
C--Evan Rodrigues
26 yrs. old
5'10" 176 lbs.
Undrafted free agent, 2015
Career Stats: 154 games | 21 goals | 41 assists | 62 points | -22
Forward Evan Rodrigues, who rode shotgun on Jack Eichel's line at Boston University in 2015, has carved himself out a pretty good professional hockey career thus far. Many, if not most, believed that riding Eichel's coattails got him a pro contract with the Buffalo Sabres but so far he's proved them wrong. Step by step Rodrigues made his way up the ranks and now finds himself a legit NHL player, which is a feather in the cap of both player and team in terms of development.
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
C--Evan Rodrigues
26 yrs. old
5'10" 176 lbs.
Undrafted free agent, 2015
Career Stats: 154 games | 21 goals | 41 assists | 62 points | -22
Forward Evan Rodrigues, who rode shotgun on Jack Eichel's line at Boston University in 2015, has carved himself out a pretty good professional hockey career thus far. Many, if not most, believed that riding Eichel's coattails got him a pro contract with the Buffalo Sabres but so far he's proved them wrong. Step by step Rodrigues made his way up the ranks and now finds himself a legit NHL player, which is a feather in the cap of both player and team in terms of development.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster--RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-3-2019
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
RHD--Rasmus Ristolainen
24 yrs. old
6'4" 215 lbs.
2013, 8th-overall
Career Stats: 424 games | 36 goals | 158 assists | 194 points | -143
Rasmus Ristolainen is easily the most polarizing on-ice player to skate for the Buffalo Sabres since goalie Ryan Miller. The 24 yr. old defenseman has been the workhorse for a team that has been historically bad not only in the National Hockey League, but throughout all of the four major North American Sports. With futility oozing into every crevice of Sabreland, Buffalo's league-long, eight-year playoff drought, which includes three last place finishes, brings the blame-game to unprecedented levels and seems to have touched every player at some level or another. Jack Eichel isn't Connor McDavid. Sam Reinhart stinks and was drafted too high. Ryan O'Reilly is over-rated. Robin Lehner was a flake. Evander Kane wasn't very good on the ice and even worse off it. Zemgus Girgensons should be shipped to Siberia, Jeff Skinner is one-dimensional and now severely overpaid, etc, etc., etc.
And so it goes.
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
RHD--Rasmus Ristolainen
24 yrs. old
6'4" 215 lbs.
2013, 8th-overall
Career Stats: 424 games | 36 goals | 158 assists | 194 points | -143
Rasmus Ristolainen is easily the most polarizing on-ice player to skate for the Buffalo Sabres since goalie Ryan Miller. The 24 yr. old defenseman has been the workhorse for a team that has been historically bad not only in the National Hockey League, but throughout all of the four major North American Sports. With futility oozing into every crevice of Sabreland, Buffalo's league-long, eight-year playoff drought, which includes three last place finishes, brings the blame-game to unprecedented levels and seems to have touched every player at some level or another. Jack Eichel isn't Connor McDavid. Sam Reinhart stinks and was drafted too high. Ryan O'Reilly is over-rated. Robin Lehner was a flake. Evander Kane wasn't very good on the ice and even worse off it. Zemgus Girgensons should be shipped to Siberia, Jeff Skinner is one-dimensional and now severely overpaid, etc, etc., etc.
And so it goes.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster--LHD, Jack McCabe
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-1-2019
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
LHD--Jake McCabe
25 yrs. old
6'1" 206 lbs.
2012, 44th-overall
Career stats: 274 games | 14 goals | 47 assists | 61 points | -19
When you look at Jake McCabe's stat-line above, there's one stat that stands out: his minus-19 plus/minus rating. Although the question of why a negative rating stands out seems rather dubious for a player, one only need to look at the Buffalo Sabres as a whole and on an individual basis since McCabe's first full season in 2015-16. It was the year that Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, two second-overall picks, would join a group of players led by a trio of young vets that were to bring the Sabres out of the depths of their tank years on a march to the playoffs and hopefully to the status of Stanley Cup contender.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. In those four years Buffalo compiled a 126-157-45 record and those 297 total points ranked them dead last in the league. Their 817 goals-for was third-worst in the league as was their 992 goals-against, good for a minus-175 goal-differential and with a negative number like that, it affected every player on the team, especially those who skated big minutes.
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
LHD--Jake McCabe
25 yrs. old
6'1" 206 lbs.
2012, 44th-overall
Career stats: 274 games | 14 goals | 47 assists | 61 points | -19
When you look at Jake McCabe's stat-line above, there's one stat that stands out: his minus-19 plus/minus rating. Although the question of why a negative rating stands out seems rather dubious for a player, one only need to look at the Buffalo Sabres as a whole and on an individual basis since McCabe's first full season in 2015-16. It was the year that Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, two second-overall picks, would join a group of players led by a trio of young vets that were to bring the Sabres out of the depths of their tank years on a march to the playoffs and hopefully to the status of Stanley Cup contender.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. In those four years Buffalo compiled a 126-157-45 record and those 297 total points ranked them dead last in the league. Their 817 goals-for was third-worst in the league as was their 992 goals-against, good for a minus-175 goal-differential and with a negative number like that, it affected every player on the team, especially those who skated big minutes.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster--RW, Marcus Johansson
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-31-2019
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
RW--Marcus Johansson
28 yrs. old
6'1" 205 lbs.
2009, 24th-overall, NSH
In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.
RW--Marcus Johansson
28 yrs. old
6'1" 205 lbs.
2009, 24th-overall, NSH
Career stats: 588 games | 120 goals | 214 assists | 334 points | -5
Landing Marcus Johansson was a bit of a coup for the Buffalo Sabres as he brings tons of experience, including 94 games of playoff experience. But even more important for Sabres general manager Jason Botterill was getting Johansson on a short, two-year deal at a reasonable $4.5 million cap hit. Johansson was an unrestricted free agent and was coming off of an excellent playoff run with the Boston Bruins who came just short of winning the Stanley Cup.
Johansson's play was lauded after slow start with the B's who acquired him from the New Jersey Devils at the trade deadline. "a bit of an incomplete at the end of the regular season turned into a great postseason performance," wrote Adam Denhard for SB Nations, Stanley Cup of Chowder. "Johansson more than earned his keep on the Bruins long post season run [and although] 11 points in 22 post season games might not sound like a torrential outpouring of points, his patience and vision with the puck made for lots of free space around him as he seemed to draw an extra defender's attention when driving play."
What's that worth financially to a team looking to sign him? Apparently what Buffalo got him for. What's it worth to the Sabres? Plenty.
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