Astounded by a Team and GM who have consistently said they are building through the draft and have only a couple of players they actually drafted playing on there Team. And a bunch of others they drafted who we don't know if they even fit.
- Buff36

What do you realistically expect? Expect, not hope for.
Do you expect them to triple the league average? Would that be good enough? Should we expect 60% of 3rd rounders to play in the NHL?
Should every 1st be an elite player?

I just want to know from the board what are their expectations of the drafted players? Not some fluff description, hard data that y'all expect.

from 2014 to 2023 the sabres have had 4 picks in the top 2
12 picks in the top 16
15 picks in the top 32
34 picks in the first 3 rounds
- homiedclown

Those 4 in the Top 2 are each pretty, pretty good too.

I don't care about other Teams, I care about a Team who says there building through the Draft and after 5 Years they have 2 players they can count on that they know of and a bunch of ? marks.
- Buff36

Welcome to the NHL draft where after generally speaking … the top 3-5 picks. It’s a crapshoot after that

If the Sabres had the same draft positions in the nfl. We would’ve been all rebuilt already

What do you realistically expect? Expect, not hope for.
Do you expect them to triple the league average? Would that be good enough? Should we expect 60% of 3rd rounders to play in the NHL?
Should every 1st be an elite player?

I just want to know from the board what are their expectations of the drafted players? Not some fluff description, hard data that y'all expect.
- IonSabres

I expect if you say you are building through the draft that you start using some of these players to see if they fit what you are building. By the time we figure out said player fits or doesn't fit the player you drafted after him might already be failing. If you are trying to build a team on draft picks I would want to know a bit quicker then there D3 season in case I need to change my Draft strategy to fill needs.

I expect if you say you are building through the draft that you start using some of these players to see if they fit what you are building. By the time we figure out said player fits or doesn't fit the player you drafted after him might already be failing. If you are trying to build a team on draft picks I would want to know a bit quicker then there D3 season in case I need to change my Draft strategy to fill needs.
- Buff36

36, not directed solely towards you rather the board in general.

I would consider that to be a fluffy description.

If you were President of Hockey Ops, what would you set as expectations for your GM and Development Team...how many should make the NHL in
D1
D2
D3
D4
From each round.

36, not directed solely towards you rather the board in general.

I would consider that to be a fluffy description.

If you were President of Hockey Ops, what would you set as expectations for your GM and Development Team...how many should make the NHL in
D1
D2
D3
D4
From each round.
- IonSabres

I wouldn't be building a Team solely through the Draft, my point is if that's the Sabres plan then they have to figure these kids out quicker. You can't build a Team through the Draft totally. NHL Changes so much that by the time you thought you had it right the player profile has changed. I am all for letting prospects mature, but the way the Sabres are doing it, especially being a young team already is hard. Most Teams use the draft to Augment there roster, not build it.

Have not seen any Amerks games, but I did watch most of the preseason games with the AHL roster. Came away with Ostlund and Helenius as being our best chances of developing into high skill top 6 players (but odds are not great). I was a little disappointed in Wahlberg but he's probably the next best shot we have at forward. I'm concerned that Rosen being another Asplund.

By the way, this could end up being a down year for Quinn but I think at the end of the season you sign him for some term at a reasonable cost (gamble). It's would be a horrible time to trade him.
- BuffaloHerd

Yeah, Wahlberg did have a tough camp, agreed. He's really been a force in the AHL so far though, which is a good sign given his age. Think he's just a missing element of sorts.

And I wouldn't mind that. If Quinn doesn't snap out of it, I would wonder if it's injury or some systemic issue that he'll figure out, so I'd do the same. Really just depends on the price tag. If you can get a long-ish term (3-4 years or so) at $3M deal, I think you take it even if it marches you to UFA.

36, not directed solely towards you rather the board in general.

I would consider that to be a fluffy description.

If you were President of Hockey Ops, what would you set as expectations for your GM and Development Team...how many should make the NHL in
D1
D2
D3
D4
From each round.
- IonSabres

2 players from each draft making a regular contribution to the nhl club

draft 1 goalie a year no matter what

every 5 years draft at least 1 fringe all star


I think the big issue is the lack of upper end players aside from power and dahlin on the roster

peterka is a really good player but when you are a lottery team for 13 years and has been sellers at the deadline for 13 years, I think you have more lottery tickets and given the lack of restrictions on money, you should have one of the best scouting departments to find those needs

all we have been doing is draft undersized guys up front with lottery picks

Those 4 in the Top 2 are each pretty, pretty good too.
- IonSabres

Good point ^^

Pretty easy to hit at that range. Power has been loads better this year thankfully.

And I wouldn't mind that. If Quinn doesn't snap out of it, I would wonder if it's injury or some systemic issue that he'll figure out,
- QuinnFan

he looks like he lost a step

he looks like he lost a step
- homiedclown

Skating in sand for sure.

That's why I thought injury...asked that buddy of mine and he said he'd heard nothing. He's not part of the medical staff though, so who knows if he'd be privy to that anyways.

Kid thrived in transition, but right now he can't help generate an odd man rush to save his life.

Ugh, I knew there was a game tonight, but why the Islanders. Those are always sooooo boring.

Kevyn went to the casino with $50k loan and a plan to build through the game of roulette.

He played high $ bets on the low risk outside, black/red…even hitting once on green.

His inside winning percentage was so low that the winnings from playing the outside do not cover the inside losses.

Now he has scraps left to bet with and is desperate since his $50k loan is going to mature.

Attempting to validate said plan due to roulette being a game of chance…well there is a support group called gamblers anonymous for those types.

12/25/24.

Terry put a dying franchise into the hands of a degenerate. The results could be seen from 2+ years ago.

Skating in sand for sure.

That's why I thought injury...asked that buddy of mine and he said he'd heard nothing. He's not part of the medical staff though, so who knows if he'd be privy to that anyways.

Kid thrived in transition, but right now he can't help generate an odd man rush to save his life.
- QuinnFan

he looked so good in Jan and April

and wasn't Peterka on the top line in April?

Terry put a dying franchise into the hands of a degenerate. The results could be seen from 2+ years ago.
- washedup20

it's all garbage

everyone one of them

garbage

Kevyn went to the casino with $50k loan and a plan to build through the game of roulette.

He played high $ bets on the low risk outside, black/red…even hitting once on green.

His inside winning percentage was so low that the winnings from playing the outside do not cover the inside losses.

Now he has scraps left to bet with and is desperate since his $50k loan is going to mature.

Attempting to validate said plan due to roulette being a game of chance…well there is a support group called gamblers anonymous for those types.

12/25/24.
- washedup20

Good analogy.

he looked so good in Jan and April

and wasn't Peterka on the top line in April?
- homiedclown

Yeah, he came back strong both times and no reports of reinjuries, so I'm just perplexed. Peterka was up with Tommer by then yeah.

Kevyn went to the casino with $50k loan and a plan to build through the game of roulette.

He played high $ bets on the low risk outside, black/red…even hitting once on green.

His inside winning percentage was so low that the winnings from playing the outside do not cover the inside losses.

Now he has scraps left to bet with and is desperate since his $50k loan is going to mature.

Attempting to validate said plan due to roulette being a game of chance…well there is a support group called gamblers anonymous for those types.

12/25/24.
- washedup20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvDu3IysKiM

I wouldn't be building a Team solely through the Draft, my point is if that's the Sabres plan then they have to figure these kids out quicker. You can't build a Team through the Draft totally. NHL Changes so much that by the time you thought you had it right the player profile has changed. I am all for letting prospects mature, but the way the Sabres are doing it, especially being a young team already is hard. Most Teams use the draft to Augment there roster, not build it.
- Buff36

Good debate here 36. It has been frustrating watch the roster building during the drought.

So, IMO that is different issues, 1) style of build, 2) lack of quality veterans added.

I'll continue to maintain that Drafting is the least of their problems. Overall, they are doing quite well, the primary issue is that the historical development timeline for prospects is just "coming on-line" as we speak.
Several 1st Rounders are already playing including:
Cozens 2019
Quinn 2020
Power 2021
Kulich 2022
Benson 2023

Savoy 2022 was traded for a much needed 3C

Ostlund and Helenius are in year 1 of adjusting to the NA game..they will need to do so.


Second Rounders
Peterka 2022 looks like a complete beast.

Johnson 2019 should be coming on-line (should be playing but Adams reneged on his pledge not to block youngsters)

Wahlberg, Strbak, Kleber are all showing promising signs.

I continue to think the roster hasn't been optimized for several reasons,
-Drafting several Russians in early rounds and having them stay over there delays their development from a cultural, language and NA game perspective. polter and Kisakov are examples.
-I'd question the Development Team and AHL Coaching. Rosen and Johnson's timelines are extended. Round 1 D2 and D3 players should be closing in.
-Retaining washed veterans rather than aggressively replacing them with Top 6, even Top 9 players was a very obvious deficiency and set key members of the Core back.
- Granato turned out to be a one year/18 month wonder and was ill-suited to build a winning culture and further develop young players into well rounded players.

aside from peterka we have zero impact players on this roster that we drafted outside the top 10


with all those picks over 10 years


from 2014 to 2023 the sabres have had 4 picks in the top 2
12 picks in the top 16
15 picks in the top 32
34 picks in the first 3 rounds
- homiedclown

Why would I look at picks from 2014.. They don't have anyone from before the 2017 draft.

The conversation was are they good at drafting. KA took over in 2020. Im not looking at drafts before he took over.

Since 2020 they've shown the ability to draft well.

End of point

Words

Why would I look at picks from 2014.. They don't have anyone from before the 2017 draft.


- DirtyDan

13 years without making the playoffs


your frustration may only go 6 years, but for others it's 13 plus years

Words
- jochfr