2023 NHL Draft June 28 and 29, Nashville, TN (Selections - 13, 39, 45, 86, 109, 141, 173, 205)

[Ace]

If only Hamilton would read the board he might have something insightful or intelligent to say once in a while

 

[Asymmetric Solution]

If only Hamilton would read the board he might have something insightful or intelligent to say once in a while

Ok Paul.

 

[Der Jaeger]

View attachment 717958
I am almost certain some of these beat writers and Twitter/Blog folks follow us here and take our content and publish it as their own. I’ve seen it time and time again shortly after stuff is posted in here. Sometimes maybe it’s a coincidence but I’m not really a believer of those. Regardless, looks like other people are jumping on the bandwagon.

They all come around eventually

I know we put up some grunt work on threads and see similar things show up in various outlets. The goalie thread, the PK thread, the Americans off-season thread with the roster tracker — were a good clearinghouse for information. Lol.

You’re absolutely correct. I follow tons of Sabres content and stuff we discuss on here is pretty unique (one of the reasons I’m here) and not stuff you see anywhere else. But boy, once we start digging in here and discussing, wowla, it starts appearing all over in the Sabres media sphere. Coincidence? Maybe some, but to some of you beat folks hiding out there…. We’re on to you!

Edit: However, many of you all are pretty solid hobby scouts, and just ahead of the information flow. Props to you all.

Beat writers, maybe.

I can guarantee - I'd put a month's worth of pay and benefits on the table as a bet - that the actual scouts came to that conclusion without any help from in here.

I'd also bet that if we really dug deep and put our collective receipts on the table, that we'd be wrong more than right.

Who was wrong on Alex Nylander? Posters beat the table for a winger for Eichel over a D
Lias Anderson? I'm guilty
Juuso Valimaki?
Mattias Samuelsson? Plenty of posters thought he was a wasted pick.
Dylan Cozens? Lots of people wanted Zegras
Jack Quinn? Line up if you wanted Rossi, there were plenty of you. I wanted Lundell.
Isak Rosen? An even bigger list of detractors.

We're not a smart as we think we are, just because we thought a player was going to be ranked high, and some were right. From spending time in a professional sports team scouting department, no one cares if you hit once. It's got to be consistent.

 

[Zman5778]

Who was wrong on Alex Nylander? Posters beat the table for a winger for Eichel over a D

Ehhh, I remember the general consensus around here that year being that a D would likely present better value than a forward. Granted, there was a complete mismash of some that wanted Sergachev, some wanted McAvoy, some wanted Chychrun.

I don't think many here wanted Nylander at all

 

[Der Jaeger]

Ehhh, I remember the general consensus around here that year being that a D would likely present better value than a forward. Granted, there was a complete mismash of some that wanted Sergachev, some wanted McAvoy, some wanted Chychrun.

I don't think many here wanted Nylander at all

They are here

 

[Misko]

Chances one of Reinbacher, Simachev, Benson mae it to 13 ? Under 20% or higher ? This happens every year here.

I don't think the odds of Benson dropping to 13 are very high; I think a team higher will take their chances on him before the Sabres, but if he's around at 13 I think he has to be a tantalizing pick. The chemistry and connection to Savoie goes without saying on top of Benson having elite upside. Only downside really is that Skinner, Benson and Savoie are all smallish to small, but the rest of the forward group is so big that I think it could probably still work.

And even though I know that we need a legit Top-4D, ideally a RHD who can play solid 2nd pair minutes with Power, I'd rather pick BPA at #13 if a better forward is available. Buffalo's need on on defense is immediate and idk if there's any defender outside of Reinbacher who you could safely project to play in the NHL sooner than 24-25 at best. Sabres should probably address that need via trade or Free Agency, since Dahlin Power and Samuelsson are all quite young, a stabilizing veteran in that Top 4 is also probably for the best?

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Ehhh, I remember the general consensus around here that year being that a D would likely present better value than a forward. Granted, there was a complete mismash of some that wanted Sergachev, some wanted McAvoy, some wanted Chychrun.

I don't think many here wanted Nylander at all

I don't remember that either. I also don't remember many people pounding the table for Zegras, although there certainly were a few who felt strongly about him. Far more of us would have preferred Krebs.

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

Wanted Chychrun...hated the Nylander pick.

Wanted Zegras...not too bothered by the Cozens pick.
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.
.
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Wanted Foligno...still have nightmares about the Persson pick.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Wanted Chychrun...hated the Nylander pick.

Wanted Zegras...not too bothered by the Cozens pick.
.
.
.
.
Wanted Foligno...still have nightmares about the Persson pick.

I was really frustrated that we took Mitts over Vilardi. Seems like kind of a wash in retrospect?

 

[Chainshot]

Beat writers, maybe.

I can guarantee - I'd put a month's worth of pay and benefits on the table as a bet - that the actual scouts came to that conclusion without any help from in here.

I'd also bet that if we really dug deep and put our collective receipts on the table, that we'd be wrong more than right.

Who was wrong on Alex Nylander? Posters beat the table for a winger for Eichel over a D
Lias Anderson? I'm guilty
Juuso Valimaki?
Mattias Samuelsson? Plenty of posters thought he was a wasted pick.
Dylan Cozens? Lots of people wanted Zegras
Jack Quinn? Line up if you wanted Rossi, there were plenty of you. I wanted Lundell.
Isak Rosen? An even bigger list of detractors.

We're not a smart as we think we are, just because we thought a player was going to be ranked high, and some were right. From spending time in a professional sports team scouting department, no one cares if you hit once. It's got to be consistent.

We do a lot of conversation here that gets picked up out in the bigger sphere - not talking about scouting guys specifically, talking about the conversation about certain topics.

 

[Ace]

I don't remember that either. I also don't remember many people pounding the table for Zegras, although there certainly were a few who felt strongly about him. Far more of us would have preferred Krebs.

Many wanted Caulfield. It’s not like they were picking a bust.

 

[Asymmetric Solution]

Beat writers, maybe.

I can guarantee - I'd put a month's worth of pay and benefits on the table as a bet - that the actual scouts came to that conclusion without any help from in here.

I'd also bet that if we really dug deep and put our collective receipts on the table, that we'd be wrong more than right.

Who was wrong on Alex Nylander? Posters beat the table for a winger for Eichel over a D
Lias Anderson? I'm guilty
Juuso Valimaki?
Mattias Samuelsson? Plenty of posters thought he was a wasted pick.
Dylan Cozens? Lots of people wanted Zegras
Jack Quinn? Line up if you wanted Rossi, there were plenty of you. I wanted Lundell.
Isak Rosen? An even bigger list of detractors.

We're not a smart as we think we are, just because we thought a player was going to be ranked high, and some were right. From spending time in a professional sports team scouting department, no one cares if you hit once. It's got to be consistent.

Not just beat writers but the guys running pages, twitter and instagram pages and posters, etc. It's not always the scouting either, however, there is a theme there but content here as well. On that note, I'm derailing this topic now and I'll leave it at that. It was just an observation.

 

[Der Jaeger]

We do a lot of conversation here that gets picked up out in the bigger sphere - not talking about scouting guys specifically, talking about the conversation about certain topics.

Not just beat writers but the guys running pages, twitter and instagram pages and posters, etc. It's not always the scouting either, however, there is a theme there but content here as well. On that note, I'm derailing this topic now and I'll leave it at that. It was just an observation.

Both fair points.

I'm just deflating our own balloon. We're high fiving over Simashev when our collective batting average probably isn't that high.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Many wanted Caulfield. It’s not like they were picking a bust.

I wanted Caufield. In fairness I also wanted Turcotte and was pissed the Kings took him.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Here would be my plan heading into the draft:

Olofsson to a team with a poor power play, retain 50%, and ask for a 2023 3rd round pick. Winnipeg, St. Louis, and Seattle come to mind. Pens could also be a player in that, though their PP is better and doesn't really have a spot for Olofsson.

13: take BPA, whoever that is.

Use 39 and a 3rd to rade back into the back end of the 1st round (possibly adding a 4th to make sure it gets done). Look for a spot to pick Danny Nelson, who is a toolsy player who fits the bill for what Adams is looking for in a lot of ways. Plus, he's a physical player.

45: BPA again, with an eye on a few players who fit the mold of having some development left. Stramel, Rehkopf, etc.

3rd (whichever they don't trade): Cam Allen had a poor year but still is worth developing. I also think take a flier on Brady Cleveland as a bigger D in the Samuelsson mold could be a good pick in 2-3 years.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Ehhh, I remember the general consensus around here that year being that a D would likely present better value than a forward. Granted, there was a complete mismash of some that wanted Sergachev, some wanted McAvoy, some wanted Chychrun.

I don't think many here wanted Nylander at all

I don't think McAvoy got as much love on here, the primary focus was on Chychrun.

The one though that always gets me is when Regier traded up one spot to take Tyler Myers instead of Colton Teubert. The reactions on here were absolutely incredible.

 

[Asymmetric Solution]

Both fair points.

I'm just deflating our own balloon. We're high fiving over Simashev when our collective batting average probably isn't that high.

I mean some of ours are definitely higher than others

 

[The Blunder Years]

View attachment 717958
I am almost certain some of these beat writers and Twitter/Blog folks follow us here and take our content and publish it as their own. I’ve seen it time and time again shortly after stuff is posted in here. Sometimes maybe it’s a coincidence but I’m not really a believer of those. Regardless, looks like other people are jumping on the bandwagon.

Taking this one step further, I wonder if NHL scouts pop in on forum boards to read up on what posters are saying about prospects. I know this is a pretty absurd question, but hey maybe they see if there’s prospects in the deeper rounds that could potentially be scouted. There is some very knowledgeable posters on this site. Especially in the main prospect board.

 

[The Blunder Years]

Going back:

2014: wanted Draisaitl just as much as Reinhart. Mainly because people called him German Gretzky… and I’m German lol.
2016: Wanted Sergachev or Chychrun
2017: Wanted Makar or Pettersson to fall to us. Also wanted Mitts
2019: Wanted Turcotte then Kalieyev at #31
2020: Wanted Rossi or Lundell
2021: Wanted Ceulemans, Svetchkov, or Wallstedt at #14
2022: Wanted Savoie with the first choice. Then liked Kulich, Yurov, McGroarty, Lekkerimaki, Firkus, Casey, Hutson, and Chesley with the other two firsts.

 

[Reddawg]

They are here

I was one of them. Clearly, I was wrong. I celebrated hard at Canalside when the Nylander pick was announced.

 

[Royal Thunder]

I don't think McAvoy got as much love on here, the primary focus was on Chychrun.

The one thought that always gets me is when Regier traded up one spot to take Tyler Myers instead of Colton Teubert. The reactions on here were absolutely incredible.

Now that is a blast from the past, I haven’t heard the name Colton Teubert in probably a decade but vaguely remember wanting him that year

 

[Fjordy]

Going back:

2014: wanted Draisaitl just as much as Reinhart. Mainly because people called him German Gretzky… and I’m German lol.
2016: Wanted Sergachev or Chychrun
2017: Wanted Makar or Pettersson to fall to us. Also wanted Mitts
2019: Wanted Turcotte then Kalieyev at #31
2020: Wanted Rossi or Lundell
2021: Wanted Ceulemans, Svetchkov, or Wallstedt at #14
2022: Wanted Savoie with the first choice. Then liked Kulich, Yurov, McGroarty, Lekkerimaki, Firkus, Casey, Hutson, and Chesley with the other two firsts.

2018: Wanted Dahlin ofc
2019: Wanted Zegras
2020: Wanted Rossi
2021: damn I don't remember who I wanted then
2022: Wanted Savoie

 

[Aladyyn]

Ehhh, I remember the general consensus around here that year being that a D would likely present better value than a forward. Granted, there was a complete mismash of some that wanted Sergachev, some wanted McAvoy, some wanted Chychrun.

I don't think many here wanted Nylander at all

I believe when we did the draft board polls, Chychrun ended up being #4 after Matthews/Laine/Puljujarvi. Almost everyone wanted a defenseman in that draft.

(I will admit that I didn't mind the Nylander pick because I never expected him to fall to us and still delusionally think he can be a middle 6 winger in the NHL if he gets in the right situation)

 

[truthbluth]

Under Kev, the Sabres have had consistent drafting philosophies WITHIN each draft, but not necessarily across each draft.
2020 - Athletic forwards with upside who can shoot.
2021 - Russians who did well at U-18s
2022 - Quick, smart, offensivy minded forwards

I wonder what the there will be this year? I think most of us are hoping for some combination of size/grit/defensive acumen. And this looks like a draft where you can lean a little bit into that. But what does a mock look like of the scouts focus on, I don't know, transition monsters?
It's just a thought.

 

[Chainshot]

Under Kev, the Sabres have had consistent drafting philosophies WITHIN each draft, but not necessarily across each draft.
2020 - Athletic forwards with upside who can shoot.
2021 - Russians who did well at U-18s
2022 - Quick, smart, offensivy minded forwards

I wonder what the there will be this year? I think most of us are hoping for some combination of size/grit/defensive acumen. And this looks like a draft where you can lean a little bit into that. But what does a mock look like of the scouts focus on, I don't know, transition monsters?
It's just a thought.

The U18s have been an influence across both of the last two drafts - Ostlund, Kulich, and Rosen all had strong U18's to go along with their pre-draft years. Strong skaters permeate all three drafts - not universal but the majority are, some even to an eye-opening level. This draft looks like it is full of folks they have taken previously with positionless, smaller, quick inside driven forwards. What will be intriguing is if they break out of that to look for size or grit or even defensemen in the top few rounds.