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

[Chainshot]

Am I crazy for thinking I’d be very happy with Willander at 13? Seems to be rising up lists the last couple weeks. Smart, good skating, two way RD

Not crazy. He's got one hell of a U18 springboarding him into the draft.

 

[Gabrielor]

Not crazy. He's got one hell of a U18 springboarding him into the draft.

Willander vs Pellikka is suddenly a conversation I'm having.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I predicted Stenberg in 2022 and I might as well stick with that as my prediction for who we go with at 13. He just seems like the prototypical Adams player. Totally worthy of a 13th pick imo.

 

[HOOats]

Any thoughts on William Whitelaw with one of our 2nds? (Assuming we go D 1st)

36 goal (3rd best), PPG season in USHL. Seems like he fits our type as a high-skill, high-motor sniper undervalued due to size. Quick reading says he started to answer questions re: his ability/willingness to create for others as the year progressed. Four years at Wisconsin starting D+1, so we could slow cook him and he won't beat down the door while our gaggle of young forwards sorts out.

Name straight out of Braveheart certainly doesn't hurt. Hopefully he'd be "Willy" here. The patriot in me wants a few Americans to compliment our welcome new Canadian and Russian cohorts (and maybe Kevyn and Donnie do too.)

 

[Old Navy Goat]

I'd prefer Danny Nelson over Whitelaw in the 2nd

 

[Sabres]

Daniil But feels like someone Adams would be after in the 2nd round. Adams doesn't seem to care about any of the Russian issues and is taking advantage of the hesitance of other GMs. And honestly, I'm all for it

 

[Fjordy]

Daniil But feels like someone Adams would be after in the 2nd round. Adams doesn't seem to care about any of the Russian issues and is taking advantage of the hesitance of other GMs. And honestly, I'm all for it

I think But may well gone around 20-30, taking him in the second round would be great.

 

[Gabrielor]

Give me all the D

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Daniil But feels like someone Adams would be after in the 2nd round. Adams doesn't seem to care about any of the Russian issues and is taking advantage of the hesitance of other GMs. And honestly, I'm all for it

I'd be shocked if there are any GMs who wouldn't jump at him in the 2nd round since he seems like first round talent.

 

[Jim Bob]

I'd be shocked if there are any GMs who wouldn't jump at him in the 2nd round since he seems like first round talent.

I wouldn't be shocked if there were multiple teams that are scared off of any Russian prospect in the first 2 or 3 rounds, or the entire draft.

The fact that the Sabres have not been scared to take Russians the past two drafts will continue to allow them to get value picks.

 

[Fjordy]

Michkov, by the way, said that he was not going to go to the draft combine, but he plans to come to the draft itself.

 

[Jim Bob]

He would only go on vacation to Hawaii if he was allowed to take his stick and rollerblades.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Matt Ress]

Since we really don't know who will be hanging around at 13, which attributes do we see Adams and co. coveting the most? Skating and shooting?

 

[Fjordy]

Since we really don't know who will be hanging around at 13, which attributes do we see Adams and co. coveting the most? Skating and shooting?

I remember he was talking about the best player in the future. So there might be upside potential in future. Apparently he doesn't care about size. But I like Benson, Barlow and Moore most of the potential forwards that could be available at 13. Although I don't really believe that Benson will fall that much, but you never know.

 

[Zman5778]

Since we really don't know who will be hanging around at 13, which attributes do we see Adams and co. coveting the most? Skating and shooting?

If there's one thing we can learn from his most recent drafts -- he covets elite-level shooting in his forward prospects. Or elite-level athleticism.

 

[Matt Ress]

I remember he was talking about the best player in the future. So there might be upside potential in future. Apparently he doesn't care about size. But I like Benson, Barlow and Moore most of the potential forwards that could be available at 13. Although I don't really believe that Benson will fall that much, but you never know.

I think he does understand the importance of having size in the lineup. But I guess it's clearly not a priority. Or maybe to the stat team it's just another attribute like silky hands.

 

[Ace]

I believe you draft skill and sign/trade for size. Nothing busts more than banking on the future physical effectiveness of an 18 year old. You go get veteran guys who have proven they can do it.

 

[Sabres]

I'd be shocked if there are any GMs who wouldn't jump at him in the 2nd round since he seems like first round talent.

Totally agree he’s a 1st round talent. But many GMs are scared of the Russian factor. Michkov is the clear #2 in this draft and people have no idea where he’s gonna go, so seeing other Russians drop wouldn’t be surprising

 

[ValJamesDuex]

 

[Chainshot]

Since we really don't know who will be hanging around at 13, which attributes do we see Adams and co. coveting the most? Skating and shooting?

He talks about smart, fast, competitive players. There also seems to be a bit of preference to guys who perform well at the U18's (Rosen, Ostlund, Kulich, Politpov, Novikov - Lyckasen was at the U18s but struggled) but that's not universal. If we went fully with the lean toward Swedes, Stenberg would be right in their wheelhouse (@Doug Prishpreed called that months ago) and Dower Nilsson might be too (who I don't care for).

Yes some diversification is necessary yet this draft is still chock full of smaller, smart, fast, competitive players.

 

[Old Navy Goat]

He also looks for upside, players that are still maturing or growing their game. A player like Danny Nelson that switched to forward a couple years ago is right up his alley in Rd 2

 

[Gabrielor]

View attachment 710107

Buy it every year. This time, I decided to actually sub.



If Michkov is on the board at 6, I'm seriously tempted to call ARI...

 

[HaNotsri]

I mean, how are the Sabres not the perfect destination for Michkov? Young, strong forward depth that can wait for him to arrive and a growing contingent of Russian prospects in the system to welcome him.

How far does he need to fall before we make a move up? Or maybe the better question, at what point would a team be willing to move back to #13 to give us the opportunity? I think if he makes it past the Habs at #5 its time To start making some calls.

You'd probably have to add one of Power, Cozens, Savoie+, Quinn++ to the 13th for that to happen.

Or something silly like 1st, Rosén, Kulich, Östlund.

Michkov isn't worth less if he goes outside top 5.

The reason Michkov might not go 2nd is because of the insane top of the draft.
Leo Carlsson is not as hyped as Dahlin but he's that level of prospect. Best swedish forward in 15 years and he's pretty much just a guy in the top 5 mix.

 

[Jim Bob]

Since we really don't know who will be hanging around at 13, which attributes do we see Adams and co. coveting the most? Skating and shooting?

What Kevyn Adams looks for in a future Sabre

In the opening of the Sabres: Embedded 2020 video about the NHL Draft where the Buffalo Sabres drafted Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka, there w...

jbrndmthght.blogspot.com

Here is a blog post I did last year based off of something that was in an Embedded video in 2020 and a picture entitled 'Sabres Philosophy: "What is a Sabre"'.

The way I read this definition, it looks like it was, "A Buffalo Sabre is an athlete that is intentional with his habits on and off the ice, driven to grow and improve on whatever challenges and adversity are presented. Through grit and mental toughness, a Buffalo Sabre will be unselfish, resilient and compete to get better everyday, with the goal of winning a Stanley Cup Championship."

Then you have the post-draft press availability with Jerry Forton last year that talks about their process and how it is a blend of traditional scouting and analytics and the need for both sides agreeing on a guy.

So, the focus on analytics has lended towards them focusing on offensive skill a lot in their picks over the past few drafts.