2024 Prospect Poll #6

[tsujimoto74]

RESULTS SO FAR:

1. Devon Levi, G (84/146 votes, 57.5%) (--). Runner up: Jiri Kulich.
2. Jiri Kulich, F (89/136 votes, 65.4%) (+1). Runner up: Konsta Helenius.
3. Konsta Helenius, F (76/118, 64.4%) (NR). Runner up: Noah Ostlund.
4. Noah Ostlund, F (79/120 votes, 69.8%) (+1). Runner up: Anton Wahlberg.
5. Isak Rosen, F (43/128 votes, 33.6%) (+1). Runner up: Anton Wahlberg.

RULES: Each poll will remain open for 2 days. In the case of a tie within the top 10, I'll create a 1-day runoff poll to decide the winner. Ties outside of the top 10 will be let stand as ties. For each additional poll, I will add the most commented next to add prospect.



ELIGIBILITY: All players whose rights are held by the Buffalo Sabres and who are eligible to win the Calder Trophy for the 2024-25 season are eligible inclusion. That means a prospect is eligible if--

• He is under age 26 (as of September 15, 2024);
• He has played no more than 25 games in any single preceding season; and
• He has not played 6 or more games in each of any two or more preceding seasons.

NEXT TO ADD: Comment the player you want to see added to the next poll. The following players are eligible:

• Forwards: Olivier Nadeau, Alexander Kisakov, Ethan Miedema, Tyler Tulio, Tyson Kozak, Lukas Rousek, Viljami Marjala, Jake Richard, Matteo Costantini, Aaron Huglen, William von Barnekow, Gustav Karlsson, Stiven Sardaryan, Linus Sjodin, Vasili Zelenov, Joel Berndtsson
• Defensemen: Simon-Pier Brunet, Luke Osburn, Patrick Geary, Shane Keohane, Norwin Panocha
• Goalies: Scott Ratzlaff, Topias Leinonen, Ryerson Leenders

 

[Dingo44]

Wahlberg, add Kozak.

 

[Jacob582]

Komarov, add Leinonen

 

[Zman5778]

Wow. Rosen with the come-from-behind to "steal" the #5 spot.


I've got Johnson here by a whisker over Wahlberg.

Add Ratzlaff

 

[Ehran]

I feel like I'm doing Ryan Johnson an injustice but I just see Wahlberg having more "upside" potential in his development than Johnson.

Add Ratzlaff

 

[Jim Bob]

Wahlberg + Rousek

 

[Fjordsen]

Johnson, add Richard

 

[HOOats]

Wahlberg, Ratzlaff. Really struggling to understand preferring a 23yo supposedly NHL-ready puck moving D who put up 0-9-9 in 27 AHL GP.

Btw, who found the box of Rosen ballots at midnight in a back office in metro Milwaukee??

 

[tsujimoto74]

Wahlberg, Ratzlaff. Really struggling to understand preferring a 23yo supposedly NHL-ready puck moving D who put up 0-9-9 in 27 AHL GP.

Btw, who found the box of Rosen ballots at midnight in a back office in metro Milwaukee??

I don't really care what Johnson's boxcars look like; his role isn't to create offense (and we don't need another D in that mold anyway). He's more of a smooth-skating defensive D, whose defense is primarily about positioning and stick work (vs bodying guys off pucks or blocking shots).

 

[Dingo44]

Wahlberg, Ratzlaff. Really struggling to understand preferring a 23yo supposedly NHL-ready puck moving D who put up 0-9-9 in 27 AHL GP.

Btw, who found the box of Rosen ballots at midnight in a back office in metro Milwaukee??

They were mail-in ballots - all voting for Rosen and all magically showing up at 4 AM after everyone had gone to bed.

 

[MOGlLNY]

Rosen rightfully won - kids good.

Johnson for me here. Proved he can play in the NHL already.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Johnson, add Ratzlaff

Wahlberg, Ratzlaff. Really struggling to understand preferring a 23yo supposedly NHL-ready puck moving D who put up 0-9-9 in 27 AHL GP.

Btw, who found the box of Rosen ballots at midnight in a back office in metro Milwaukee??

Being a puck moving defenseman doesn't mean looking like Dahlin, Makar, or Quinn.

He's mobile with an active stick. He can stop the opposing offense and get the puck, then get it moving back in the other direction.

Tallinder or Pysyk type of defenseman. Value isn't on stats for those players.

 

[JLewyB]

Add rousek

 

[dire wolf]

Rosen rightfully won - kids good.

Johnson for me here. Proved he can play in the NHL already.

My thinking exactly. I have a hunch that Walhberg may be better, but right now it's Johnson. That could easily change by October.

 

[Chainshot]

Stick with the Funky Bunch vote here. Add Ratzlaff.

 

[old kummelweck]

Dayum - how did Ryjo fall to third place in the last poll at the last minute? I call shenanigans when user's YourMom and Amanda_HugandKiss voted.

Add Topias Leinonen.

 

[nanook17]

Wahlberg by a thin margin over Johnson, add Rousek

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Johnson. Add Rousek

 

[Dahlicious]

Wahlberg, add Ratzlaff.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Again, ask me this question on consecutive days and I might change my mind. These guys are super close to each other. Going with Johnson again.

Add Rousek.

 

[HOOats]

I don't really care what Johnson's boxcars look like; his role isn't to create offense (and we don't need another D in that mold anyway). He's more of a smooth-skating defensive D, whose defense is primarily about positioning and stick work (vs bodying guys off pucks or blocking shots).

Johnson, add Ratzlaff

Being a puck moving defenseman doesn't mean looking like Dahlin, Makar, or Quinn.

He's mobile with an active stick. He can stop the opposing offense and get the puck, then get it moving back in the other direction.

Tallinder or Pysyk type of defenseman. Value isn't on stats for those players.

I hear you guys. My bad if I came in a little hot, I've been watching old clips on X of Roby and Blessing on HH and loving/absorbing their banter.

I like having Johnson in the org and yes, his counting stats don't tell the whole story of his game - didn't mean to imply that. Only pointed it out to say that in a system as loaded as Buffalo's, I can't justify putting a high floor/low ceiling poke check/breakout specialist ahead of our souped-up forwards like Wahlberg and Rosen.

I like a little back and forth with each other's opinions in these threads, like in a scouting meeting. I tend to value ceiling strongly, especially when it comes with a reasonable floor like Wahlberg. Closeness to the NHL isn't big on my rubric (though I think Wahlberg is closer than we realize - imo he could play games later this year if our new 4th line gets banged up).

PS Sabres Classics on X is the account that has been posting a bunch of great old Sabres content lately

 

[SabreHawk]

Add Viljami Marjala

 

[Sabre the Win]

Im going with Johnson, I think he's ready to carve out a nice little NHL career as a #5 or #6 defensive d man. I feel like he's closer to that than Whalberg.

Lately I've been viewing and rating prospects higher for what have they done for me at the level they are playing. If a guy is in the AHL and scoring 20 or 30, I'm going to rate him higher than a guy still in the OHL who might have had 109 points but is further away. Personally judging players by hypothetical ceiling and floor (what I use to do) is just ranking players by personal feelings. You might think there is no personal bias but there is.

 

[Matt Ress]

Im going with Johnson, I think he's ready to carve out a nice little NHL career as a #5 or #6 defensive d man. I feel like he's closer to that than Whalberg.

Lately I've been viewing and rating prospects higher for what have they done for me at the level they are playing. If a guy is in the AHL and scoring 20 or 30, I'm going to rate him higher than a guy still in the OHL who might have had 109 points but is further away. Personally judging players by hypothetical ceiling and floor (what I use to do) is just ranking players by personal feelings. You might think there is no personal bias but there is.

That makes sense. Are you kind of excluding projections to avoid that bias?

 

[Sabre the Win]

That makes sense. Are you kind of excluding projections to avoid that bias?

Yeah I'm not looking at ceiling or floor at all anymore, it's just what are you doing at your current level. I'm still figuring out how to adjust stats at say College/WHL/QMJHL/OHL level to SHL/AHL/KHL in my gradings.