Left Wing:
Jason Zucker: B+. Hey, that was a really nice surprise out of a guy who was supposed to be washed. Now… can he get close to this production next year with that extension? We’ll find out if we can still stomach watching. Appreciate that he took Kulich under his wing, that he plays the game the right way in all three zones and was generally speaking a very solid vet addition.
Zach Benson: B. 19 and on the top line because he is the straw that stirs the drink. Once he got over his ankle injury that they let him try to play through, he showed improvement over the season. There is something there with him unlocking Thompson’s stick at 5-on-5. He’s demonic in pursuit of pucks, creating chaos along the boards on the forecheck and unlike most of the other wingers, he actually comes back into his own zone to support like it matters. Seeing him track on a path that is reminiscent of Ryan O’Reilly’s first couple years is encouraging – by the end of the year he was starting to impose himself a bit and next year could be where he takes off
JJ Peterka: B- as the offensive continues to pop. But this kid is the posterchild for giving it almost all back by not playing in his own zone in so far as this team is concerned. Add in his agent positing for a possible OS… do they want German Fiala as their top paid true winger or is he tradebait? For the season, the production was there but holy crap did he and whoever he was centered by get their shit pushed in in their own zone. Love the speed and handles, the production in track meets and such, but there is a lot left on the ice in his own zone.
Beck Malenstyn: C. Hit people and killed penalties – it’s what he did. With Ostlund on that line, it clicked on the forecheck later in the season but he wasn’t able to do that by himself. He’ll be dogged by the acquisition cost for sure, especially with little Hutson’s production from that pick selection. Of the guys brought in for the revamped fourth line, he’s the one who put in the honest effort.
Jordan Greenway: D as in did not play enough. I almost want to give him an incomplete but again with the injuries. He was a force for some games – that Ranger game where he was just trucking through everyone to establish position and strip pucks was so much of what the game offers when he’s on. But the injuries… again. And again. The PKing was good with you in there, but again… hurt.
Brett Murray: incomplete. Nice that you got a couple games in. That they didn’t use him for what he is good at – namely camping the net on the powerplay where he lead the AHL in PPG’s most of the season – is more of the dubiousness of the staff. Love Mur as an Amerk, just not going to happen as a Maroon-lite or Brazeau-esque guy without something happening we haven’t seen and probably won’t see with Buffalo.
Right Wing:
This position is currently a problem IMO. Greenway and Peterka both had time at RW, Quinn has stated he prefers LW and based on results, that seems fitting. But man. There is Tuch and then there was suck.
Alex Tuch: A-. The only other A I am giving out other than Dahlin. Tied his career best in goals, set a record for blocked shots by a forward, lead the league in shorties, dropped the gloves even though he’s way outmatched at that a couple of times to help stick up for teammates. I have no issue with his season in that regard. I do have concerns that they will have squandered one of the best value deals in the league and potentially alienate the one guy who is their biggest cheerleader by how they’ve squandered his time in Buffalo. But in terms of working with players, he chugged along whether is was Thompson or MacLeod or Krebs as his center. He did his job.
Isak Rosen: D. Too timid and played too small. Yeah, the icetime wasn’t there but the opportunity on a shift to try to do something, to impose something, just never happened. He’s a subtle player at times in the AHL, using his first step burst to gain separation or that half-stroke one-timer that arrives so quickly and accurately or his ability to feather sauce through a seam in the zone --- but he did none of that in Buffalo. Much like Johnson, hoping for a great playoff so that it inspires some team to come calling on him.
Jack Quinn: F. Listen kid, you had two bad injuries last season and came back from both impressively but whatever you did this past summer to prepare is the opposite of what you should have done. Weak on the puck, weak on your skates, leaving the zone early, coasting and not battling for pucks. Kid, you have so much talent and looked like there is some dynamite play in there and you were a disinterested passenger all year. People believed in you and you let them down. It’s a profession, not just a game. Act like it.
Nicholas Aube-Kubel: F. You got waived again and traded again. I had a lot harsher things in here but the knee injury early derailed things and you never got back on track.
Jason Zucker: B+. Hey, that was a really nice surprise out of a guy who was supposed to be washed. Now… can he get close to this production next year with that extension? We’ll find out if we can still stomach watching. Appreciate that he took Kulich under his wing, that he plays the game the right way in all three zones and was generally speaking a very solid vet addition.
Zach Benson: B. 19 and on the top line because he is the straw that stirs the drink. Once he got over his ankle injury that they let him try to play through, he showed improvement over the season. There is something there with him unlocking Thompson’s stick at 5-on-5. He’s demonic in pursuit of pucks, creating chaos along the boards on the forecheck and unlike most of the other wingers, he actually comes back into his own zone to support like it matters. Seeing him track on a path that is reminiscent of Ryan O’Reilly’s first couple years is encouraging – by the end of the year he was starting to impose himself a bit and next year could be where he takes off
JJ Peterka: B- as the offensive continues to pop. But this kid is the posterchild for giving it almost all back by not playing in his own zone in so far as this team is concerned. Add in his agent positing for a possible OS… do they want German Fiala as their top paid true winger or is he tradebait? For the season, the production was there but holy crap did he and whoever he was centered by get their shit pushed in in their own zone. Love the speed and handles, the production in track meets and such, but there is a lot left on the ice in his own zone.
Beck Malenstyn: C. Hit people and killed penalties – it’s what he did. With Ostlund on that line, it clicked on the forecheck later in the season but he wasn’t able to do that by himself. He’ll be dogged by the acquisition cost for sure, especially with little Hutson’s production from that pick selection. Of the guys brought in for the revamped fourth line, he’s the one who put in the honest effort.
Jordan Greenway: D as in did not play enough. I almost want to give him an incomplete but again with the injuries. He was a force for some games – that Ranger game where he was just trucking through everyone to establish position and strip pucks was so much of what the game offers when he’s on. But the injuries… again. And again. The PKing was good with you in there, but again… hurt.
Brett Murray: incomplete. Nice that you got a couple games in. That they didn’t use him for what he is good at – namely camping the net on the powerplay where he lead the AHL in PPG’s most of the season – is more of the dubiousness of the staff. Love Mur as an Amerk, just not going to happen as a Maroon-lite or Brazeau-esque guy without something happening we haven’t seen and probably won’t see with Buffalo.
Right Wing:
This position is currently a problem IMO. Greenway and Peterka both had time at RW, Quinn has stated he prefers LW and based on results, that seems fitting. But man. There is Tuch and then there was suck.
Alex Tuch: A-. The only other A I am giving out other than Dahlin. Tied his career best in goals, set a record for blocked shots by a forward, lead the league in shorties, dropped the gloves even though he’s way outmatched at that a couple of times to help stick up for teammates. I have no issue with his season in that regard. I do have concerns that they will have squandered one of the best value deals in the league and potentially alienate the one guy who is their biggest cheerleader by how they’ve squandered his time in Buffalo. But in terms of working with players, he chugged along whether is was Thompson or MacLeod or Krebs as his center. He did his job.
Isak Rosen: D. Too timid and played too small. Yeah, the icetime wasn’t there but the opportunity on a shift to try to do something, to impose something, just never happened. He’s a subtle player at times in the AHL, using his first step burst to gain separation or that half-stroke one-timer that arrives so quickly and accurately or his ability to feather sauce through a seam in the zone --- but he did none of that in Buffalo. Much like Johnson, hoping for a great playoff so that it inspires some team to come calling on him.
Jack Quinn: F. Listen kid, you had two bad injuries last season and came back from both impressively but whatever you did this past summer to prepare is the opposite of what you should have done. Weak on the puck, weak on your skates, leaving the zone early, coasting and not battling for pucks. Kid, you have so much talent and looked like there is some dynamite play in there and you were a disinterested passenger all year. People believed in you and you let them down. It’s a profession, not just a game. Act like it.
Nicholas Aube-Kubel: F. You got waived again and traded again. I had a lot harsher things in here but the knee injury early derailed things and you never got back on track.
