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Prospect Info: General Discussion of Prospects

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Ranking every NHL team's prospect pipeline: Why the Sabres are No. 1

Clubs will add to their pools of young talent in the draft, but who has the best system right now? We count them down from 32 to 1.
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1. Buffalo Sabres​

The Sabres use a unique blend of analytical tools and scouting to approach the draft, and very clearly, approach every pick with the "best player available" mantra. They don't shy away from the typical tropes of smaller players, evidenced by their selection of Zach Benson after he slipped out of the top 10 in 2023.

They've graduated the likes of Benson, Owen Power, JJ Peterka, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Peyton Krebs to their NHL lineup, while still having a plethora of talented players at every position.

This is a well-rounded pool that includes Devon Levi in goal, Maxim Strbak and Gavin McCarthy on defense, and a collection of high-value forwards in Jiri Kulich, Matt Savoie and Noah Ostlund. They have projectible NHL players at every position, four potential impact players, and good depth to round out the best prospect pool in the NHL.
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ValJamesDuex said:
Any college FA's anyone would like to sign, or is is there no room here ? I see Blake signed yesterday.
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Blake was Carolina’s pick though, not a UDFA. I had mild interest in Quillan and TJ Hughes (who is still active). I also wonder if Luke Tuch goes free agency since the Amerks could use some size.
 
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In terms of the UDFA signings, I was interested in Jaxon Nelson who went to the Bruins and Quillan who is now in Toronto's system. Nelson because he's a big'un and plays shutdown center type minutes with some timely scoring while Quillan is always working.

Cornell kid who is now a 5th year in Gabriel Seger might be a guy since there isn't much size at center in the fold - Gabriel Seger at eliteprospects.com

This guy, Gleb Veremyev, is another one who plays center some and has size on his side: Gleb Veremyev at eliteprospects.com He is only a sophomore though.

TJ Hughes (no relation to the Hughes brothers or even to the OTHER Jack Hughes) works his sack off for the Wolverines but he's sub 6' and under 190 lbs so I wonder how long that style works as a pro. But I like the ignition. T.J. Hughes at eliteprospects.com He is also only a sophomore.

There aren't a lot of high-end UDFA in the NCAA any more. It's pretty well scouted and picked through but in terms of organizational depth, high-work rate, tenacious players and particularly right shot (and right shot defensive defensemen) would be places to look.
 
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This is probably a silly complaint, but I can’t believe we didn’t draft Jack Devine.

I remember him saying we interviewed him at the combine, with Terry Pegula in the room. He was pegged as a mid round guy but didn’t go until the 7th. We had two picks in the 7th and passed up on him both times.

He was a 17 year old playing collegiate hockey, and won a national championship. He must’ve interviewed poorly or had a medical flag pop up.
 
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RefsIdeas said:
This is probably a silly complaint, but I can’t believe we didn’t draft Jack Devine.

I remember him saying we interviewed him at the combine, with Terry Pegula in the room. He was pegged as a mid round guy but didn’t go until the 7th. We had two picks in the 7th and passed up on him both times.

He was a 17 year old playing collegiate hockey, and won a national championship. He must’ve interviewed poorly or had a medical flag pop up.
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Or he said, "I plan on playing 4 years of college hockey and then exploring my free agency options." Wouldn't be the first prospect to tell a team, "don't bother drafting me." Based on his slide, that's the most likely scenario.
 
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truthbluth said:
Or he said, "I plan on playing 4 years of college hockey and then exploring my free agency options." Wouldn't be the first prospect to tell a team, "don't bother drafting me." Based on his slide, that's the most likely scenario.
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I’d guess that’s still worth a late 7th, no? Gives you 4 years to try and sell him on your franchise.

Tim Murray gave up a 3rd to negotiate with Vesey for a few months lol
 
Big night - Drummondville, Red Deer and Moose Jaw all begin their 2nd round CHL series; Amerks can clinch a playoff spot with a point against Belleville.
 
Not a great prospect night so far - Savoie out for Moose Jaw for some reason still not known, Levi was shitty in the Amerks-Belleville game, Komarov was on for the GWG for but didn't have as much impact on the scoresheet (was good defensively from what I looked in on), and none of the other prospects in Rochester have done much of anything thus far tonight.
 
These are some draft comps I was given by people smarter than me in the prospects' respective draft years:

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Peterka is a much faster player than Rakell, but on playstyle, a lot of these track, still.
 


Moose Jaw now up 3-1 after taking both games in Swift Current with the chance to close out round 2 at home on Friday.

Saskatoon advanced in 4 straight over Lindgren's Red Deer Rebels.

Prince George is up 3-1 on Tij Iginla and the Kelowna Rockets.

Portland is up 3-0 on Everett.

Not a lot of competition in the 2nd round of the WHL playoffs.
 
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Snippit said:
Savoie just quiet this series or something?
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No, he’s actually been pretty good. He’s had two amazing chances that I’ve seen so far tonight they just haven’t dropped for him. His line seems to be winning the matchup territorially against Geekie.
 
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