You could quite literally say all of these things about Celebrini. Couldn't win at the U18 couldn't win at the U20, couldn't win at the Beanpot, couldn't with in the NCAA playoffs. Hockey is a team sport.
Zach Benson does all the little things it takes to win hockey games. Boards battles, forechecking, fighting in front of my net, getting under guys' skin. He can't help that he's a 19 year old winger on the f***ing Sabres. The Sharks are still in last place, so clearly Celebrini and Smith haven't done anything to help the Sharks improve.
I guess, but i dont see people saying that about Celebrini, or anyone who isn't a proven winner. I see them saying intangible things that are backed by his play, like he's a 200ft player, is strong on the puck for his size, has elite skating, etc. Your Benson attributes are accurate, but it seems premature to assign a "guy you win with" tag on him. You say that about a guy like M Tkachuk, who has those attributes and actually is a proven winner at every level. Similarly, all those attributes also describe Jumbo, who you would never add a winner tag to.
I don't think negatively about Benson, my point, and why i asked this question, is that I am super cautious of former Sabres property, especially career Sabres, and am unsure why people are quick to give career Sabres any sort of charitable break, or in this case, ascribe as to something they when they havent earned it. The Sabres are going backwards, after all (unlike the Sharks).
Sam Reinhart's best season in Buffalo was 65 points and he was absolutely not considered an elite talent. Fast-forward five years and he's a Selke-caliber 95 point forward with a Stanley Cup. Ryan O'Reilly scored 61 points and had a -23 rating the season before he was traded from Buffalo to St. Louis. Next season he puts up 77 points and hoists a Stanley Cup as an elite two-way 1C. Nikita Zadorov, Brayden McNabb, Jake McCabe, and Will Borden were much maligned defensemen in Buffalo designated "not part of the solution", but that's a Cup-caliber bottom-4 defense group.
Recent history is full of former Sabres who bust out after leaving Buffalo. Together, that locker room is a mess, but you can absolutely pluck a single guy out and reform him. Smart teams will do that.
I hear you, but i'm not sold on the idea that just because it worked for Eichel (2OA), Reinhart (2OA), ROR (elite defensive forward before BUF), it will work for guys with far lower pedigrees. To be more direct, a guy like Cozens, a career Sabre, scares me as a target, because at best he's a 2nd line player and at worst he eats cap space and blocks a homegrown C talent from getting reps.
Smart teams add these "distressed" assets while in pursuit of a cup and these pieces can be surrounded by talent, not with tons of holes in the lineup. We aren't in that position.
Also, Zadorov, McNabb, and Borgen all played under one season's worth of games Buffalo, idk why they are relevant here. I also don't see how they could be "much maligned" in such a short period of time on a dogshit team. PLUS, Zadorov was traded for ROR, Borgen was an expansion draft pick, and McNabb was traded while in the AHL. These players are only relevant if we're talking about trading for Kulich or Helenius.
Again, all of this is to say, I am extremely cautious about picking fruit from the Sabres' rotted tree
