Roster Thread (2023-2024 Season)

[SabresFan26]

Adams job shouldn’t be safe either. Most of this team is built on Botterill picks and trades. (Dahlin, Thompson, Cozens, Mittelstadt, Samuelsson, UPL, Skinner, Johnson)

Eichel trade is Adams but he has neglected goaltending and defense for a while.

He hired a coaching staff with 0 NHL playoff coaching experience, a first time NHL coach, and two assistants who never had NHL coaching experience.

We really are a joke of a franchise.

 

[sabresEH]

It took a 12 game losing streak to get rid of Kruger.

It’ll take something worse to get rid of Don in season. It’s not like we have a head coach in waiting somewhere.

Could look into Woodcroft as an option.

 

[Beerz]

Sabres Twitter is currently trying to bludgeon Eric Johnson and praise Owen Power.

 

[zenthusiast]

Owen power is an early candidate for the advanced stats hall of fame, where you needn’t ever tie up someone’s stick in front of the net

 

[thewookie1]

I get that the defenseman didn't get involved because they were pressing for a goal at the end of the game but something just puts me off about letting your 18 year old rookie get mauled by 3 dudes.

If the D go in it would move the face off out of the zone.

The other forwards on the ice were Peterka who got involved with a Jet and the other forward was grabbed by the 5th Jet.

 

[Dubi Doo]

This is an 18 year old. Zero fear. I can't wait until he becomes a man.

Reading the GDT, did he get penalized for this?

 

[Beerz]

If the D go in it would move the face off out of the zone.

The other forwards on the ice were Peterka who got involved with a Jet and the other forward was grabbed by the 5th Jet.

That rule is the absolute stupidest rule out there and I can't believe it's still around

 

[Dubi Doo]

Beyond frustrating knowing we’re gonna be picking in the top 10 again

Maybe, maybe not. Im not at the point to be making claims about where theyre going to draft. Things can change quickly and drastically in this league.


The frustrating thing for me is theyve had an extended losing streak already, and it's largely due to the forwards not putting forth the effort on the tough spots of the ice (fighting for position in front of the net, battling like rabid dogs in the corner, etc..).

There's not a lot of room for error now due to the fact theyve already had a 4 game losing streak UNLESS they respond with a long winning streak soon. It could happen. They did it last year.

Gut check time.

 

[TehDoak]

I mean in the end….there are 65 games left. It’s certainly not panic time. But boy have we seen this same script play out before. Hoping it’s different this time.

 

[BuffaloGooner]

Sabres Twitter is currently trying to bludgeon Eric Johnson and praise Owen Power.

Well that’s because Erik Johnson is beyond horrible and Power isn’t

 

[KiwiGriff]

Reading the GDT, did he get penalized for this?

Yes. In front of the net his initial shove of one of the Jets (that caused three people to bully him) had his stick somewhere in the vicinity of a Jets player’s head. So he got called for highsticking. From memory this one also put us on the PK to end the game, robbing momentum as the Swords had been the dominant team all period.

I don’t usually play the “blame the refs” game, but they definitely seemed keen to blow the whistle.

JJ got called for holding when he put his hand lightly on a Jets player’s back (one in front of him while they were both chasing down a puck).

There were also two penalties to start the game that were all about selling a tiny infraction. Tuch put on a show to get a penalty that was marginal. Jets did the same about five minutes later.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Well that’s because Erik Johnson is beyond horrible and Power isn’t

One of them gets twice as much ice time, gets paid twice as much, and is a large reason why we're on a losing streak. The other one has much less impact on the game's outcome. Yet of course that's who those dummies are bitching about.

 

[Mattilaus]

One of them gets twice as much ice time, gets paid twice as much, and is a large reason why we're on a losing streak. The other one has much less impact on the game's outcome. Yet of course that's who those dummies are bitching about.

Erik Johnson actually gets paid over 3 times as much as Power.

 

[Ace]

Erik Johnson actually gets paid over 3 times as much as Power.

It’s already been established that facts aren’t welcome with Power discussion. Only that he’s big so he should play like a physical monster. It doesn’t matter that he is good 22 minutes if he has one bad second. It doesn’t matter if he still doesn’t have a partner and has been thrown way over his head from the time he got here in ice time and assignment…and been great. It doesn’t matter that he’s three times the Dman in his own end that Dahlin was at his age. That he watched Joker skate to the wrong side of the ice his entire rookie year. Or anything else. He big. Must hit!

 

[Beerz]

Well that’s because Erik Johnson is beyond horrible and Power isn’t

Power may turn out good...but he is not good right now.

 

[joshjull]

Sabres Twitter is currently trying to bludgeon Eric Johnson and praise Owen Power.

Sounds about right

Beat up the low hanging fruit while circling the wagons around a favorite.

 

[BFLO]

We're in the bad quandrant on both offense and defense.

 

[Irie]

It’s already been established that facts aren’t welcome with Power discussion. Only that he’s big so he should play like a physical monster. It doesn’t matter that he is good 22 minutes if he has one bad second. It doesn’t matter if he still doesn’t have a partner and has been thrown way over his head from the time he got here in ice time and assignment…and been great. It doesn’t matter that he’s three times the Dman in his own end that Dahlin was at his age. That he watched Joker skate to the wrong side of the ice his entire rookie year. Or anything else. He big. Must hit!

You must have posted 40 or 50 posts blaming Jokiharju for Power's poor defensive awareness I don't know which podcast moron you listen to that put that idea in your head, but it is a really bad take that is completely out of touch with reality.

Power's defensive reads and defensive decision making last season were not good. His puck transition skills were off the charts for a player his age, but he was bad defensively in his own end.

Power is an amazing young prospect and he will get there, but defensively he is still a 20 year old work in progress. I will admit that folks expecting more from him given his age and situation are putting unfair expectations on him, but that doesn't mean we should rewrite reality with a false narrative

 

[Mattilaus]

D men usually take longer to come into their own. Took Dahlin a while, took Hedman a while, etc. Power will be fine, but I agree he is not great currently.

 

[OkimLom]

It’s already been established that facts aren’t welcome with Power discussion. Only that he’s big so he should play like a physical monster. It doesn’t matter that he is good 22 minutes if he has one bad second. It doesn’t matter if he still doesn’t have a partner and has been thrown way over his head from the time he got here in ice time and assignment…and been great. It doesn’t matter that he’s three times the Dman in his own end that Dahlin was at his age. That he watched Joker skate to the wrong side of the ice his entire rookie year. Or anything else. He big. Must hit!

Well, yeah he should hit and be able to utilize his physical size more. But it’s nothing extraordinary outside of where I wouldn’t ask of the average NHL player to do the same. Like, if there’s a guy on top of our crease alone, should I expect him to know he needs to clear that player, and have the capability of clearing said player, absolutely. Its a part of a development and experience of a player.

If developing the most basic skill all hockey players should have is too much of an ask of a player who may be weak in that area, then we are in more trouble than we thought. If Buffalo can’t accomplish that, then even worse. I would expect the same expectations of all of our defenseman. I’m not trying to turn them into something else. I want them be able to perform basic tasks of a hockey player.

 

[Irie]

Well, yeah he should hit and be able to utilize his physical size more. But it’s nothing extraordinary outside of where I wouldn’t ask of the average NHL player to do the same. Like, if there’s a guy on top of our crease alone, should I expect him to know he needs to clear that player, and have the capability of clearing said player, absolutely. Its a part of a development and experience of a player.

If developing the most basic skill all hockey players should have is too much of an ask of a player who may be weak in that area, then we are in more trouble than we thought. If Buffalo can’t accomplish that, then even worse. I would expect the same expectations of all of our defenseman. I’m not trying to turn them into something else. I want them be able to perform basic tasks of a hockey player.

The kid is 20 years old. He is just a kid. Be patient with him and let him adapt the physical portion of his game at his own rate.

Expecting lanky 20 year olds to play a physical game in the NHL is completely unrealistic. Many players don't develop that part of their game until their mid 20s.

Start with defensive reads and ease him into a role that asks for more defensive hockey IQ. Once he has a firm grasp on his place in the D zone in all situations, then they can start worrying about asking him to hit and throw his size around.

The team will be much better served longterm having a Owen Power that can read the play and is positionally sound than an Owen Power that focuses on trying to hit guys.

 

[joshjull]

EDIT: Brought this from Savoie thread.

Yes, statistically speaking first round players make the NHL but when it comes down to it most 1st round picks Buffalo drafted never reached past their potential.

If you want to claim a team is great at developing talent then show me later round players that make the NHL.

I've read your posts about development, and you've been wrong about pretty much everything. But specific to the points in this post.....

1) Just making the NHL vs a player reaching their potential or more. Those are two completely different things.

2) A player's potential is not one thing. It's a range of possibilities with probabilities of how likely it will happen attached to each part of the range.

3) You don't have a proper understanding of what to expect from a player based on where they are drafted.

https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/157190/Value of a Draft Pick.pdf?sequence=1

Scott Cullen – Expected Value of NHL Draft Picks (Three Part)

Scott Cullen with TSN.ca analytics attempted to find expected value of NHL Draft Pick selection by his own method of assigning a value to each player based on their career achievements in the National Hockey League, which in Scott’s mind is best assessed in their best four years. Those ratings were as followed…
10 – Generational
9 – Elite player
8 – First line, Top pair D
7 – Top six F, Top four D
6 – Top nine F, Top six D
5 - NHL Regular, 350+ NHL games
4 - Fringe NHLer, 200+ NHL games
3 - Very Good Minor Leaguer, 50-200 NHL games
2 - Minor Leaguer, under 50 NHL games
1 - 10 or fewer NHL games

Tage was drafted 26th overall. In the 20+ drafts Cullen broke down. The players drafted there averaged out to being fringe NHLers. Obviously turning Tage into a #1 center would be blowing expectations out of the water.

You seem to have a misguided belief that all first rounders are shoe ins to be good NHL players and are roughly in the same boat. Thus, there is little need for development. That couldn't be further from the truth. Expectations drop pretty fast after the first couple picks and keep dropping.

Your attempt to dismiss their development of first rounders fails when you look at realistic expectations.

 

[OkimLom]

The kid is 20 years old. He is just a kid. Be patient with him and let him adapt the physical portion of his game at his own rate.

Expecting lanky 20 year olds to play a physical game in the NHL is completely unrealistic. Many players don't develop that part of their game until their mid 20s.

Start with defensive reads and ease him into a role that asks for more defensive hockey IQ. Once he has a firm grasp on his place in the D zone in all situations, then they can start worrying about asking him to hit and throw his size around.

The team will be much better served longterm having a Owen Power that can read the play and is positionally sound than an Owen Power that focuses on trying to hit guys.

He’s not lanky. He’s plenty big/thick enough to be able to be physical right away. If he can’t be expected to handle the physical aspect of the NHL level, he shouldn’t be in the NHL full stop. When it’s an aspect that he will need to do on a game to game basis, we shouldn’t be looking at it as something as he will eventually learn. He won’t.

We don’t have it in our DNA, the team makeup doesn’t have it in them and the team Adams is building isn’t close to having a physical presence as they favor skill over a physicality to their game.

 

[Irie]

He’s not lanky. He’s plenty big/thick enough to be able to be physical right away. If he can’t be expected to handle the physical aspect of the NHL level, he shouldn’t be in the NHL full stop. When it’s an aspect that he will need to do on a game to game basis, we shouldn’t be looking at it as something as he will eventually learn. He won’t.

We don’t have it in our DNA, the team makeup doesn’t have it in them and the team Adams is building isn’t close to having a physical presence as they favor skill over a physicality to their game.

While I agree that the team is not built well and that they need a LOT more physical presence on the ice, asking your 20 year old D prospect to focus on that when he has a very limited grasp of defensive reads and coverage should not be a focus.

Look at Mitts. He was born on the same calendar day as Power and is 4 years older, and is just now starting to play a physical game at 25.

Power is 6'6" tall, and while not skinny, he is lanky (definitions may vary here, but in no world should anyone consider him stout). At his age, he is still filling out and developing.

What I am saying is that you should not push prospects to focus on a physical game before they master the technical aspects. The coaching staff should be nurturing his inner Lidstrom and not his inner Zadarov at this stage.

The physical confidence will arrive with age and experience and will usually come naturally. When young prospects have "physical battling" on their minds over play reading and positioning, development unravels.

 

[OkimLom]

While I agree that the team is not built well and that they need a LOT more physical presence on the ice, asking your 20 year old D prospect to focus on that when he has a very limited grasp of defensive reads and coverage should not be a focus.

Look at Mitts. He was born on the same calendar day as Power and is 4 years older, and is just now starting to play a physical game at 25.

Power is 6'6" tall, and while not skinny, he is lanky (definitions may vary here, but in no world should anyone consider him stout). At his age, he is still filling out and developing.

What I am saying is that you should not push prospects to focus on a physical game before they master the technical aspects. The coaching staff should be nurturing his inner Lidstrom and not his inner Zadarov at this stage.

The physical confidence will arrive with age and experience and will usually come naturally. When young prospects have "physical battling" on their minds over play reading and positioning, development unravels.

All I’m seeing are more reasons why Power shouldn’t be in the NHL right now. Mittelstadt is another example of a guy poorly developed.

The physical side of the game, especially where he’s weak, is a part of the technical aspect of playing hockey.

You are grossly underestimating how much of the physical elements of the game of hockey are tied into how ready players are to play in the league.