Team Board Mck Draft

[Doug Prishpreed]

Those players are further along though and could help sooner in a contending window than whoever they'd pick this year.
11th + whatever else(Rosen/Ostlund) for Saros.

Sure, you could just do Rosen, Ostlund and Kulich for Saros or something, but losing 11th overall isn't a bigger loss really, depending on the package.

Why would Buffalo want Saros? You’re not even targeting the right position. At least learn the team’s needs if you’re going to make proposals.

We need a shut down center, and to a lesser extent a top 6 winger - those are the only two holes we’d want to use the 11th pick on. And it’s rare for that kind of deal to come to fruition so it’s almost definitely not going to happen.

 

[spfan]

Once again you're wrong. First off they don't need a Saros, they need a competent backup for UPL. The issue you're neglecting is in the immediate situation they need defensive wingers / C to fill the bottom 6. There is no room for Rosen or Kulich so much better to move them and replenish the pool with something different than a sub 6' offense first winger

Big bottom 6 players I don't think is the key turn around. And that's easy to find anyways.

Favoring size is so silly in my opinion as well. IQ, speed, skill > size.

Silayev will go top 3 cause of size, but he's not that good...

 

[spfan]

Why would Buffalo want Saros? You’re not even targeting the right position. At least learn the team’s needs if you’re going to make proposals.

We need a shut down center, and to a lesser extent a top 6 winger - those are the only two holes we’d want to use the 11th pick on. And it’s rare for that kind of deal to come to fruition so it’s almost definitely not going to happen.

Levi and UPL have potential, but Saros is a more guaranteed #1 goalie and right away.
Plenty of top 6 forwards and that can fill the wings specifically. Benson, Tuch, Peterka, Quinn, Kulich, Savoie, Rosen.

Go after Kotkaniemi if he gets bought out I guess.

 

[Old Navy Goat]

Big bottom 6 players I don't think is the key turn around. And that's easy to find anyways.

Favoring size is so silly in my opinion as well. IQ, speed, skill > size.

Silayev will go top 3 cause of size, but he's not that good...

If you watched the team you'd have realized that they had zero matchup ability. The top 6 can score, the 3rd line has been misfits and the 4th was meh at most. Buffalo needs size with skill on the wings as Benson 5'9, Savoie 5'10, Peterka 5'11, Kulich 5'11, Rosen 5'11, Quinn 6', Skinner 6'. Out of those wingers only Quinn and Benson are defensively proficient. Lots of small offensive wingers that have marinaded in the AHL so moving a few makes perfect sense as possible choices for #11 Helenius as C is a weakness, Yakemchuk for a nasty RHD, Sennecke big wing, Brandsegg-Nygard big wing.

As of today
Skinner - Thompson - Tuch
Quinn - Cozens - Peterka
Benson - xxxx - Greenway
Xxxx - xxxx - xxxx

Forwards signed for next season, so tell me how effective Rosen and Kulich will be on the 4th line

 

[Push Dr Tracksuit]

Levi and UPL have potential, but Saros is a more guaranteed #1 goalie and right away.
Plenty of top 6 forwards and that can fill the wings specifically. Benson, Tuch, Peterka, Quinn, Kulich, Savoie, Rosen.

Go after Kotkaniemi if he gets bought out I guess.

You’re going to have a tough time convincing most Sabres fans that the difference between upl and Saros is 2 first round assets when upl just finished with a higher sv% and gaa than Saros while playing for a worse team defensively.

 

[MOGlLNY]

I get not fully being bought in on UPL after this season but to just completely throw away the season and go for another goalie rather than running it back and seeing if it's legitimate is hilarious.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Levi and UPL have potential, but Saros is a more guaranteed #1 goalie and right away.
Plenty of top 6 forwards and that can fill the wings specifically. Benson, Tuch, Peterka, Quinn, Kulich, Savoie, Rosen.

Go after Kotkaniemi if he gets bought out I guess.

The GM clearly isn't looking for a goalie, so none of us are wasting time thinking about which goalies he won't make a trade for. Whether he should or not is a moot point.

 

[57special]

Like Helenius a lot, but surprised that Yakemchuk didn't win this. I guess if CM wasn't traded then Yakemchuk would've been a more popular choice.

 

[Old Navy Goat]

Like Helenius a lot, but surprised that Yakemchuk didn't win this. I guess if CM wasn't traded then Yakemchuk would've been a more popular choice.

Prospect depth is pretty bare with potential C, while the top 4 is very young plus Komorov and Strbak look promising as RHD

 

[Zman5778]

Like Helenius a lot, but surprised that Yakemchuk didn't win this. I guess if CM wasn't traded then Yakemchuk would've been a more popular choice.

I think if our center prospect pipeline wasn't Ostlund and Kozak and that's literally it.......Yakemchuk would've been more popular.

At least for RHD we've got Strbak at Michigan State and Komarov who's going to Rochester next year. And McCarthy I suppose too.

But our center pipeline is BARREN.

 

[Fjordy]

Dahlin, Power, Byram can improve their defensive games over time too. Even if you don't believe in Parekh, you've got 3 other top d-men to help him. Another forward doesn't make much sense either.
In this scenario, I go Parekh, but I think they should really just trade the pick.

Dahlin is basically decent in defense, but Power and Byram are not, they need nannies. If we choose a defender, I hope it will be Silaev or Yakemchuk, they are more suitable than Parekh. The pick can also be traded, it has to be on the table for right deal, just like any of our prospects other than Benson.

 

[Chainshot]

Like Helenius a lot, but surprised that Yakemchuk didn't win this. I guess if CM wasn't traded then Yakemchuk would've been a more popular choice.

They still might lean that way but from within, the center depth is hurting. RHD and players who play any sort of self-started physical game are also missing from the depth chart.

Yet if not for Jersey fans taking MBN, I would have been stumping for him at 11. Not a center, not a RHD, but he forechecks and plays in traffic and isn't a shrimp... a guy who can go get the puck for all of the smaller, quicker dudes they already have all throughout the prospect pool. Or to complement the bigger players they already have established.

 

[tsujimoto74]

I get not fully being bought in on UPL after this season but to just completely throw away the season and go for another goalie rather than running it back and seeing if it's legitimate is hilarious.

I mean, you’ll notice the person suggesting that isn’t a Sabres fan.

 

[MOGlLNY]

I mean, you’ll notice the person suggesting that isn’t a Sabres fan.

I didn’t say he was?

 

[57special]

Dahlin is basically decent in defense, but Power and Byram are not, they need nannies. If we choose a defender, I hope it will be Silaev or Yakemchuk, they are more suitable than Parekh. The pick can also be traded, it has to be on the table for right deal, just like any of our prospects other than Benson.

I mean, Silayev or Dickinson's skillset is perfect to offset those mentioned above, but at some point you've got to get a RHD. I could be wrong, but i think that Johnson will eventually be a 2nd pairing player(or at least a good 3rd pairing guy) that will play decent D, yet another LHD.

Parekh... I don't see the fit, at all.

 

[57special]

They still might lean that way but from within, the center depth is hurting. RHD and players who play any sort of self-started physical game are also missing from the depth chart.

Yet if not for Jersey fans taking MBN, I would have been stumping for him at 11. Not a center, not a RHD, but he forechecks and plays in traffic and isn't a shrimp... a guy who can go get the puck for all of the smaller, quicker dudes they already have all throughout the prospect pool. Or to complement the bigger players they already have established.

Sennecke is also very interesting. Still growing(some have said that he is up to 6'3"), underweight, gawky, but despite that has potential for great skating, is offensively talented. Mother is a 6', former National Team Volleyball player, father is taller, and a body builder. He is only 180 right now and looks gawky as hell on ice, but it doesn't take much imagination to project a 6'3"-4" power forward a la Tuch.

 

[Chainshot]

Sennecke is also very interesting. Still growing(some have said that he is up to 6'3"), underweight, gawky, but despite that has potential for great skating, is offensively talented. Mother is a 6', former National Team Volleyball player, father is taller, and a body builder. He is only 180 right now and looks gawky as hell on ice, but it doesn't take much imagination to project a 6'3"-4" power forward a la Tuch.

He was my vote - I see him as someone who attacks the middle of the ice and very much the Tuch comps.

 

[Zman5778]

I mean, Silayev or Dickinson's skillset is perfect to offset those mentioned above, but at some point you've got to get a RHD. I could be wrong, but i think that Johnson will eventually be a 2nd pairing player(or at least a good 3rd pairing guy) that will play decent D, yet another LHD.

We've got two solid RHD in the pipeline -- Strbak and Komarov. Both are at least 1 year off, probably 2......and both profile as guys who could perfectly complement Dahlin and/or Power and/or Byram. Johnson is a guy that can play the right side capably in a pinch as well.

 

[57special]

He was my vote - I see him as someone who attacks the middle of the ice and very much the Tuch comps.

Sennecke's skating and skill is better than Tuch's at the same age, IMO. Tuch was more physically developed, and might've had a better shot, though Sennecke's is pretty good. It's crazy how Tuch went from a heavy footed college player, to a well above NHL skater in 3-4 years.

 

[Chainshot]

Sennecke's skating and skill is better than Tuch's at the same age, IMO. Tuch was more physically developed, and might've had a better shot, though Sennecke's is pretty good. It's crazy how Tuch went from a heavy footed college player, to a well above NHL skater in 3-4 years.

Yeah, the rise in Sennecke is interesting to watch. That growth spurt that put him from sub 6' to where he is now left him all gangly, but watching him, he gets it. The inside drive, the urge to get to dangerous areas, it's impressive.

 

[Fjordy]

I mean, Silayev or Dickinson's skillset is perfect to offset those mentioned above, but at some point you've got to get a RHD. I could be wrong, but i think that Johnson will eventually be a 2nd pairing player(or at least a good 3rd pairing guy) that will play decent D, yet another LHD.

Parekh... I don't see the fit, at all.

Well we have Dahlin who plays on the right side. Only if the top 4 RD is in the second pair instead of Jokiharju to play with Power or Byram. Although I wouldn’t discount Samuelsson just yet. Yakemchuk RD, if you choose him. Although we also have Strbak and Komarov in the future. But we are not doing so well with center depth, so my choice is Helenius. And therefore Yakemchuk, Sennecke or someone else.

 

[Gabrielor]

I agree that the Sabres drafted too many of the same forward archetype in the first 3 rounds from 2020-2022. They finally pivoted in 2023 a bit with Wahlberg. They also blocked a lot of those guys quickly with the big hits of 2020 in Quinn and Peterka.

@Chainshot

Not that you voted for him, but in a carry-over from that Savoie thread conversation, this is why I'm perplexed that people are diving head first to add to this problem by drafting Helenius.

If it was a Benson thing (clear top 5 talent fell to 13th) I'd get it, but this isn't that.

 

[5 Minute Major]

TeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeRaaaaaaaaaaaaade that sucker!

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Yeah, the rise in Sennecke is interesting to watch. That growth spurt that put him from sub 6' to where he is now left him all gangly, but watching him, he gets it. The inside drive, the urge to get to dangerous areas, it's impressive.

A line with Sennecke and Benson on the wings would be terrifying for opponents. Just need the right center for them.

 

[Hasbro]

Thanks Everyone!