Speculation: The 2019 Draft Thread - Sabres pick 7th

[CatsforReinhart]

Most guys of any size fail.

Most guys fail in the NHL. To make your statement fact please post the players who were drafted in the first round under say 5'8 that failed.

Most players that are drafted fail. Only 19% of drafted players make it past 200 games in the NHL. You are just making an obvious blanket statement that can apply to anything from hair color to wieght.

 

[Buffalo Norsemen]

With the UPL surgery news do you take Knight with your second first round pick if he's there now for cover or another keeper later in the draft for the same reason? as others are pointing out in his own thread he should be back playing in 6 months although it is likely his workload will be carefully monitored

 

[Jim Bob]

With the UPL surgery news do you take Knight with your second first round pick if he's there now for cover or another keeper later in the draft for the same reason? as others are pointing out in his own thread he should be back playing in 6 months although it is likely his workload will be carefully monitored

I don't believe that the UPL surgery should change their draft plans one iota.

They need to take a goalie somewhere in the draft pretty much every year. And taking a goalie in the 1st round is rarely a good idea.

 

[Chainshot]

I have slid on Knight. Initially, he seemed very interesting. But having seen him play some, I don't get the hype. He's got great feet, but things still leak through him. Elite netminders stop a lot of pucks. He hasn't been stopping a lot of pucks. *shrug*

 

[brian_griffin]

Most guys of any size fail.

True, but having watched a lot of OT playoff hockey into the wee hours of the morning, flipping channels during intermission, I've seen my share of late-night infomercials where they have pills now to fix both - the size, and the failure.

 

[truthbluth]

I have slid on Knight. Initially, he seemed very interesting. But having seen him play some, I don't get the hype. He's got great feet, but things still leak through him. Elite netminders stop a lot of pucks. He hasn't been stopping a lot of pucks. *shrug*

Knight is super jumpy. He might have great athleticism, but he's just now what I look for in a junior aged goalie. Not a first round pick, imo.

Other notable thought.
Trevor Zegras has been getting better every single game. It's clear he wasn't 100% at the beginning of the tournament. He's so so good. If it weren't for Jack Hughes, I'd say that Trevor Zegras is the best player I've seen in this tournament.

 

[Fjordy]

Podkolzin please. I think he's number 3 on this draft, although maybe I'm a little biased, but in a couple of years he'll come to the NHL and will burn.

 

[Goathead]

Korczak gets higher on my list every time I see him play. If our second 1st is in the 25-31 range I would be very happy to take him.

 

[Husko]

They should take a goalie in the middle rounds. They should do this every year. Us only taking one from 2015-2018 is just another way we've been less than stellar. All three of the last 3 goalies that we turned into pros (Enroth, Petersen, Ulmark) were selected during a stretch of taking a goalie every year. That's how you find goalies, throw a lot of darts. The fact that since taking Johanson in 2014 they've only drafted one since is downright negligence.

 

[Chainshot]

The goalie drafting thing and the height thing intersect:

It seems like everyone, Buffalo included, is trying to find those tall athletic types to play goal. The trend in the NHL has been for the enormous natural physique types and away from worrying about if the guy can just stop the puck. Case in point, there are a couple of draft eligibles who are relatively small by current standards who have both had some solid statistical seasons for their respective CHL teams, namely Everett's Dustin Wolf and Rimouski's Colten Ellis. Both are 6' tall. Both have backstopped very good CHL teams this year and deeply into the playoffs. But... they're not athletics freaks, they're just small guys who stop the puck.

Taylor Gauthier has been good at the U18's, but his WHL numbers are not in the same class as Wolf. Granted, his team isn't either. But he's 6'2" and that seems to be the advantage...

Some of you may remember (or might be trying hard to forget) my infatuation with Veini Vehvilainen, Karpat starter who's heading to NA to play for the Jackets farm team next season. Again, short... but he stops pucks.

I've hoped Saros would supplant Rinne in Nashville for a while since NHL managers are such copycats. If there is a place that the height-ists are rampant, it's in net. Get guys who stop pucks. Worry about how tall they are later.

 

[Jim Bob]

The goalie drafting thing and the height thing intersect:

It seems like everyone, Buffalo included, is trying to find those tall athletic types to play goal. The trend in the NHL has been for the enormous natural physique types and away from worrying about if the guy can just stop the puck. Case in point, there are a couple of draft eligibles who are relatively small by current standards who have both had some solid statistical seasons for their respective CHL teams, namely Everett's Dustin Wolf and Rimouski's Colten Ellis. Both are 6' tall. Both have backstopped very good CHL teams this year and deeply into the playoffs. But... they're not athletics freaks, they're just small guys who stop the puck.

Taylor Gauthier has been good at the U18's, but his WHL numbers are not in the same class as Wolf. Granted, his team isn't either. But he's 6'2" and that seems to be the advantage...

Some of you may remember (or might be trying hard to forget) my infatuation with Veini Vehvilainen, Karpat starter who's heading to NA to play for the Jackets farm team next season. Again, short... but he stops pucks.

I've hoped Saros would supplant Rinne in Nashville for a while since NHL managers are such copycats. If there is a place that the height-ists are rampant, it's in net. Get guys who stop pucks. Worry about how tall they are later.

Blame Mitch Korn.

When he was in Nashville he talked about how they looked for big athletic goalies and if you were under 6', they wouldn't look at you.

Which makes the Saros thing even more interesting.

If you look at it from an undervalued POV, going after smaller goalies (and players) because they are undervalued overall might be a way to add value to your club.

 

[old kummelweck]

 

[Husko]

Fascination with goalie height is also how we got Lehner. If you remember, GMTM talked like he had found a cheat code with Lehner, how his height would make him the only goalie allowed to wear the XL pads and would make him unstoppable...

 

[KeyserSoze81]

Fascination with goalie height is also how we got Lehner. If you remember, GMTM talked like he had found a cheat code with Lehner, how his height would make him the only goalie allowed to wear the XL pads and would make him unstoppable...

A view from Tim Murray's pro scouting board (hint: he always chose the fat guys):

 

[old kummelweck]

Fascination with goalie height is also how we got Lehner. If you remember, GMTM talked like he had found a cheat code with Lehner, how his height would make him the only goalie allowed to wear the XL pads and would make him unstoppable...

You do know Lehner is nominated for the Vezina and the Masterston right?

 

[Husko]

You do know Lehner is nominated for the Vezina and the Masterston right?

You do know we didn’t even qualify him because he was so bad here right?

 

[Chainshot]

I have no issue with tall goalies -- in the butterfly, they can expand up to take away part of the net that smaller guys just can't. However... if they can stop pucks, I am all for it. Any of them, giants to hobbits.

 

[old kummelweck]

You do know we didn’t even qualify him because he was so bad here right?

You're beating up Murray for seeing talent in Lehner. I was pointing out he wasn't wrong.

 

[sabresEH]

Korczak gets higher on my list every time I see him play. If our second 1st is in the 25-31 range I would be very happy to take him.

Solid player no doubt. I’m not sure how much offence there is especially moving up levels. But he showed great instincts last year. Played a little more safe this year on a very shaky rockets team.

I think Lassi Thomson gets drafted before Korczak, but think Korczak will be the better pro.

 

[sabremike]

How many guys that size or smaller even get drafted?

Last year, there were only 5 draft picks 5'7" or shorter. And they were one pick in each of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th rounds.

2017 had only 3 picks 5'7" or shorter with Yamamoto going 22OV and then one in the 6th round and one in the 7th round.

2016 had only 3 picks 5'7" or shorter with DeBrincat in the 2nd round and then one in the 5th round and one in the 6th round.

And of the 45 players that scored 30+ goals this season, six were 5'9" or shorter.

Caufield getting to the point where he is a top 10 prospect in the draft at his size is a huge outlier. Him then turning into a big time NHLer is probably a smaller leap than with more physically developed players that "look the part".

I'm honestly at the point where if he's available at #7 we would be absolutely insane to pass on him. He isn't just dominating, he's putting up freaking video game numbers.

 

[truthbluth]

I'm honestly at the point where if he's available at #7 we would be absolutely insane to pass on him. He isn't just dominating, he's putting up freaking video game numbers.

Mikhail Grigorenko put up video game numbers in this tournament riding the coattails of a more talented line mate (Kucherov). And he did it in his D-1 year.

 

[Jim Bob]

Mikhail Grigorenko put up video game numbers in this tournament riding the coattails of a more talented line mate (Kucherov). And he did it in his D-1 year.

Caufield has put up video game numbers for a lot longer than this tournament.

It all comes down to whether you believe it is just because he plays with Hughes. Kind of like how people thought that DeBrincat looked better than he really was because he played with McDavid in Erie before McDavid left for Edmonton.

Most goal scorers like Caufield will need linemates that can get them the puck.

But, if Caufield comes here, you have to hope that Eichel or Reinhart could set him up to do what he does.

 

[Chainshot]

Caufield has put up video game numbers for a lot longer than this tournament.

It all comes down to whether you believe it is just because he plays with Hughes. Kind of like how people thought that DeBrincat looked better than he really was because he played with McDavid in Erie before McDavid left for Edmonton.

Most goal scorers like Caufield will need linemates that can get them the puck.

But, if Caufield comes here, you have to hope that Eichel or Reinhart could set him up to do what he does.

Mittelstadt’s stickhandling and pass-first playmaking is the match that I see.

 

[Goathead]

Solid player no doubt. I’m not sure how much offence there is especially moving up levels. But he showed great instincts last year. Played a little more safe this year on a very shaky rockets team.

I think Lassi Thomson gets drafted before Korczak, but think Korczak will be the better pro.

I think there is more untapped offence there but that’s not why I’d be drafting him, he’s more of a shutdown defencman. I rarely ever see this kid make a mistake and if he does his skating is good enough to correct it. He never looses battles in front of the net or along the boards he’s a beast there. He can skate the puck out or make a nice pass and is not afraid to take a hit to make a play.

If I asked a computer to build me a shutdown defenceman for today’s game it would be him. Which is exactly what this team needs

 

[OkimLom]

Most guys fail in the NHL. To make your statement fact please post the players who were drafted in the first round under say 5'8 that failed.

Most players that are drafted fail. Only 19% of drafted players make it past 200 games in the NHL. You are just making an obvious blanket statement that can apply to anything from hair color to wieght.

What's your standard of failing?