26CornerBlitz Posted September 11, 2018 Author Posted September 11, 2018 SABRES RELEASE 2018 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER BUFFALO, N.Y. (September 11, 2018) — The Buffalo Sabres today announced the roster for the team’s training camp, which begins Thursday, Sept. 13, when players are scheduled to report for testing and physicals. **The full training camp roster can be found here.**
Alaska Darin Posted September 12, 2018 Posted September 12, 2018 19 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: Just watched the Tampa Bay press conference. Boy, Julien BriseBois inspires a lot of confidence. You can see why is was so highly thought of and in demand around the NHL. I think he is going to be a very good GM for Tampa. They have what seems to be a great owner too. He also inspired a lot of confidence in this move. But he pissed me off with his comment about “we are so lucky that some other NHL team didn’t steal JB from us”. Lucky? You guys outright refused to even let him interview for GM jobs. I don’t know how many requests they denied, but I know it was multiple. Buffalo tried to interview him before they hired Botterill and Tampa refused the request. I gor got the impression that Steve Y. is gone once his contract is up at the end of this year. It sounds like he made this decision in part to spend more time with his family, but also because he did not want to renew his GM contract with Tampa. Whether the reason for that is truly to spend more time with his family or not will be determined by what he does in the next year or two. I don’t know if he would be willing to let Detriot fire Holland in order to replace him. It may have to wait until Holland’s deal is up in 2 years. Unless Holland leaves willingly, to join Seattle or something like that. But yeah I could totally see that happening eventually. It makes too much sense not to happen. He spent his entire 22 year career as a player there (age 18-40) and then got his start as an executive there. It seems like it’s only a matter of time until he’s back as the GM/team president. That Red Wing blood has to run deep because there's no other reason why you wouldn't stay in Tampa. Better weather, easier recruiting, lower taxes, etc. 1
Dr. Who Posted September 12, 2018 Posted September 12, 2018 2 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said: That Red Wing blood has to run deep because there's no other reason why you wouldn't stay in Tampa. Better weather, easier recruiting, lower taxes, etc. I may be way off in reading between the lines. I was surmising that this is really about Tampa Bay wanting to keep BriseBois. I assumed they couldn't keep deferring a promotion to GM and refusing other teams who wanted to interview him for a GM position.
BillsFan4 Posted September 12, 2018 Posted September 12, 2018 6 minutes ago, Dr. Who said: I may be way off in reading between the lines. I was surmising that this is really about Tampa Bay wanting to keep BriseBois. I assumed they couldn't keep deferring a promotion to GM and refusing other teams who wanted to interview him for a GM position. The owner said he tried everything he could to keep Yzerman (which is rumored to possibly have included a bigger ownership stake in the team), so I don’t think that was it. I do think that factored into Yzerman’s decision to step down now, though. 11 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said: That Red Wing blood has to run deep because there's no other reason why you wouldn't stay in Tampa. Better weather, easier recruiting, lower taxes, etc. Yeah, for sure. I also think his family factors in. They’ve continued to live in Detriot the entire 8-9 years Yzerman has been Tampa’s GM. 1
BillsFan4 Posted September 12, 2018 Posted September 12, 2018 40 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said: A Ripped Risto! That was an awesome read. Thanks for sharing. I guess Housley and Botterill told him at the year end meetings that they needed him to become a leader on this team. It sounds like he may have really took that message to heart.
26CornerBlitz Posted September 12, 2018 Author Posted September 12, 2018 Pronman: Top 100 NHL prospects entering the 2018-19 season Welcome to my look at the top prospects within NHL organizations. Like with my breakdown into the farm systems of each NHL team, these rankings are based on thousands of hours of research, spanning many trips to rinks across the hockey world, watching a lot of video, analyzing player’s production, and discussions with scouts, coaches and executives. While I seek input from many sources, these are solely my opinions and will deviate from NHL sources, even significantly in some instances. These rankings also have minor tweaks from the analysis I published in August going through each team’s farm systems, given that seasons have already started for some players, I’ve attended some prospect camps and I’ve incorporated those viewings into these rankings. SPECIAL PROSPECT 1. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Skating: 60 Puck Skills: 70 Physical Game: 55 Hockey sense: 70 Dahlin was one of the best defense prospects of the modern era as a first-year, draft-eligible player. His skill and IQ ranked among the very best in the class. He can play at such a quick pace and make highly creative plays versus pros, which at his age is unusual. What stands out to me is not his elite skill but his elite awareness. He understands how to attack defenses so well and attempts things I don’t see players his age try. He sees gaps in coverage before they develop, makes great feeds, and knows how to angle guys out and when to go for a risky play. He also has a low panic threshold and doesn’t tend to force plays. He’s a very good skater who, while not exceptionally fast, has good speed and is very agile for a player his size. His offense drives his value, but he is quite good defensively, as he battles hard, is physical and plays a quiet position game. He has the potential to be a franchise defenseman. ELITE PROSPECT 3. Casey Mittelstadt, C, Buffalo Skating: 55 Puck Skills: 70 Physical Game: 45 Hockey sense: 60 Mittelstadt was the MVP of the world juniors and had a decent initial showing with the Sabres as a teenager. He’s a player who stands out due to his elite offensive abilities. There are very few players outside the NHL who can create offense like he can, and often he can bring fans out of their seats. He skates well, has arguably the best set of hands outside the league and has great overall offensive instincts as a playmaker. Off the puck, he’s not the best. Despite having fine size, he isn’t going to be a high-end physical player and needs work defensively. However, he shields pucks fine and, given his size and elite skill package, he still has the potential to be a star in the league. I have small reservations about his production at various levels relative to his age, but I’ve watched him so much and see a consistently high-end guy that I’m not too concerned. VERY GOOD PROSPECT 49. Alexander Nylander, LW, Buffalo Skating: 50 Puck Skills: 60 Physical Game: 40 Hockey sense: 65 Nylander is a tough player to evaluate. He’s had a tough go at it in the pro level the past two seasons, with the pace of the game and the work off the puck being issues for him. He’s done much better when playing against his peer group at the U20 level. He has moments where he shows why he was a top-10 pick. He has great hands and vision and can be a driving force for an offense. I think he skates fine but often I find he plays too slow, meaning he doesn’t hit the blueline with speed and can struggle to play a game at the pro pace. He has a lot of work to do, but there’s so much potential in his game. Note on tier change: I had Nylander as a high legit prospect in August, but after many discussions with scouts, insight into his injury issues last season and watching him in camp I bumped him up marginally.
GG Posted September 13, 2018 Posted September 13, 2018 42 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said: Wow! Explains a lot
BillsFan4 Posted September 13, 2018 Posted September 13, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, 26CornerBlitz said: Wow! I was just coming to post this. Wow is right! It explains so much. I am glad he is getting the help he needed. Edited September 13, 2018 by BillsFan4
JohnC Posted September 13, 2018 Posted September 13, 2018 13 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: I was just coming to post this. Wow is right! I just hope that Incognito also becomes receptive to professional help for his well being. Lehner's problems were deep and complicated. It was not an easy journey to confront his problems, and it will be a life long issue for him. I wish him the best. Botteril keeping tabs on Lehner after he was no longer with the team demonstrates how good a person he is. 2
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