Buffalo Sabres and NHL: 2019/20: Sabres season officially over. Draft lottery June 26th

[BillsFan4]

11 minutes ago, suorangefan4 said:

 

Ah yes, the I want them to "learn how to win" statement.

 

Did they learn how to win when they won 10 straight games last year? Or when they started 9-2-1 this year?

 

Talent wins. And usually better players go around the top 6 picks or so. I want to get in the rang where we can get a dynamic skater like Stutzle or Rossi. Like I've said before add them to Cozens and hopefully the depth and skating puts us into the upper echelon.

 

Thats why I specifically said that I want them to learn how to win when games get tougher in the 2nd half of the year. They haven’t shown they can do that yet. 

 

I don't see where another epic collapse does any good. They’ve drafted top 8 for how many years straight now? Every year it’s “we need just one more high pick”. I’m done with that ****. I absolutely refuse to root for them to lose. 

 

I 100% agree that they need more talent though. But plenty of teams are able to add talent and get better without constantly tanking for top picks. If our GM needs a top 7 pick to add talent then we need a new GM.

[BillsFan4]

Nice to see that Mittelstadt seems to be trending in the right direction in Rochester. I still don’t want him called up any time soon though. Let him develop down there the rest of the season.

[JohnC]

20 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Nice to see that Mittelstadt seems to be trending in the right direction in Rochester. I still don’t want him called up any time soon though. Let him develop down there the rest of the season.

The prospect who will soon be moving ahead of Mittelstadt is Cozens. I wouldn't be surprised if Cozens makes the roster next year, even if it's as a forward instead of a center. As far as Mittelstadt and his development only time will tell. He may be the type of prospect where it takes another year or so before he is ready to play in the NHL. If he can eventually become a contributing third line center then I'm fine with that. Another prospect to watch out for is Arttu Ruotsalainen who may be in Rochester next year. 

 

The below link is a 10 min WGR interview with Cozens current coach. After listening to it I came away believing that he will be on the roster next year and eventually be our second line center. 

 

https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/01-31-lethbridge-hurricanes-general-manager-peter-anholt-with-howard-and-sal

 

 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Jack is all

[Beast]

3 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

Nice to see that Mittelstadt seems to be trending in the right direction in Rochester. I still don’t want him called up any time soon though. Let him develop down there the rest of the season.

Mittelstadt is just too weak, physically, to compete in the NHL.

 

If the kid hit the weight room and transformed himself he would be a force.

 

Unfortunately he doesn’t have the drive to lift the iron.

 

 

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

The prospect who will soon be moving ahead of Mittelstadt is Cozens. I wouldn't be surprised if Cozens makes the roster next year, even if it's as a forward instead of a center. As far as Mittelstadt and his development only time will tell. He may be the type of prospect where it takes another year or so before he is ready to play in the NHL. If he can eventually become a contributing third line center then I'm fine with that. Another prospect to watch out for is Arttu Ruotsalainen who may be in Rochester next year. 

 

The below link is a 10 min WGR interview with Cozens current coach. After listening to it I came away believing that he will be on the roster next year and eventually be our second line center. 

 

https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/01-31-lethbridge-hurricanes-general-manager-peter-anholt-with-howard-and-sal

 

 

Cozens May be ready but a year in the A would do him and the team much better. Enough with rushing prospects.

[shrader]

My directv feed cut out right in the middle of the replay of Jack's goal, so I didn't get to see a much needed second view of how ridiculous that goal was.  They opened a window for him for less than a second, and boom, in the net.  Was the goalie just sleeping or was the shot that perfect?

[BillsFan4]

21 minutes ago, shrader said:

My directv feed cut out right in the middle of the replay of Jack's goal, so I didn't get to see a much needed second view of how ridiculous that goal was.  They opened a window for him for less than a second, and boom, in the net.  Was the goalie just sleeping or was the shot that perfect?

I’m sure you’ve probably seen the replay by now, but it’s still worth seeing again.

 

 

[JohnC]

19 hours ago, Binghamton Beast said:

Mittelstadt is just too weak, physically, to compete in the NHL.

 

If the kid hit the weight room and transformed himself he would be a force.

 

Unfortunately he doesn’t have the drive to lift the iron.

 

 

Cozens May be ready but a year in the A would do him and the team much better. Enough with rushing prospects.

If Cozens plays well enough in training camp and outperforms the other center or forward candidates/competitors on the forward lines he will earn a spot with the big club. There are two sides to this issue: What's best for the player and what's best for the Sabres.  Ideally, the best developmental situation might be for him to play a lot in Rochester. On the other hand he can also continue with his development playing in the NHL. Whether one is talking about Mittelstadt, Tage or Cozens it comes down to how they play when competing for roster spots. If he or the other prospects show that they can handle the upgrade in competition then I wouldn't have no reluctance with any of them starting the season in Buffalo. 

[Beast]

2 minutes ago, JohnC said:

If Cozens plays well enough in training camp and outperforms the other center or forward candidates/competitors on the forward lines he will earn a spot with the big club. There are two sides to this issue: What's best for the player and what's best for the Sabres.  Ideally, the best developmental situation might be for him to play a lot in Rochester. On the other hand he can also continue with his development playing in the NHL. Whether one is talking about Mittelstadt, Tage or Cozens it comes down to how they play when competing for roster spots. If he or the other prospects show that they can handle the upgrade in competition then I wouldn't have no reluctance with any of them starting the season in Buffalo. 

 

Just because Cozens outperforms some other stiffs we have in the organization won't mean he's ready.

[JohnC]

10 minutes ago, Binghamton Beast said:

 

Just because Cozens outperforms some other stiffs we have in the organization won't mean he's ready.

If you want to play the lesser player that's okay. That's not how I would do it. If the coaching staff believes he is ready to play and help the club then I don't know what the problem is. I'm not suggesting that Cozens is the caliber of player that Jack is. But what Jack has demonstrated is that you can improve as a player while playing in the NHL, assuming that you are ready to play with the higher competition.

[Buffalophil1948]

3 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

I’m sure you’ve probably seen the replay by now, but it’s still worth seeing again.

 

 

Kind of reminds me of a Cobra. Slowly going back and for, hypnotizing it's prey and then striking 

[shrader]

2 hours ago, JohnC said:

If Cozens plays well enough in training camp and outperforms the other center or forward candidates/competitors on the forward lines he will earn a spot with the big club. There are two sides to this issue: What's best for the player and what's best for the Sabres.  Ideally, the best developmental situation might be for him to play a lot in Rochester. On the other hand he can also continue with his development playing in the NHL. Whether one is talking about Mittelstadt, Tage or Cozens it comes down to how they play when competing for roster spots. If he or the other prospects show that they can handle the upgrade in competition then I wouldn't have no reluctance with any of them starting the season in Buffalo. 

 

Cozens won't be old enough to play in the AHL next year, so we can rule that one out right now.  He could see time at the end of the season, but that's it.

[JohnC]

This issue was brought up before in this thread: Does anyone know what the status is of WGR's Paul Hamilton? Today on WGR's Howard and Jeremy Morning Show Pat Malacaro was on a segment talking about the Sabres. Usually, this is the role that Hamilton has. So his absence may indicate that he is no longer associated with the station. If anyone has an update I would appreciate it. 

1 minute ago, shrader said:

 

Cozens won't be old enough to play in the AHL next year, so we can rule that one out right now.  He could see time at the end of the season, but that's it.

I assume that he could immediately play in the NHL? Right now I'm of the belief that he will be on Buffalo's roster next year. I don't like rushing prospects but if he is good enough to beat out the competition at training camp I'm all for him to make the roster. If the organization believes that it would be good for him to have a short stint in Buffalo and then go back to the juniors that would also be fine with me. 

[bbb]

9 minutes ago, shrader said:

 

Cozens won't be old enough to play in the AHL next year, so we can rule that one out right now.  He could see time at the end of the season, but that's it.

 

How old do you have to be to play in the AHL?!?  You can play in the NHL when you're underage for the AHL?

[apuszczalowski]

1 minute ago, bbb said:

 

How old do you have to be to play in the AHL?!?  You can play in the NHL when you're underage for the AHL?

Yeah, I didn't realize there was an age issue there. The CHL has their age restrictions to play in, and have the agreement that if one of their players is drafted but not going to be on the NHL club, they are only eligible to play for their CHL club. Maybe that's what they meant? He would still be in the CHL if not part of the NHL club?

 

For me personally, I liked the old Red Wings approach with all sports teams of leaving players in the minors until they force their way into the lineup. I don't know of any player that has ever been ruined because they played too long in the minors, but there have been many that were affected by playing way too early in the pros. Rushing players up almost never works. Let them develop until they can't prove anything anymore in the minors.

[BillsFan4]

34 minutes ago, bbb said:

 

How old do you have to be to play in the AHL?!?  You can play in the NHL when you're underage for the AHL?

It’s a rule in place between the NHL and CHL, basically to make sure that they have talent for their leagues.

 

https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2012/8/1/3213217/bruins-nhl-chl-ahl-agreement-CBA-talks-2012

 

Quote

There is an agreement in place between the NHL and the CHL (Canadian Hockey League, the overarching organization beneath which stand the OHL, the WHL, and the QMJHL) which exists primarily to protect the CHL. The rule is as follows:

 

Players drafted and playing for CHL teams are ineligible to play in the professional minor leagues (AHL, ECHL) until they are 20 years old (by December 31st of that year) or have completed four years in major juniors. A perfect example of this is Jared Knight, this year. Knight won't turn 20 until January 16, 2012. He's already completed two years in juniors, playing his third in London this season. If things continue along their course, and Knight does not make the NHL Bruins for the 2011-2012 season, he'll have to play that year in London as well, and will be eligible for AHL play in 2012-2013. Barring CHL involvement, players have to be 18 by September 15 to be eligible for the AHL at all.

 

That's the most basic version of this rule. 

 

So Cozens would have to go back to juniors for 1 more season if he doesn’t make the Sabres next year. Then after that, if he didn’t make the Sabres they could send him to the AHL. 

 

With certain players (like Alex Nylander for ex) whose rights are held by European clubs, they can play in the AHL right away.

 

[BillsFan4]

https://www.tsn.ca/trade-bait-winnipeg-jets-and-dustin-byfuglien-heading-toward-split-1.1437152

 

Winnipeg Jets and Dustin Byfuglien headed toward a contract termination.

 

This has long been a team that I thought made a good trade partner for Buffalo. They desperately need defenseman (only 4 under contract beyond this season, and they’re already playing with a bare bones D corps), but they’ve been waiting for this Byfuglien situation to be resolved due to his $7+M cap hit. 

 

Ill be interested to see what happens once this is finalized. 

[K-9]

On 2/1/2020 at 4:14 PM, suorangefan4 said:

Man.. just moved into the 7th overall pick and now it's back to 10th. 

Drafting players in hockey is unlike other sports. For many reasons and there’s not reason to get into the weeds with it. 
 

Simple fact is the vast majority of players selected after the 2nd pick in a draft take a while to make and help the NHL team that drafted them. The Sabres could lose out the rest of the way, finish with the worst record, and STILL have a better chance of NOT picking in the top THREE, let alone getting the number one overall. And as it stands, this year there is only ONE player in the ENTIRE draft who is projected to have the stuff to step into the league immediately; that being Alexis Lafreniere. 
 

The NHL draft is no place to get help to turn things around in the short term. As we’ve seen ourselves with several first round picks who haven’t pannedout over the last eight years. 

3 hours ago, JohnC said:

If you want to play the lesser player that's okay. That's not how I would do it. If the coaching staff believes he is ready to play and help the club then I don't know what the problem is. I'm not suggesting that Cozens is the caliber of player that Jack is. But what Jack has demonstrated is that you can improve as a player while playing in the NHL, assuming that you are ready to play with the higher competition.

That’s true about Jack, but he came into the league NHL ready and already possessing man strength. Cozens isn’t close to where Jack was physically at the same age. 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

 

That’s true about Jack, but he came into the league NHL ready and already possessing man strength. Cozens isn’t close to where Jack was physically at the same age. 

There is no disputing the fact that Jack is a unique case. What I said about Cozens is that if he comes into camp and outplays the players he is competing with and shows that he handle the jump into a higher level of hockey then I would not be adverse to putting him on the roster. Whether we are talking about Mitts, Tage, Cozens or whomever it ultimately it comes down to each player demonstrating what he is capable of. 

[K-9]

14 minutes ago, JohnC said:

There is no disputing the fact that Jack is a unique case. What I said about Cozens is that if he comes into camp and outplays the players he is competing with and shows that he handle the jump into a higher level of hockey then I would not be adverse to putting him on the roster. Whether we are talking about Mitts, Tage, Cozens or whomever it ultimately it comes down to each player demonstrating what he is capable of. 

Nothing against any of them, but until they DO possess the physical maturity required, I’m not expecting any of them to be top 6 contributors next season. Particularly in the case with Mitts as he’s shown absolutely NOTHING in the way of the dedication and discipline required to put in the work to achieve that change.