Figured we need a good spot to talk about any and everything related to the NHL Draft. I'm sure most will be wanting the Sabres to target a defenseman.
If we creep up high enough in the draft order, I have one target:
Gabriel Vilardi
Canadian of Italian descent... 3 zone player. Ultimately the perfect left wing to pair with ROR and Okposo.
I'll take Nolan Patrick...Originally Posted by coastal
coastal (03-06-2017)
Well considering he's going 1 or 2, we'd have to win the lottery.
luck like that doesn't happen to Buffalo.
Dr. Lecter (03-06-2017),JATMtheJATM (03-06-2017),OpIv37 (03-27-2017),yanklovver (03-12-2017)
Ya know what? Stop pissing on my cheerios!
I like the idea of another winger, but I also like that Swede dman. Liligren? I don't like him enough to check his name though.
I'm gonna start doing heavy homework on the draft soon
yanklovver (03-21-2017)
This is a lousy year for defensive prospects especially at the top end of the draft..
coastal (03-06-2017)
It's looking like a bad draft period. I've heard some consider Nolan Patrick a second line center. Nothing more.
Ginger Vitis (03-06-2017)
Liljegren is sliding down mock drafts because he missed 2 months with mono.... Prior to the season he was considered a Top 3 pick... He would be good value for any team that picks out of the Top 5
Thats who I want. But the last time we took a guy who slid because of mono....
I agree on the position with you Coastal however, depending on where they end up picking, I'd go with 1 of 2 other guys instead...
Around 5 Eeli Tolvanen. Finnish elite scorer...Bob MacKenzie has written he has the ability to be the best pure scorer in this draft.
Around 10 - since Tolvanen will likely be gone. Kristian Vesalainen. Big strong winger who can skate and score and not be pushed off the puck.
Defensively this draft is weak at the top, unfortunately. Also unfortunate that the Sabres didn't take Gorbachev or Chychrun last year. I would have opted for Chychrun personally.
if the continued losing streak continues there's an outside shot at a top 5?
honestly think we have to get one of top 2 slots to get a guaranteed NHL player. Realistically we likely end up at 5-7 range. If so... Casey Mittlestadt is who I would target.
Corey Pronman of ESPN thinks this is the weakest draft since the post lockout era (2005).. Juuso Valimaki a defensemen from Finland would be a bit of a reach in the top 5 but decent value between 8 and 10.... The way the Sabres are bottoming out its likely the Sabres take a Center
The way things are shaking out, looks like the best we will do barring winning the draft lottery or completely losing out, is going to be 5th last... meaning we will select 6th overall due to Vegas.
Patrick
Hischier
Vilardi
Middlestadt
Liljegren
As of now it's a safe bet all 5 of these players will be gone. Cale Makar... welcome to Buffalo... in a few years!
Buffalo might have to go with best player available UNLESS it's Liljegren. Problem is, he'll be gone by then. One mock draft I noticed had Liljegren going #1 overall.
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TSN Craig Button says that Sabres should be shopping the #1 overall pick even if it is a lottery pick for a stud defenceman Murray loves to make trades and says that he's always listening, Tim Murray on Schoop and the Bulldog on WGR550 a few weeks ago said that he takes the blame that he didn't get a Stud defenceman
“We haven’t been able to pick that stud defenseman yet and that falls right on me and on the scouting staff that’s under me,” Murray said.
Going further, he stated that he believed Buffalo boasted a blueline good enough to make the playoffs, but maybe not contend for a Stanley Cup. Interestingly, he pointed to the acquisition of Dmitri Kulikov as a particular disappointment.
http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/03/21/...pansion-draft/
Last edited by DetDannyWilliams; 03-27-2017 at 03:47 PM.
I'd package our 1st for someone like Fowler or Ghost.
I'd be more than willing to trade the overall #1 pick, especially considering we're not going to get it. Pretty sure the team that does would be pissed if we were peddling their asset, though.
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you just have a gut feeling that it's going to be Las Vegas, the NHL will rig the Lottery just like they did with Pittsburgh and Crosby
Stop talking
We had some concerns mid-year that Casey Mittelstadt was getting complacent and perhaps developing some bad habits after moving back to his Eden Prairie (Minn.) High School team from the United States Hockey League. Wrong!
Mittelstadt instead has ramped up his game and may be looking to displace someone in the top 10. We love his hockey sense and the way he plays such an up-tempo game at all times. The Minnesota state tournament, followed by a late-season return to the USHL, could set the stage for his ascension.
Secondly, off his performance at the Five Nations U-18 tourney last month, we’re anxious to see if Erik Brännström can elevate himself another level to Cale Makar-type status as an elite offensive defenseman whose skating and puck skills dispel any fears about his size on the back end.
And finally, as we’ve mentioned elsewhere in this issue, we absolutely cannot understand why NHL clubs aren’t falling all over themselves to grab Jason Robertson. In a draft year as bad as this one, his combination of size, hands, and skill sticks out.
Robertson is literally the only player on that Kingston club with any shred of offensive talent. The team is so offensively challenged that it ranks last in the Ontario Hockey League in goals scored; the next worst club has 20 goals more than the Frontenacs. Robertson is keyed on every night by opposing coaches and checkers, yet his point totals (42 goals-39 assists-81 points, including a league-leading 11 game-winning goals) are behind only Nick Suzuki among first-year draft eligibles in the OHL. Yet it seems as though he could drop out of the first round entirely come draft day.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nhl/...mage=BByPqkx|2
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