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Ramp-up to the 2015 NHL Draft Pt. 4--Size, grit and knuckles at LW |
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Unlike the right wingers in the system where there's plenty of talent and depth in the pipeline, the Buffalo Sabres are very thin at left wing in the talent department, at least near-future. There's size and grit, edginess and some speed, but overall the prospects on the left side pale in comparison to their counterparts on the right.
That being said, going into next season the Sabres have themselves a bonafide top-line LW in Evander Kane which is something they don't have on the right side. The former Atlanta Thrasher/Winnipeg Jet is under contract for three more seasons. Buffalo also has a top six left-winger in three-time, 30-goal scorer Matt Moulson who signed to a five-year, free agent contract with the club in July, 2014. Those two sit atop the depth chart on the left side and are followed by 23 yr. old Marcus Foligno (2009, 104th-overall) and Nicolas Deslauriers, a converted defenseman who came to Buffalo in the Brayden McNabb to LA Kings swap.
When you add in centers who can play the left side, like Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson and others, they're solid at left wing on the big club, but the depth and talent-level in the pipeline is another story. It's an area that should get some attention come draft time.
When GM Tim Murray came to Buffalo in January, 2014 his prospect pool was unbalanced. The number of d-prospects with NHL potential far outweighed those in the forward group, so he began working on that. He picked up a wing-prospect in the Ryan Miller trade then added RW Hudson Fasching and Deslauriers in the McNabb trade. Murray would also trade for or sign a number of other forwards to help bolster the ranks, many of which can be described as "heavies." But atop the depth chart at this juncture is a converted center drafted by the Sabres in 2011.
Daniel Catenacci is a speed-demon plucked with the 77th pick in the third round of that 2011 draft who's been plying his trade in Rochester as a winger. At 5'9" 186 lbs. he's small for the pros, but he's been able to use his speed and shiftiness to counteract that. Catenacci's been on a rather slow development curve but may have finally been able to find a way to overcome his size at the AHL-level, although it took him two and a half seasons to do so. He has one more year on his entry-level contract and like the previously profiled Jerome Leduc, is at a crossroads in his career. There are some heavies bearing down on him but his versatility and speed should keep him one step ahead, at least for this season.
One of those "heavies" is William Carrier, a former 2013 second-round pick (57th overall) of the St. Louis Blues who was a part of the Miller deal. Carrier has good size at 6'1" 196 lbs. but plays even bigger when he gets his north/south, gritty, battle-it-out game going. And he has some offense to him as well. In foregoing his final year in junior as an overager, Carrier was the youngest player in Rochester last year and managed a respectable seven goals and 14 assists in 63 games. He was also a plus-1 on a team that had a minus-42 goal differential which is a good indication of the type of two-way forward that he's projected to become.
Maybe the most intriguing prospect in the system on the left side right now is Gustav Possler who is in Sweden playing for MODO. Unfortunately for him he's been faced with some adversity his first two seasons in the SHL. Possler came out of the gate strong his first season in the Elite League registering eight goals and 15 points in 22 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. It took him a while to get into a groove last season but he finished the year with nine goals and 21 points in 47 games on a MODO squad that barely avoided relegation. Possler is an excellent skater with quick acceleration and has the ability to find open ice where he can release a quick, accurate wrister. He'll be in Sweden for one more season before Murray will need to make a decision on whether or not to sign him to an entry-level deal.
Jean Dupuy was signed in November, 2014 as an overager who spent last season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. In 10 OHL playoff games for the Greyhounds Dupuy scored four goals, including a game-winner and added two assists. Those modest numbers don't project well at the pro level but what he does pack on his 6'3" 195 lb. frame is a competitiveness, edginess and a willingness to drop the gloves. Although his scraps have gone down from 11 in 2012-13 to four the following year to three last season, including one in the playoffs, Dupuy should eventually find his way as a gritty depth forward willing to do what's necessary on the ice.
Another big-bodied ruffian is Jordan Samuels-Thomas whom Murray traded a seventh round pick for (WPG.) "JST" is a large presence on the ice at 6'4" 195 lbs. and isn't afraid to get it on with the heavyweights in the AHL logging eight fights last season. He also can skate and play the game, but make no mistake, physicality is his calling card and his possible ticket to the NHL.
One of JTS's fights last year was against Jack Nevins, a Montreal prospect who was part of the return in the 2015 Torrey Mitchell trade deadline deal. Nevins is another big body (6'2" 206 lbs.) who plays a two-way, physical game and isn't afraid to drop the gloves (14 fights in the AHL last season) in defense of his teammates. He along with JST could be looked at as enforcers for the parade of talent that will be passing through Rochester in the near future.
Max Willman is a long-term forward project. He's C/LW in the Sabres system and just completed his freshman year at Brown University where he was only able to score one goal in 30 games while registering a minus-13 plus/minus rating. Willman has good size at 6'0" 181 lbs. and had enough scoring acumen in high school (21 goals in 25 games) for the Sabres to take a flyer on him with the 121st pick in last year's draft.
Brad Navin was another late-pick, long-term project although his status as a prospect may have run it's course. He was a seventh-round pick in 2011 and was of the first group that hit the First Niagara Center ice for Buffalo's inaugural Sabres Combine. After four full seasons at Wisconsin where he topped out at four goals and nine points in one season (his junior season) odds are against the Sabres offering him a contract.
Another forward still in the system but unlikely to be a part of the future is Kevin Sundher, a 2010 third round pick (75th.) Sundher has been struggling in Rochester with injuries and production for the duration of his three-year, entry-level contract. Odds are against the Sabres re-signing the RFA.
All-in-all the left side is pretty much bereft of projected top-six NHL talent with Possler possibly being the lone exception. There's plenty of size, girth, grit, desire and pugilism in the ranks but not much on the skill side of the equation.
Yet, as mentioned, the Sabres have four left-wingers that will probably be anchoring that side of the ice for the next three years or so. With Kane and Moulson locked up long-term, their top-two are set. Foligno and Deslauriers are still very young and will learn the ropes in a bottom-six role with Jerry D'Amigo, should he be re-signed, in a reserve role. All three are in the restricted free agent class beginning with D'Amigo this year. Because of the talent and term in the top-six, there's no panic nor is there the need to reach to bolster the left side, especially when looking at the number of versatile centers that can move to the wing if necessary.
With the way things have unfolded, Murray has plenty of options at his disposal--including a trade for winger, or drafting one at No. 21 this year--and it's because of the work the organization has done bolstering the middle over the last three years. The group of centers on the team is varied and deep and come draft-day 2015 will have a bonafide No. 1 center leading the way.
Which is what we'll get to next.
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