yeah he clearly is a steal for an edmonton team that already is super deep. he's fun to watch!
- FIREonICE

Yup total bust... Drafted 6th overall and the second most productive player from his draft class.

Sorry , never noticed you are from wonderful British Columbia , only an oilers fan that obviously has too much time on his hands. Like I said he is 18 years old . Lots of coaching to be done yet . Yea sure Garth is a cheerleader for all Sabres and Sabres prospects . But at least he gives us something to read and discuss about our team. Little to early to pass final Judgement on an 18 year old kid . Come back in 10 years and we will see if your analysis is correct.

You need to get out from behind the computer and stop reading so many negative scouting reports about other teams players. Worry about your # 1 pick coming back from Russia once he gets a taste of the big money he will be making back home instead of working on improving his game in North America
- Maximum Signal

You're such a noob.... Yakupov is better off playing at a higher level in the KHL than he is in the OHL.

I watched Grigorenko play in the Canada/Russia series and he played like dog poop the entire series.

Yup total bust... Drafted 6th overall and the second most productive player from his draft class.
- Reveen

you do realize i was praising the oilers for drafting him because i think sam gagner is a good player, right?

Holy Edmonton buzz kills...what did we do to them recently?

you do realize i was praising the oilers for drafting him because i think sam gagner is a good player, right?
- FIREonICE

my sarcasm meter is a little sensitive today lack of hockey to watch

Holy trolly ollie. The kid is 18 (allegedly) so i think we can all agree it's both too early to call him the next Malkin as well as it's too early to call him a bust. What i do know is he is able to put up big numbers and has skill which could hopefully translate to NHL success.

my sarcasm meter is a little sensitive today lack of hockey to watch
- Reveen

the owners are so stupid.

it'll be interesting to see how this plays out, but they definitely have big balls having the third lockout where they've demanded concessions from the players.

yes the players are millionaires but they still are workers and without these guys, what would we watch? arenas with no players are kind of boring.

maybe they could get us to come 2-3 days a week to watch clips of old players playing in games that mattered? while charging us 70-200 dollars a ticket?

Yup total bust... Drafted 6th overall and the second most productive player from his draft class.
- Reveen

5 full seasons in the NHL and never broken 50 points or 20 goals. He's "2nd most productive" because he was rushed in and has played a ton of games, not because he's a top line talent. He's not crap but he's never going to top 60 points at this rate.

If you redid the draft, would you pick him 2nd (since he's SO productive)? what about at 6th?
Kane, JVR, Pacioretty, McD, Subban, simmonds, Benn, Couture, alzner, perron would all go before him IMO.

edit: not a great draft

Holy trolly ollie. The kid is 18 (allegedly) so i think we can all agree it's both too early to call him the next Malkin as well as it's too early to call him a bust. What i do know is he is able to put up big numbers and has skill which could hopefully translate to NHL success.
- Zschalberg

Welcome to our world. Sam Gagner is 22, and has been called a bust for 4 years. He is the second most productive player from his draft year.

5 full seasons in the NHL and never broken 50 points or 20 goals. He's "2nd most productive" because he was rushed in and has played a ton of games, not because he's a top line talent. He's not crap but he's never going to top 60 points at this rate.

If you redid the draft, would you pick him 2nd (since he's SO productive)? what about at 6th?
Kane, JVR, Pacioretty, McD, Subban, simmonds, Benn, Couture, alzner, perron would all go before him IMO.

edit: not a great draft
- muffin_man

Do you realize the players he played with? He's not an elite player who will make those around him stars... He is a good player though. Let him play a full season on a line with 2 of Hall/Eberle/RNH/Yakupov/Hemsky and I bet he reaches 60 points. The few games he got to play with talent last season, he was a beast.

the owners are so stupid.

it'll be interesting to see how this plays out, but they definitely have big balls having the third lockout where they've demanded concessions from the players.

yes the players are millionaires but they still are workers and without these guys, what would we watch? arenas with no players are kind of boring.

maybe they could get us to come 2-3 days a week to watch clips of old players playing in games that mattered? while charging us 70-200 dollars a ticket?
- FIREonICE

Agreed. The owners are stupid, but the players are stupid/greedy/liars.

5 full seasons in the NHL and never broken 50 points or 20 goals. He's "2nd most productive" because he was rushed in and has played a ton of games, not because he's a top line talent. He's not crap but he's never going to top 60 points at this rate.

If you redid the draft, would you pick him 2nd (since he's SO productive)? what about at 6th?
Kane, JVR, Pacioretty, McD, Subban, simmonds, Benn, Couture, alzner, perron would all go before him IMO.

edit: not a great draft
- muffin_man

Never said he was top line talent...

Probably with the exception of JVR, he's still a top ten player from his draft class and was taken 6th. I guess that was a total waste of a pick by the Oilers.

the owners are so stupid.

it'll be interesting to see how this plays out, but they definitely have big balls having the third lockout where they've demanded concessions from the players.

yes the players are millionaires but they still are workers and without these guys, what would we watch? arenas with no players are kind of boring.

maybe they could get us to come 2-3 days a week to watch clips of old players playing in games that mattered? while charging us 70-200 dollars a ticket?
- FIREonICE

It's a bunch of spoiled millionaires fighting over a few points.

It's a bunch of spoiled millionaires fighting over a few points.
- Reveen

i disagree.

yes the players are rich, but the owners are a lot more rich and do a lot less. without the talent, what is the circus? just a tent with empty seats, same thing here.

the owners make money off of the players, just like your boss makes money off of you. the owners don't want a 50-50 split, they want the 57/43 that the players have now to be reversed and in their favor. that is disgusting because the owners are not why we watch hockey. bosses own but workers are the labor and star attraction, they deserve their fair share collectively.

I am a noob ! , take a step back there dude . I have been on these forums much longer than you and have been following the NHL since the original 6 to 12 team expansion . I think I know the game of hockey well . Even played my share of growing up in Southern Ontario . Even played against Gretzky as a kid . So please do not be so self righteous and want to write of an 18 year olds career . Little to early for that yet . I guess you know more than all the Sabres scouting and coaching staff . And a lot of other scouts out there that think he has potential. Time will tell if he is an all star or a bust .

Hope Yakupov stays healthy and returns to Edmonton . Truth Be told Edmonton has always been my second favorite NHL team since I moved to Buffalo in 1989. Must be another rainy day in British Columbia that you feel you have to come to a Sabres board and tell us how are prospects have no hope .

You're such a noob.... Yakupov is better off playing at a higher level in the KHL than he is in the OHL.

I watched Grigorenko play in the Canada/Russia series and he played like dog poop the entire series.
- Reveen

i disagree.

yes the players are rich, but the owners are a lot more rich and do a lot less. without the talent, what is the circus? just a tent with empty seats, same thing here.

the owners make money off of the players, just like your boss makes money off of you. the owners don't want a 50-50 split, they want the 57/43 that the players have now to be reversed and in their favor. that is disgusting because the owners are not why we watch hockey. bosses own but workers are the labor and star attraction, they deserve their fair share collectively.
- FIREonICE

Welcome to the wonderful world of negotiations. If the owners truly wanted 50/50, do you think that's where they'd start? Of course not... People never get what they initially ask for... This is the basics of bargaining. You aim high, go back and forth, and eventually you meet in the middle. There is zero doubt that the owners true target is 50% revenue.

50% revenue is still in the players favor... The owners have waaaaaaaaaaaay more expenses... This isn't operating income we're talking about here... This is REVENUE!

The players can suck it!

Welcome to the wonderful world of negotiations. If the owners truly wanted 50/50, do you think that's where they'd start? Of course not... People never get what they initially ask for... This is the basics of bargaining. You aim high, go back and forth, and eventually you meet in the middle. There is zero doubt that the owners true target is 50% revenue.

50% revenue is still in the players favor... The owners have waaaaaaaaaaaay more expenses... This isn't operating income we're talking about here... This is REVENUE!

The players can suck it!
- laughs2907

they were offered 50.50 and they told the nhlpa to pound sand...

you talk about "this is how the men work out a deal" and then talk about how the players are the bad guys. that's tool speak, man. get off the owners jock and stop attacking workers that are fighting for their rights to a fair salary!

again, the players are doing all of the work and the owners are benefiting from their labor, so the owners should be lucky to get half and have huge balls asking for more. if you side with the owners, especially after the last two lockouts, then you clearly have an inferiority complex akin to a house slave siding with the master. i cannot help you with that one.

they were offered 50.50 and they told the nhlpa to pound sand...

you talk about "this is how the men work out a deal" and then talk about how the players are the bad guys. that's tool speak, man. get off the owners jock and stop attacking workers that are fighting for their rights to a fair salary!

again, the players are doing all of the work and the owners are benefiting from their labor, so the owners should be lucky to get half and have huge balls asking for more. if you side with the owners, especially after the last two lockouts, then you clearly have an inferiority complex akin to a house slave siding with the master. i cannot help you with that one.
- FIREonICE

When were they offered 50/50? Do you have proof of this?

The players are doing all of the work? Get real! You clearly have no idea how much work goes into running a business. And the owners are not getting half! They're getting 43%... And that's revenue, which isn't a true percentage. Operating income would translate to a true percentage... People need to learn the difference between revenue and profits. It's frustrating talking about this with people who clearly do not understand what they're talking about.

I am a noob ! , take a step back there dude . I have been on these forums much longer than you and have been following the NHL since the original 6 to 12 team expansion . I think I know the game of hockey well . Even played my share of growing up in Southern Ontario . Even played against Gretzky as a kid . So please do not be so self righteous and want to write of an 18 year olds career . Little to early for that yet . I guess you know more than all the Sabres scouting and coaching staff . And a lot of other scouts out there that think he has potential. Time will tell if he is an all star or a bust .

Hope Yakupov stays healthy and returns to Edmonton . Truth Be told Edmonton has always been my second favorite NHL team since I moved to Buffalo in 1989. Must be another rainy day in British Columbia that you feel you have to come to a Sabres board and tell us how are prospects have no hope .
- Maximum Signal

Trust me I've been here far longer than you think.

My opinion is based around what scouts have said about Gringo.

I think it was pretty loud and clear when he slid to #12 what scouts thought about him.

When were they offered 50/50? Do you have proof of this?

The players are doing all of the work? Get real! You clearly have no idea how much work goes into running a business. And the owners are not getting half! They're getting 43%... And that's revenue, which isn't a true percentage. Operating income would translate to a true percentage... People need to learn the difference between revenue and profits. It's frustrating talking about this with people who clearly do not understand what they're talking about.
- laughs2907

yeah i can definitely relate to your frustration with talking to people that don't have a clue...

i disagree.

yes the players are rich, but the owners are a lot more rich and do a lot less. without the talent, what is the circus? just a tent with empty seats, same thing here.

the owners make money off of the players, just like your boss makes money off of you. the owners don't want a 50-50 split, they want the 57/43 that the players have now to be reversed and in their favor. that is disgusting because the owners are not why we watch hockey. bosses own but workers are the labor and star attraction, they deserve their fair share collectively.
- FIREonICE

Wow.... I didn't realize the Sabres had their own Longbottom

When were they offered 50/50? Do you have proof of this?

The players are doing all of the work? Get real! You clearly have no idea how much work goes into running a business. And the owners are not getting half! They're getting 43%... And that's revenue, which isn't a true percentage. Operating income would translate to a true percentage... People need to learn the difference between revenue and profits. It's frustrating talking about this with people who clearly do not understand what they're talking about.
- laughs2907

The owners assume all the financial risk and provide the players with a place to showcase their talents. Do the players really think that this cost the owners nothing?

Also a lot of scouts were not aware that he had mono at the end of the year last year . You are just way to quick to pass judgement on an 18 year old player . Come back in 10 years and you can give us an informed final verdict if he was a bust or not . So far this kid has done and said all the right things to try and improve on his duly noted weaknesses.

Trust me I've been here far longer than you think.

My opinion is based around what scouts have said about Gringo.

I think it was pretty loud and clear when he slid to #12 what scouts thought about him.
- Reveen

Trust me I've been here far longer than you think.

My opinion is based around what scouts have said about Gringo.

I think it was pretty loud and clear when he slid to #12 what scouts thought about him.
- Reveen

You're crazy! I think it's pretty safe to say that after 1 game in the Q this year, Grigs has proven all of those scouts wrong!

Also a lot of scouts were not aware that he had mono at the end of the year last year . You are just way to quick to pass judgement on an 18 year old player . Come back and 10 years and you can give us an informed final verdict if he was a bust or not . So far this kid has done and said all the right things to try and improve on his duly noted weaknesses.
- Maximum Signal

If you read the redline report I posted they saw the same weakness in Grigo's game for three straight seasons.