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Forums :: Blog World :: Michael Pachla: Quick hits on the goalies and defenseman prior to the Dec. 19 trade freeze
Author Message
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Dec 18 @ 9:36 AM ET
How many D-men are NHL ready?

Dahlin
?
?

I don't really know anything about the draft class yet.

- thatsapickle

I think he is the only one

maybe Svechnikov up front


http://www.mynhldraft.com/NHL-Mock-Draft/


McIsaac is the one middle of the round prospect I would like in our pipeline
homiedclown
Buffalo Sabres
Location: We want 1, FL
Joined: 02.24.2008

Dec 18 @ 9:39 AM ET

The 2nd one I proposed with a 20something pick is for the pipeline 2-3 years down the road...restocks Roch When Guhle comes up.

- IonSabres

Bouchard?
IonSabres
Buffalo Sabres
Location: I said that months ago, keep up!, FL
Joined: 03.10.2013

Dec 18 @ 9:53 AM ET
I heard something about MTL making a push for O'Reilly.

Gally, Ljindgren, and a 2nd for ROR.


I would take that in a heartbeat.

i don't think MTL would be that dumb.

- thatsapickle



Gally? Which one Galchenyuk or Gallagher?
Ljindgren? Who is that?

Keep Galchenyuk out of here, too much of a party animal. If they took him, trade him immediately.
jochfr
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Nashville , TN
Joined: 07.11.2009

Dec 18 @ 10:02 AM ET
Hahaha nope

The Phantom Menace takes that one

- GERBE!!!75PTS

Giant pile of poop
jochfr
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Nashville , TN
Joined: 07.11.2009

Dec 18 @ 10:05 AM ET
I saw the prequels as a kid before i saw the OT. The weirdest thing for me when i saw the OT was how goofy Yoda was. He was a strange prankster creature in the OT and a very serious person in the prequels. I guess the killing of all the Jedi and living in a bog for 30? years made him suuper weird.

Samuel L. and Ewan McGregor made the last 2 prequel movies watchable and even good at times. Hayden Christenson, paired with the writing, make his scenes unwatchable

- jcragcrumple

He was a little female dog in every movie
lulags
Buffalo Sabres
Location: St Louis
Joined: 02.24.2007

Dec 18 @ 10:11 AM ET
I heard something about MTL making a push for O'Reilly.

Gally, Ljindgren, and a 2nd for ROR.


I would take that in a heartbeat.

i don't think MTL would be that dumb.

- thatsapickle


And twice on Sunday
lulags
Buffalo Sabres
Location: St Louis
Joined: 02.24.2007

Dec 18 @ 10:14 AM ET
Gally? Which one Galchenyuk or Gallagher?
Ljindgren? Who is that?

Keep Galchenyuk out of here, too much of a party animal. If they took him, trade him immediately.

- IonSabres


I would do ROR for Charlie Lindgren and a second to get rid of ROR's contract. Charlie will be a good goalie
TheSabresTaco
Buffalo Sabres
Location: For me. jack Eichel is bobby ryan….that's it. - Octavarium, NY
Joined: 05.05.2011

Dec 18 @ 10:17 AM ET
Per the Hockey Writers

The top end of the 2018 class is beginning to solidify, with Dahlin and Svechnikov cementing themselves at the top. Merkley, Zadina, Tkachuk and Wahlstrom are clustered together.....Along with the top two and the next five, there’s a cluster of around eight higher-end players and then much less separation in the rest of the first round (and early second round) talent in the 2018 group.
jcragcrumple
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Reluctant bridge jumper; 6th round OHL draft pick, YT
Joined: 04.04.2016

Dec 18 @ 10:18 AM ET
He was a little female dog in every movie
- jochfr


GERBE!!!75PTS
San Jose Sharks
Location: Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Jack Eichel-, CA
Joined: 02.11.2009

Dec 18 @ 10:21 AM ET
did you take finals?
- homiedclown


Winter break just going back to LA to do some things then off to buffalo then Hawaii for family vacation for Christmas
GERBE!!!75PTS
San Jose Sharks
Location: Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Jack Eichel-, CA
Joined: 02.11.2009

Dec 18 @ 10:26 AM ET
Giant pile of poop
- jochfr


You better be ready to fight douche
TheSabresTaco
Buffalo Sabres
Location: For me. jack Eichel is bobby ryan….that's it. - Octavarium, NY
Joined: 05.05.2011

Dec 18 @ 10:26 AM ET
So really, when Buffalo drops to 4th overall, we'll still be in the 2nd highest cluster of prospects. Here, we can look at:

Ryan Merkley, D
Brady Tkachuk, C
Filip Zadina, LW
Oliver Wahlstrom, C

Merkley - Roving playmaker from the blueline with excellent speed and a superior understanding of his responsibilites as a jump-starter and attacker. Merkley is pure offense in every sense of the term, and it seems as everything he does with the puck has a cherry on top. He is a commanding presence who carries the puck as well as he dishes it out, and you can always count on him to find the open man, especially back-door and off the rush. Merkley has a quick first step, but he also shifts speeds to routinely catch opponents flat footed. It’s hard to see Guelph’s attack survive without him, as it relies heavily on his quick, crisp breakout passes that trap the most aggressive of forecheckers. He owns a hard, accurate shot with a big wind-up, Merkley gets enough mustard on long-distance wristers to force goalies to lose control of rebounds.

Merkely plays with intensity but is not to be confused with a physical, shut-down defender. Keeping him stapled to his own slot during opposing possessions above the hash marks seems next to impossible, and he will roam well above the circles to chase the puck. He has difficulty handling bigger forwards in the slot or in the corners, which might explain the floating, and there are times in his own end when he gets too cute with the puck. These issues can be fixed over time, but it remains to be seem how much NHL general managers are willing to overlook the defensive shortcomings of such a rare and gifted puck distributor.

Another guy to look at is Ty Smith.

Smith - Instinctive two-way force from the blue line with exceptional hockey sense and a strong desire to join the attack and create chances. Smith’s mobility and vision seem to throw opponents into a state of confusion — his ability to transition quickly from defense to offense is excellent. He’s an effortless skater with strong balance and agility, and he can pivot with the best of them. You’ll rarely see Smith get caught chasing his man or losing positioning, as he makes timely reads and anticipates exactly where the puck will end up. He is a hard, accurate shooter and a pure power play quarterback who works the point with confidence and poise — Smith evades pressing penalty killers with ease and will exploit gaps with crisp, tap-to-tape cross-ice passes. You don’t wan’t to overcommit too much with Smith, as he’ll spin or pirouette his way into a quick dash to the open slot. A clean, reliable three-zone defender with leadership qualities and a team-first attitude, he is exactly the guy you want on the ice to kill a big penalty or lock horns with a top-scoring opponents. Wise beyond his years, Smith is almost destined for NHL longevity and has the potential to be a cornerstone piece and one of the top defenders in the league.
GERBE!!!75PTS
San Jose Sharks
Location: Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Jack Eichel-, CA
Joined: 02.11.2009

Dec 18 @ 10:27 AM ET

- jcragcrumple


I really hope they redo the prequel’s
GERBE!!!75PTS
San Jose Sharks
Location: Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Jack Eichel-, CA
Joined: 02.11.2009

Dec 18 @ 10:30 AM ET
So really, when Buffalo drops to 4th overall, we'll still be in the 2nd highest cluster of prospects. Here, we can look at:

Ryan Merkley, D
Brady Tkachuk, C
Filip Zadina, LW
Oliver Wahlstrom, C

Merkley - Roving playmaker from the blueline with excellent speed and a superior understanding of his responsibilites as a jump-starter and attacker. Merkley is pure offense in every sense of the term, and it seems as everything he does with the puck has a cherry on top. He is a commanding presence who carries the puck as well as he dishes it out, and you can always count on him to find the open man, especially back-door and off the rush. Merkley has a quick first step, but he also shifts speeds to routinely catch opponents flat footed. It’s hard to see Guelph’s attack survive without him, as it relies heavily on his quick, crisp breakout passes that trap the most aggressive of forecheckers. He owns a hard, accurate shot with a big wind-up, Merkley gets enough mustard on long-distance wristers to force goalies to lose control of rebounds.

Merkely plays with intensity but is not to be confused with a physical, shut-down defender. Keeping him stapled to his own slot during opposing possessions above the hash marks seems next to impossible, and he will roam well above the circles to chase the puck. He has difficulty handling bigger forwards in the slot or in the corners, which might explain the floating, and there are times in his own end when he gets too cute with the puck. These issues can be fixed over time, but it remains to be seem how much NHL general managers are willing to overlook the defensive shortcomings of such a rare and gifted puck distributor.

Another guy to look at is Ty Smith.

Smith - Instinctive two-way force from the blue line with exceptional hockey sense and a strong desire to join the attack and create chances. Smith’s mobility and vision seem to throw opponents into a state of confusion — his ability to transition quickly from defense to offense is excellent. He’s an effortless skater with strong balance and agility, and he can pivot with the best of them. You’ll rarely see Smith get caught chasing his man or losing positioning, as he makes timely reads and anticipates exactly where the puck will end up. He is a hard, accurate shooter and a pure power play quarterback who works the point with confidence and poise — Smith evades pressing penalty killers with ease and will exploit gaps with crisp, tap-to-tape cross-ice passes. You don’t wan’t to overcommit too much with Smith, as he’ll spin or pirouette his way into a quick dash to the open slot. A clean, reliable three-zone defender with leadership qualities and a team-first attitude, he is exactly the guy you want on the ice to kill a big penalty or lock horns with a top-scoring opponents. Wise beyond his years, Smith is almost destined for NHL longevity and has the potential to be a cornerstone piece and one of the top defenders in the league.

- TheSabresTaco



Filip Zadina will be gone 2nd overall
Only hope is TK at 4th but I see him going 3rd

That would mean Svechnikov Because the best player available and everyone will think we got The best player
jcragcrumple
Buffalo Sabres
Location: Reluctant bridge jumper; 6th round OHL draft pick, YT
Joined: 04.04.2016

Dec 18 @ 10:31 AM ET
I really hope they redo the prequel’s
- GERBE!!!75PTS



It was just so up and down. I rewatched 2 and 3 over the weekend. In 3 at the end during the (awesome) final fight with Obi Wan, it goes from horrible diologue/delivery: "From my perspective, the Jedi are evil!" - Anakin, to great delivery by McGregor when he says something like "You were my brother, Anakin. You were supposed to bring balance to the force, not leave it in tatters" which was delivered with such authenticity. That scene just perfectly encapsulates the whole trilogy.
Buffalo--Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
Location: 2 15/16, NY
Joined: 07.07.2010

Dec 18 @ 10:34 AM ET
Thanks to Jack Eichel's hat trick on Friday night my five year old is purely obsessed
now. He want to wear his Eichel jersey 24/7 and be just like him. I have a backyard rink and he's never really taken to skating much but this weekend he wanted to be out there all the time so he can be just like Eichel. Wants to score 3 goals and throw his hat on the rink.
TheSabresTaco
Buffalo Sabres
Location: For me. jack Eichel is bobby ryan….that's it. - Octavarium, NY
Joined: 05.05.2011

Dec 18 @ 10:36 AM ET
Filip Zadina will be gone 2nd overall
Only hope is TK at 4th but I see him going 3rd

That would mean Svechnikov Because the best player available and everyone will think we got The best player

- GERBE!!!75PTS


A) No.
B)

Svechnikov will go 2nd and I would gamble on it.
GERBE!!!75PTS
San Jose Sharks
Location: Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Jack Eichel-, CA
Joined: 02.11.2009

Dec 18 @ 10:38 AM ET
It was just so up and down. I rewatched 2 and 3 over the weekend. In 3 at the end during the (awesome) final fight with Obi Wan, it goes from horrible diologue/delivery: "From my perspective, the Jedi are evil!" - Anakin, to great delivery by McGregor when he says something like "You were my brother, Anakin. You were supposed to bring balance to the force, not leave it in tatters" which was delivered with such authenticity. That scene just perfectly encapsulates the whole trilogy.
- jcragcrumple


I was really Hoping for a Darth Vader prequel him chasing down all the Jedi and slaughtering them I want to see how much of a badas He was
GERBE!!!75PTS
San Jose Sharks
Location: Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Jack Eichel-, CA
Joined: 02.11.2009

Dec 18 @ 10:40 AM ET
A) No.
B)

Svechnikov will go 2nd and I would gamble on it.

- TheSabresTaco


I wouldn’t Zadina is the most complete forward in the draft there’s no flaws in his game The only thing that could stop him
Is himself
sskkoo1
Buffalo Sabres
Location: You are all Weirdos, NY
Joined: 06.06.2012

Dec 18 @ 10:43 AM ET
I heard something about MTL making a push for O'Reilly.

Gally, Ljindgren, and a 2nd for ROR.


I would take that in a heartbeat.

i don't think MTL would be that dumb.

- thatsapickle


Are you talking about Liljegren? He's a Leaf.
Boss34
Buffalo Sabres
Location: BUFFALO , NY
Joined: 12.03.2015

Dec 18 @ 10:44 AM ET
Smith has serious talent. I still don't agree with not giving him a crack at the Sabres line-up but I guess we are officially tanking so thats that
- lulags


It's not just the tanking angle, but we want rochester to be good.

Rochester is finally good, why disrupt their success? Bring up their best player to play meaningless games for an uninspired team.

Let cj get a taste of the nhl later,
keep his contract status without burning a nhl year or inflating his value
Keep him elligiblee for the Calder cup
Keep him motivated and pushing hard
Bring them up as a group, like the miller, vanek, pommenville group.
sskkoo1
Buffalo Sabres
Location: You are all Weirdos, NY
Joined: 06.06.2012

Dec 18 @ 10:47 AM ET
So really, when Buffalo drops to 4th overall, we'll still be in the 2nd highest cluster of prospects. Here, we can look at:

Ryan Merkley, D
Brady Tkachuk, C
Filip Zadina, LW
Oliver Wahlstrom, C

Merkley - Roving playmaker from the blueline with excellent speed and a superior understanding of his responsibilites as a jump-starter and attacker. Merkley is pure offense in every sense of the term, and it seems as everything he does with the puck has a cherry on top. He is a commanding presence who carries the puck as well as he dishes it out, and you can always count on him to find the open man, especially back-door and off the rush. Merkley has a quick first step, but he also shifts speeds to routinely catch opponents flat footed. It’s hard to see Guelph’s attack survive without him, as it relies heavily on his quick, crisp breakout passes that trap the most aggressive of forecheckers. He owns a hard, accurate shot with a big wind-up, Merkley gets enough mustard on long-distance wristers to force goalies to lose control of rebounds.

Merkely plays with intensity but is not to be confused with a physical, shut-down defender. Keeping him stapled to his own slot during opposing possessions above the hash marks seems next to impossible, and he will roam well above the circles to chase the puck. He has difficulty handling bigger forwards in the slot or in the corners, which might explain the floating, and there are times in his own end when he gets too cute with the puck. These issues can be fixed over time, but it remains to be seem how much NHL general managers are willing to overlook the defensive shortcomings of such a rare and gifted puck distributor.

Another guy to look at is Ty Smith.

Smith - Instinctive two-way force from the blue line with exceptional hockey sense and a strong desire to join the attack and create chances. Smith’s mobility and vision seem to throw opponents into a state of confusion — his ability to transition quickly from defense to offense is excellent. He’s an effortless skater with strong balance and agility, and he can pivot with the best of them. You’ll rarely see Smith get caught chasing his man or losing positioning, as he makes timely reads and anticipates exactly where the puck will end up. He is a hard, accurate shooter and a pure power play quarterback who works the point with confidence and poise — Smith evades pressing penalty killers with ease and will exploit gaps with crisp, tap-to-tape cross-ice passes. You don’t wan’t to overcommit too much with Smith, as he’ll spin or pirouette his way into a quick dash to the open slot. A clean, reliable three-zone defender with leadership qualities and a team-first attitude, he is exactly the guy you want on the ice to kill a big penalty or lock horns with a top-scoring opponents. Wise beyond his years, Smith is almost destined for NHL longevity and has the potential to be a cornerstone piece and one of the top defenders in the league.

- TheSabresTaco



I don't think Botts has a choice but to go defense.

Eichel, Ror, Reinhart, Nylander, Mittlestadt, 2018 1st, Okposo
NO DEFENSE
average goaltending

We'd be officially Edmonton of the East.
lulags
Buffalo Sabres
Location: St Louis
Joined: 02.24.2007

Dec 18 @ 10:48 AM ET
It's not just the tanking angle, but we want rochester to be good.

Rochester is finally good, why disrupt their success? Bring up their best player to play meaningless games for an uninspired team.

Let cj get a taste of the nhl later,
keep his contract status without burning a nhl year or inflating his value
Keep him elligiblee for the Calder cup
Keep him motivated and pushing hard
Bring them up as a group, like the miller, vanek, pommenville group.

- Boss34


I'm saying this out of pure greed. I pay for the NHL package so I can watch the Sabres. I should have paid for the AHL package
GERBE!!!75PTS
San Jose Sharks
Location: Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser." - Jack Eichel-, CA
Joined: 02.11.2009

Dec 18 @ 10:48 AM ET
Oliver Wahlstrom i’m sure everyone remembers that little kid doing those trick shots In Boston on YouTube that’s him
lulags
Buffalo Sabres
Location: St Louis
Joined: 02.24.2007

Dec 18 @ 10:49 AM ET
Are you talking about Liljegren? He's a Leaf.
- sskkoo1


I'm not sure which players he is referring to. I assumed Charlie Lindgren
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