| Top 20 Prospects; Description of Top 20 Players | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 14 2011, 10:08 PM (115 Views) | |
| Sabres GM | Aug 14 2011, 10:08 PM Post #1 |
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Top Prospects 1. Zack Kassian, Right Wing Windsor Spitfires, OHL 13th Overall, 2009, 20 years old 6’3, 215 lbs Kassian is the very description of what a power forward is. A big bodied winger with a nasty edge to his game, Kassian can often find himself crossing the line in physical play. He’ll drop the mitts at any given time and can man handle others at will. He’s got a powerful stride with good top speed, but needs to work on his initial stride to become more explosive. He’s an opportunistic scorer with a nose for the net. At times, he’s a real leader on the ice. Upside: Top Six Power Forward NHL Comparable? Milan Lucic 2. Joel Armia, Center/Right Wing Assat, SM-liiga 16th Overall, 2011, 18 years old 6’3, 190 lbs A goal scorer by trade, Armia is a big kid with the mobility that most his size don’t have. He has a long stride with generates good speed. While not overly physical, he uses his size well to protect the puck. He has a good understanding of the game, and vision on the ice. He can make plays with solid passes, though he’s a finisher through and through. Scoring goals seems to come natural for Armia. He’ll need to bulk up over the next few years. Upside: Top Six Scoring Forward NHL Comparable? Jeff Carter 3. Mark Pysyk, Defense Edmonton Oil Kings, WHL 23rd Overall, 2010, 19 years old 6’1, 188 lbs While not overly large, Pysyk is a defensive defender. He uses mobility in all four directions as a tool against opposing forwards to angle them to the perimeter. His positioning is fairly sound, and he uses an active stick well to break up plays. Pysyk shows vision on the ice in consistently breaking the play out of the defensive end, though he’s not much of an offensive defenseman. He’ll need to get much stronger, as he’s shown some struggles with forwards along the boards and in front of the net. Upside: 3-4 Defensive Defenseman NHL Comparable? Mark Edouard Vlasic 4. Brayden McNabb, Defense Kootenay Ice, WHL 66th Overall, 2009, 20 years old 6’4, 218 lbs One term to represent McNabb: rugged. He’s the first one to throw a big open ice hit, and then start hacking and whacking away at forwards trying to get to the net. He plays a mean in your face game. He’s also shown a lot of vision and hockey sense, with an underrated puck moving ability. He gets it up the ice well, and can play a PP role because of it. He’s got a good shot from the point, to add to that PP ability. He’s not a great skater, however, and has some troubles with faster opponents, though it’s become much better since his draft year. Upside: 3-5 Shutdown Defenseman NHL Comparable? Shea Weber, without the awesome beard, and Norris-abilities 5. Daniel Catenacci, Center Soo Greyhounds, OHL 77th Overall, 2011, 18 years old 5’10, 185 lbs The ‘Cat’ has speed to burn, and uses that quick nature to be a two-way threat. He handles the puck well, and has a quick shot. He can make crisp tape-to-tape passes, and has the vision to be a playmaking forward. At times, he tends to do things on his own, and get in trouble for it. Defensively he gets in lanes, and uses his stick well. He’ll need to get stronger, as he can often be outmuscled. Upside: Second Line Playmaking Two-Way Forward NHL Comparable? Mike Cammalleri 6. Luke Adam, Center, Portland Pirates, AHL, 44th overall, 2008, 21 years old, 6’2, 201. Adam is a strong center that just understands how to finish, he has that innate ability to get into the position to score and pot it in. He’s not afraid to grind in the corners and is very good at coming away with the puck. While he doesn’t posses much creativity he still has a lot of offensive upside in the single-mindedness of the way he plays driving to the net hard and using his hard shot to great rebounds. His skating is still his problem and despite efforts to get to NHL ready status he is still slow at accelerating. His play in front of the net will help him in the pro’s as he is fearless. Upside: 2nd Line Grinding Forward NHL Comparable: Eric Cole 7. Marc-Andre Gragnani, Defenseman, Portland Pirates, AHL, 87th overall, 2005, 24 years old, 6’2, 201. Strong in the offensive zone Gragnani has the creativity and skill to master a PP and be very effective at 5vs5. He has a very hard shot that is extremely accurate to go along with excellent awareness and pinpoint passing skills. Gragnani has spent a long time developing and has found a great balance to his game, at one point he was considered a two-way guy with some offensive pop but has taken the next step to offensive dynamo. He is a smooth skater and is very effective at rushing the puck. Where people will find fault with him are his bad pinches and penchant for giveaways as he loves to speed up the play. In his own zone he is good but not great and likely won’t change at his age, he does like to block shots and like to hit forecheckers. Upside: Top-4 Offensive Defenseman NHL Comparable: Mark Giordano 8. T.J. Brennan, Defenseman, Portland Pirates, AHL, 31st overall, 2007, 22 years old, 6’0, 204. If I could describe Brennan in one word it would be “bomb.” His physical style and his explosive shot are just nasty and his slapper has been recorded at 104 MPH. His skating is good and he can close players well but struggles in close where quicker players can dodge him. He loves to go for the big hit and this can cause him to knock himself out of the play and get out of position. When he isn’t pinching he is solid in his own end and muscles people around on the boards with his stout frame, he could work on his passing skills as they can be sloppy. He likes to shoot at any chance he can get which can leave him to becoming predictable. Upisde: 4-6 Scoring Defenseman NHL Comparable: Dion Phaneuf-Lite 9. Marcus Foligno, Left Wing, Sudbury Wolves, OHL, 104th overall, 2009, 20 years old, 6’2, 201. He will never wow anybody with his skill but Foligno is a hard working physical grinder. He has made long strides in his commitment to his defensive game but it still isn’t where it needs to be despite the game style he plays. He has a heavy shot but is not very accurate with it and really excels around the net where he can jam away using his big frame. His vision isn’t great but his soft hands receive passes very well, the biggest issue is getting to scoring areas as he is cumbersome on the first strides. He has worked on getting grittier and it shows, especially in his leadership department where he took a big step last year. Upisde: 3rd Line Contributor NHL Comparable: Troy Brouwer 10. Jérôme Gauthier-Leduc, Defenseman, Rimouski Océanic, QMJHL, 68th overall, 2010, 19 years old, 6’1, 179. Often accused of being a fourth forward Leduc has shown amazing offensive skills and insane creativity. He is a great puck rusher and has the hands to dangle most players, he pinches often and recklessly throwing most of his game into the offensive zone. He has an immensely accurate shot that is very hard and that he gets off very quickly with little windup. He is very poor in his own end currently and can be muscled off the puck easily by stronger players. He needs to bulk up and find his own zone. Upside: 4-6 Offensive PP Defenseman NHL Comparable: Marc-André Bergeron 11. Drew Schiestel, Defense 6'2" 193lbs 2nd Round, 59th selection 2007 March 9, 1989 There is no doubt that Schiestel is a very talented defenseman, chosen in the second round of the 2007 draft. The problem for Schiestel is his inconsistent play; he has been dynamic on some nights and awful on others. He skates very well and enjoys jumping into the rush, but is prone to give the puck away in his own end. Schiestel will need at least another year of seasoning in the AHL before he can really push for a regular spot with the Sabres. 12. Jacob Lagace, Left Wing 5'11" 195lbs 5th Round, 134th selection 2008 January 9, 1990 When Lagace was traded in early January from Chicoutimi to Cape Breton in the QMJHL, he became the third Sabres prospect on the Eagles. His offensive production has slowed a little bit since then but he is getting some quality time playing with Luke Adam on Cape Breton's top line. Lagace is a hard-working winger who plays an aggressive game and has a little scoring touch. Lagace could be a great value pick for the Sabres (135th overall). He will most likely be in the AHL next year and with some time could develop into a good hard-nosed third-line winger in Buffalo. 13. Connor Knapp, Goalie 6'5" 215lbs 6th Round, 164th selection 2009 May 1, 1990 For the second year, Connor Knapp is splitting the goaltending duties at Miami University with Cody Reichard. As a tandem they are the best in college hockey. Of course it helps when your team is ranked #2 in the nation. Knapp is a big goalie at 6’5” and 225 lbs who uses his size to his advantage in the net. He has great lateral movement and doesn't give up the big rebounds that many other big goalies do. In 15 games this season he has a 2.02 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Knapp is a sophomore this year so he has some time to develop. With high upside and plenty of time to realize it, he could be another late-round steal for the Sabres. 14. Nick Crawford, Defense 6'0" 183lbs 6th Round, 164th selection 2008 February 23, 1990 With 11 goals and 68 points in 65 games this year, Nick Crawford is starting to really turn up his game. He is leading OHL defensemen in scoring and is really finishing his junior hockey career on a high note, having steadily progressed throughout. Crawford has definitely proved his value this year and can be counted as another defensive asset in the Sabres system. While conventional wisdom would suggest that Crawford will be an AHLer next year, do not discount the possibility of him pushing one of the other young defensemen for call-up time in Buffalo. 15. Vyateslav Buravchikov, Defense 6'2" 189lbs 6th Round, 191st selection 2005 May 22, 1987 Coming into the 2005 NHL Entry draft Buravchikov was rated somewhere in the second to early third round. However, because he was drafted in the first year after the collapse of the transfer agreement between Russia and the NHL, his stock dropped dramatically. Buravchikov currently plays for Kazan Ak-Bars in the KHL, where he is having a solid year. He was originally projected as an offensive minded defenseman because of his smooth skating and quick shot. He has three goals and three assists in 35 games this year in the low-scoring KHL. He is gaining a reputation for his solid defensive play. 16. Bradley Eidsness, Goalie 6'0" 173lbs 5th Round, 139th selection 2007 June 2, 1989 Eidsness is having a very good season for the UND Fighting Sioux. In his sophomore year, he is second in all of college hockey in games played and seventh in save percentage with a .914. On March 12, in the first game of the WCHA playoffs, Eidsness made 27 saves to record his second shutout of the season against Minnesota. Eidsness is proving to be another great value goaltender for the Sabres. Between he and Knapp, the Sabres look to have a solid stable of young goalie talent for years to come. 17. Alex Biega, Defense 5'11" 195lbs 5th Round, 147th selection 2006 April 4, 1988 As the captain of the Harvard Crimson, Biega has shown his leadership skills to be one of his many strengths. He was named as a third-team all-American this year and has not disappointed, leading Harvard to the quarterfinals of the ECAC tournament. Known for his steady defensive play and strong skating skills, Biega is sure to be an asset to the Sabres already crowded minor-league stable of defensemen. Biega will most likely suit up in the AHL next year. 18. Dennis Persson, Defense 6'1" 187lbs 1st Round, 24th selection 2006 June 2, 1988 Persson has had a tough season in the AHL this year. Posting a -7 rating and one goal in 47 games, he has a long way to go to live up to the potential that made him the Sabres first-round selection in 2006. Touted as a playmaking defenseman coming out of Sweden, he has had a hard time translating his game in North America. However underachieving Persson may be, there is no arguing that he is a very good talent. With the time and maturity he could still develop into the player the Sabres hoped he be. 19. Felix Schutz, Center 5'11" 187lbs 4th Round, 117th selection 2006 November 3, 1987 Offensively, Schutz is having a down year in 2009-10 for the Sabres AHL affiliate. In his rookie campaign last year he posted 15 goals and 42 points in 78 games; this year he has managed just 24 points in 58 games. With a quick wrist shot and a smooth, compact skating style, Schutz has the ability to play at the next level. Schutz is known for being an extremely hard worker. The question is does he have enough skill to play consistently in the NHL? Time will tell, but for now Schutz will continue to be a solid contributor in the AHL. Edited by Sabres GM, Aug 15 2011, 05:15 PM.
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3:30 PM Jul 11