The image above shows how serious this season was taken, NY • United States • 2021 Years Old • Male
5 Players the Sabres Should Target at the Draft
Posted 10:12 PM ET | Comments 10
Hello everyone, before I begin this blog I'd like to introduce myself before I start, as this is my first time blogging on the site. I'm Joey and I would consider myself a big fan of the Sabres and of hockey in general. I do have season tickets to Buffalo Sabres' games so I (should) know my stuff. Enough about me for now. I'd like to thank Eklund and all of the HockeyBuzz Team for allowing me to post here as well. Alright...Now we begin. * | Overview | * The Buffalo Sabres have had many struggles within recent years for a multitude of reasons that were ignored and never truly were attempted to fix. Those issues, which were neglected by Darcy Regier, resulted in the rebuild this season which put the Sabres into their worst season in their 44-year existence. Thankfully, the Sabres finally fired Regier and we get a fresh face in Tim Murray. One of the issues Tim Murray has to solve is offense. This team hasn't had a strong offense since the 2006-07 season and has been without true depth since Briere and Drury departed. Right now this team has a very weak future so far in their offense with Joel Armia not looking too hot in Rochester and Grigorenko looking to be a big bust. The Sabres only really have Ennis, Hodgson, and maybe Girgensons if he scores more as their only NHL-ready prospects that can put up points and score goals. Bad thing is, Hodgson doesn't play defense, Ennis is small and Girgensons may end up being rushed in his development because of this. This means the Sabres have to draft big on offense in a draft that has a Top 10 loaded with forwards. They already have strength on defense and goaltending so offense needs a lift. * | Who They Should Draft | As mentioned before, the team needs offense now so all of these players are forwards. * 1.) Sam Reinhart- I know many people aren't fond of Reinhart but he may be just what the doctor ordered. He has unmatched hockey IQ and seems to know how to play the puck in any situation. He surely could help straighten out the riddled center depth charts that show no true top line center. That's why I think it may be wise to finally have this position set and become a strength instead of a weakness. * 2.) Sam Bennett- Many believe he's the one the Sabres absolutely need and I don't necessarily disagree. He's truly something different. He can score and play with a little sandpaper at the same time. He definitely could be Ted Nolan's kind of player and would add center depth too. The only problem is that he's not at a proper size to slam guys in the NHL. If he stays like that then we may see him get injured quite frequently until he beefs up. * 3.) Leon Draisaitl- He's called the "German Gretzky" for a reason. He plays a solid defensive game and can put up decent numbers. He, like Bennett, plays a physical game too and would be very valuable to the Sabres in the future. In my opinion, he isn't worth being drafted with the 2nd overall draft pick but if they get the Islander's pick then he'd be a good pick for them. * 4.) Jake Virtanen- He's a winger who scores a whole lot of goals. This season, with the Calgary Hitmen in 71 games he put up 45 goals, 26 assists and 71 points and looks like a really good pick if the Sabres can use another one of their firsts to draft him. He has great hands, a powerful shot, and uses his size often which can make him a dangerous offensive weapon in the future. Not to mention, the Sabres have terrible left wing depth so he could help that position dramatically. * 5.) William Nylander- I know many people will call me crazy for skipping over Dal Colle and Ritchie but this guy could be the steal of the draft. He isn't projected to be a Top 5 draft pick but he could play like one. Son of former NHLer Michael Nylander, he has been playing in Swedish leagues and once he adjusts to the North American game, he could be quite the player. He has good hockey sense, plays the puck with speed extremely well, has elite hands and can make perfect passes but his downside is his defensive game which he needs support on. * Ultimately, any of these players should be a good fit for the future but Reinhart and Bennett are at the top of my list, like others, that believe they are the most sure thing out of all of the other players. * I apologize for the weird formatting and it's a result of the 'tab' and 'enter' button strangely not working on this website. Please leave me any kinds of constructive criticism, comments or requests for blog topics. Thanks for reading!
Good job
Cant see Islanders giving up the 5th overall pick. Depending what Florida does, your first 3 guys are the only decision. The last 2 cant be considered at 2nd over all. You would be better off getting a 2nd asset from the Flames
And flipping your 2nd for the 4th
Cabin: Thanks I truly appreciate it!
Paragraphs...
screecwe: Please read the blog. On the third last sentence it says why its formatted like that.
If you use the html coding of should format pages into paragraphs.
Well it works because it did it in my comment put a p in a /p in between the usual brackets, it will put your pages into paragraphs. Pm if you need more information
funny blog, the 5 players Buffalo should go after are the best 5 forwards in the draft. Not really pushing the envelope with that one eh?Good read though.