The Sabres Rebuild
Posted 10:31 AM ET | Comments 4
The Sabres have many roster questions going into the 2014-15 season. As a college student going to school out of state it was very tough to watch such a bad team play all season. I am proud to say though that I stuck with this team all year, and hopefully will be rewarded this year and next year with some electric prospects. The question of Reinhart or Bennett is one I cannot answer, as both are very good young players that should add scoring to this team.
The Avalanche were able to turn around their rebuild very quickly and look like they can and will be an elite team for the next 10 years. I can see a lot of similarities with the Sabres and Avs; compare Reinhart to Landeskog they're both about the same size and could potentially produce similarly. Also, if the Sabres were to lose out next year, which I believe will happen, McDavid could compare to Mackinnon, or even be better (if that's possible). I love Nathan Mackinnon, he has the intangible of knowing where to be and where his teammates are at all times. Of course the best any Sabres fan can hope for is a two year turn around, but I think it is very possible. The Sabres have many pieces already in place that could turn out to be very good, some like Hodgson, Girgensons, Ennis, Foligno, and even Stewart, who even though we didn't see very much of I believe is very good, are all solid offensive players who may be missing that one superstar to lead them all.
Defensively, Myers obviously needs to become the leader, which I think he is starting to become, but also Ehrhoff is a very solid defenseman. So the Sabres have some pieces in place, and maybe the biggest question next year is who becomes the number 1 and 2 goalies in Buffalo, my opinion is Enroth and Neuvirth, either way the Sabres have pieces in place waiting to become very good players. in addition to the players actually on the team there are many players still waiting in their junior league or the AHL. Players like Grigorenko, who I continue to believe can be a superstar in Buffalo, McCabe, who has expirence being a leader, Ristolainen, Zadorev, Armia, and Compher all could become top players on the Sabres and in the NHL. All these players have shown bright spots and dark spots, but either way some of these guys will be playing in Buffalo next year and I'm excited to see who steps up.
My heart tells me the Sabres can become a contender for a playoff spot in the next two years and maybe a cup contender in 4-5 years, this is a long time to wait, but from what I've seen the wait will be worth it if we see these exciting young players step up and become a large part of the team. Hang in there Sabres fans next year might be a year of suffering but we definitely will get to see at least one exciting young player.
The Avalanche were able to turn around their rebuild very quickly and look like they can and will be an elite team for the next 10 years. I can see a lot of similarities with the Sabres and Avs; compare Reinhart to Landeskog they're both about the same size and could potentially produce similarly. Also, if the Sabres were to lose out next year, which I believe will happen, McDavid could compare to Mackinnon, or even be better (if that's possible). I love Nathan Mackinnon, he has the intangible of knowing where to be and where his teammates are at all times. Of course the best any Sabres fan can hope for is a two year turn around, but I think it is very possible. The Sabres have many pieces already in place that could turn out to be very good, some like Hodgson, Girgensons, Ennis, Foligno, and even Stewart, who even though we didn't see very much of I believe is very good, are all solid offensive players who may be missing that one superstar to lead them all.
Defensively, Myers obviously needs to become the leader, which I think he is starting to become, but also Ehrhoff is a very solid defenseman. So the Sabres have some pieces in place, and maybe the biggest question next year is who becomes the number 1 and 2 goalies in Buffalo, my opinion is Enroth and Neuvirth, either way the Sabres have pieces in place waiting to become very good players. in addition to the players actually on the team there are many players still waiting in their junior league or the AHL. Players like Grigorenko, who I continue to believe can be a superstar in Buffalo, McCabe, who has expirence being a leader, Ristolainen, Zadorev, Armia, and Compher all could become top players on the Sabres and in the NHL. All these players have shown bright spots and dark spots, but either way some of these guys will be playing in Buffalo next year and I'm excited to see who steps up.
My heart tells me the Sabres can become a contender for a playoff spot in the next two years and maybe a cup contender in 4-5 years, this is a long time to wait, but from what I've seen the wait will be worth it if we see these exciting young players step up and become a large part of the team. Hang in there Sabres fans next year might be a year of suffering but we definitely will get to see at least one exciting young player.
nice writeup. I thought Tim Murray already stated that any person selected in the draft would almost certainly be in Rochester next year.
Not rochester, but, they would go back to Juniors for a year. Whoever we pick at 2 will be from the CHL so they cant to go to Rochester.
Reinhart and Langeskog are not at all similar. Langeskog is a power winger, Reinhart is a slight and slippery winger. Kind of like a RNH.Also people say how the Avs rebuild was so fast. It wasnt. They just had a couple of years in between that they were competitive. Drafted duchene 3rd overall in 2009, Langeskog in 2011 and Mackinnon in 2013. Still had three top 3 picks
I would compare Bennett to landy more than reinhart, but even that is kinda stretching it