2024 NHL Draft Picks 11, 43, 75, 107, 108, 171, 203, 222

elchud

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I haven't seen or studied up on the defensemen, except for the big 2 who may go top 6.

Howe and Hemming two kids I've really liked from what I've seen. Howe looks like a late lottery pick, and Hemming is in that 17-24 range
 

Woodhouse

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I haven't seen or studied up on the defensemen, except for the big 2 who may go top 6.

Howe and Hemming two kids I've really liked from what I've seen. Howe looks like a late lottery pick, and Hemming is in that 17-24 range
2024 has always been spoken of as a d-man class as far as I can remember, so project like 12+ going in round one for now. Heck, Pronman's earliest mock had 15:

Sam Dickinson, LHD, London-OHL
Carter Yakemchuk, RHD, Calgary-WHL
Artyom Levshunov, RHD, Green Bay-USHL
Aron Kiviharju, LHD, TPS-Liiga
Charlie Elick, RHD, Brandon-WHL

Will Skahan, LHD, U.S. NTDP-USHL
Henry Mews, RHD, Ottawa-OHL
Cole Hutson, LHD, U.S. NTDP-USHL
Zayne Parekh, RHD, Saginaw-OHL
E. J. Emery, RHD, U.S. NTDP-USHL

Anthony Cristoforo, RHD, Windsor-OHL
Adam Jiricek, RHD, Plzen-Czechia
Zeev Buium, LHD, U.S. NTDP-USHL
Tomas Lavoie, RHD, Cape Breton-QMJHL
Daniil Ustinkov, LHD, ZSC-Swiss Jr.
 

elchud

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CONTROVERSIAL TAKE below, proceed with caution...

Package Kulich with our 24 1st to move up in the draft to pick the best possible Dman
 

Chainshot

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CONTROVERSIAL TAKE below, proceed with caution...

Package Kulich with our 24 1st to move up in the draft to pick the best possible Dman

We don't even know who that could be. Last year at this time, Cam Allen was being talked about as a possible top 10 pick and "best in class" for the 2023 draft. He wound up in the 4th round.
 

elchud

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We don't even know who that could be. Last year at this time, Cam Allen was being talked about as a possible top 10 pick and "best in class" for the 2023 draft. He wound up in the 4th round.

We will know in June of 2024! Kulichs value will be higher in 10 months there is no hurry with this trade.

If I include Zem and Benson I've got 13 forwards in 24/25m and that doesn't include Kulich.

If I was confident in Jiri as a pivot I'd feel different. Maybe he goes full Tage in a few years and scores 40 as a center. Who can know these things.

Anyhow. Somebody will have to go. I'd rather plus up 2 chips, a primo prospect and a 1st, for a top 10 or top 6 pick. And it would take a guy like Kulich to get in the top 6.
 

NotABadPeriod

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We will know in June of 2024! Kulichs value will be higher in 10 months there is no hurry with this trade.

If I include Zem and Benson I've got 13 forwards in 24/25m and that doesn't include Kulich.

If I was confident in Jiri as a pivot I'd feel different. Maybe he goes full Tage in a few years and scores 40 as a center. Who can know these things.

Anyhow. Somebody will have to go. I'd rather plus up 2 chips, a primo prospect and a 1st, for a top 10 or top 6 pick. And it would take a guy like Kulich to get in the top 6.
The issue I have with this is the timeframe.

You'd be trading a developed prospect for magic beans. Even sure fire guys like Dahlin and Power took several years to get to their potential. Look at the top defenseman in this year's draft, Reinbacher. How many years will it be for him to become the impact player? If the Sabres are looking for D help, you're not going to want to wait another three years to get it. And that's if they guy who was picked actually pans out and doesn't turn into top 10 picks like Olli Juolevi or Rasmus Ristolainen.

If you feel like the team should get talent at D using their picks/prospects, it shouldn't be for someone you are picking up in the 2024 draft, it should be for an established player. But that's a discussion for a different thread.
 

elchud

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I agree we shouldn't take this off track but just indulge this thinking just to flesh out the point and then tie it to 2024 draft.

Even if Kulich turns in a Quinn level AHL regular season, he is still magic beans. Just as Quinn is still magic beans. Let's see Quinn score 25 goals in the NHL. He hasn't done it yet.

It *does* take more time to develop a defenseman. Which is why I want to snag another STUD defenseman sooner rather than later. A Sanderson or Drysdale level talent.

We are in the quantity for quality realm. But these trade offers we come up with (Olofsson + Joker + UPL for a 1st tee hee) are laughable. And we will need to have role players on the team. And there are only two PP units. The quantity for quality we should think of should include players we don't want to trade. But you gotta trade them at their peak value. And how can a guy like Kulich increase his value if he won't even get significant minutes in the NHL, when he's the 6th or 7th wing in the pecking order who can't sniff the PP.

So I'm saying that 2024 is the Defense Draft and let's get a good one. Imagine Levshunov joining the core when we are already in our Cup window. It would be ridiculous.

We don't need 9 high pedigree forwards. Its an unprecedented sitch for us. Think outside the box. We will have to trade a prospect that we love. Its OK. Adding a superstar potential Defenseman will hurt and cost assets. But we have assets.
 
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Chainshot

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I agree we shouldn't take this off track but just indulge this thinking just to flesh out the point and then tie it to 2024 draft.

Even if Kulich turns in a Quinn level AHL regular season, he is still magic beans. Just as Quinn is still magic beans. Let's see Quinn score 25 goals in the NHL. He hasn't done it yet.

It *does* take more time to develop a defenseman. Which is why I want to snag another STUD defenseman sooner rather than later. A Sanderson or Drysdale level talent.

We are in the quantity for quality realm. But these trade offers we come up with (Olofsson + Joker + UPL for a 1st tee hee) are laughable. And we will need to have role players on the team. And there are only two PP units. The quantity for quality we should think of should include players we don't want to trade. But you gotta trade them at their peak value. And how can a guy like Kulich increase his value if he won't even get significant minutes in the NHL, when he's the 6th or 7th wing in the pecking order who can't sniff the PP.

So I'm saying that 2024 is the Defense Draft and let's get a good one. Imagine Levshunov joining the core when we are already in our Cup window. It would be ridiculous.

We don't need 9 high pedigree forwards. Its an unprecedented sitch for us. Think outside the box. We will have to trade a prospect that we love. Its OK. Adding a superstar potential Defenseman will hurt and cost assets. But we have assets.

I agree that a quantity for quality trade will be upcoming, but I find your method unsound. Make the deal for someone emerging at the NHL level - shop up a team like the Ducks as they have a variety of defensemen and not all will make it due to the same sort of space constraints the Sabres have with their forwards. Look at guys who are breaking in or stagnated or be adroit enough to pivot to a player if their contract situation shifts dramatically. That's a near term player, not someone off in the future who is yet to even be identified. That's where I find the flaw in this pursuit.

Now... back to the thread as intended.
 

Chainshot

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It took me until January to finally get plugged in with the last draft. I'm hoping Adams trades the pick just so I won't have to care for a year. :laugh: Over a decade of the draft being the most important event will do it.

Eh, it is part of my fandom of hockey in general - I enjoy watching the game. There are players who I still enjoy watching who have never had anything to do with the Sabres (some not even with the NHL) because of it.
 
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Jim Bob

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And yes, he is Mike Bales's son. He's a left shot D that split last season between the Kent School (NE prep school) and Tri-City in the USHL. He is committed to play college hockey at Providence.

I think it is interesting that he was born in Buffalo during the offseason while his dad was playing in Germany.
 

Pavel Buchnevich

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And yes, he is Mike Bales's son. He's a left shot D that split last season between the Kent School (NE prep school) and Tri-City in the USHL. He is committed to play college hockey at Providence.

I think it is interesting that he was born in Buffalo during the offseason while his dad was playing in Germany.

He’s decent. Played on the first US pair in the exhibition game, although I’d say he’s closer to the third or fourth best defenseman on the team.

He’s pretty small. Only like 5’10, and he’s good offensively, not great, so I think he’s a player with a chance to get drafted as opposed to a player that will definitely get drafted. His next season will be important in determining whether that happens.
 
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