Player Discussion Mattias Samuelsson, LHD (USNTDP), The Antidote, Distributing Cobra Strikes

[Bendium]

i didn’t say he’s got nothing to develop. He’s going to get better at what he does. But he’s not turning into a pp point man with an extra year in Rochester. Not his game.

Noone said he would. I am absolutely saying the experience of heavy AHL minutes, in alot of situations that he will not see on the third pair in the NHL, will be better for his continued development as a player.

 

[Der Jaeger]

Noone said he would. I am absolutely saying the experience of heavy AHL minutes, in alot of situations that he will not see on the third pair in the NHL, will be better for his continued development as a player.

I’ve been watching this kid for a while, and I’ve been right about him so far.

I don’t see any reason he needs to go back to Rochester. He plays an nhl game and that’s where he needs to be

 

[brian_griffin]

Noone said he would. I am absolutely saying the experience of heavy AHL minutes, in alot of situations that he will not see on the third pair in the NHL, will be better for his continued development as a player.

But that's also relative to whomever are the remaining Buffalo defenders. I don't want Samuelsson, or any other defender, whether "NHL-ready" or a "tweener" to get a lesser number or percentage of NHL minutes so that an acknowledged worse player with a known ceiling gets that ice time instead. If he's top-6 next season in BUF, play him. If he's 7th or 8th (which is doubtful unless the Sabres are very active this offseason), then you have a tough decision.

 

[Bendium]

Here is my thing. The Sabres have very few players they have properly developed. They either rush 1st round picks in hopes they can save the franchise, or bury players in the depth chart behind vets. There are alot of developmental advantages to a steady play level progression, with a high value on playtime. Samuelson is actually on a good path, but he is only 21, coming off his second college season. The next step is 22-24 min per night on the top pair in the AHL, not 9-12 min third pairing NHL minutes. That is just my opinion. The Sabers with have Dahlin, Joker, and Borgan all young and in the top 4. They could actually use one rock solid top 4 vet to play with that group. No matter how I slice it Samualsson is best placed in Rochester for me.

 

[HaNotsri]

But that's also relative to whomever are the remaining Buffalo defenders. I don't want Samuelsson, or any other defender, whether "NHL-ready" or a "tweener" to get a lesser number or percentage of NHL minutes so that an acknowledged worse player with a known ceiling gets that ice time instead. If he's top-6 next season in BUF, play him. If he's 7th or 8th (which is doubtful unless the Sabres are very active this offseason), then you have a tough decision.

We shouldn't put ourselves in the situation where Samuelsson is among the best 6 defensemen to start the next season.

If you can give players experience in being a leader both on and off the ice on the farm team you should unless it really harms the NHL team short term. I'm not expecting him to be our PP QB in the NHL but giving him the chance to be "the guy" for a team in a men's league could help us develop him into a complete top 4 defenseman.

There's no way to know who's right about this but a pet peeve of mine is NHL teams calling up players just because they can play in the NHL.

Edit: Would also like to clarify that Samuelsson should be given the chance to learn from NHL this season and have a shot at making the team through camp but I wouldn't build the team on the assumption that he's in the top 6.

 

[brian_griffin]

We shouldn't put ourselves in the situation where Samuelsson is among the best 6 defensemen to start the next season.

If you can give players experience in being a leader both on and off the ice on the farm team you should unless it really harms the NHL team short term. I'm not expecting him to be our PP QB in the NHL but giving him the chance to be "the guy" for a team in a men's league could help us develop him into a complete top 4 defenseman.

There's no way to know who's right about this but a pet peeve of mine is NHL teams calling up players just because they can play in the NHL.

Edit: Would also like to clarify that Samuelsson should be given the chance to learn from NHL this season and have a shot at making the team through camp but I wouldn't build the team on the assumption that he's in the top 6.

I agree, but it is a reasonable possibility Samuelsson will be one of the top 6 in BUF.

One or both of Miller and Ristolainen could be gone in the offseason.

Under contract will be:
Dahlin, Johikaru, Borgen, Bryson, Samuelsson;
Fitzgerald (I expect he will be qualified at a minimum), and Laaksonen).
I expect a couple depth vets will be signed to 1-year deals. Their caliber, and the collective camp from all in the fall will determine where Samuelsson slots.
I don't expect, but would not be surprised, if a multi-year vet is signed. I don't expect a high-caliber multi-year vet to be signed.
Samuelsson will likely be in the mix.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I thought he was already there on a rehab assignment.

 

[Chainshot]

I thought he was already there on a rehab assignment.

He assisted on Merch’s GWG last night. His stick exploded doing it.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

He assisted on Merch’s GWG last night. His stick exploded doing it.

The ol’ distraction technique. I like it.

 

[Chainshot]

The ol’ distraction technique. I like it.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Numbers tracking on Samuelsson looking good per Chad

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

Too bad our D is so stacked we can't find a spot for this guy.

 

[Uberpecker]

How does his skating look like these days?

 

[Bendium]

Too bad our D is so stacked we can't find a spot for this guy.

Swap him with Dahlin, who looks like he could use some AHL confidence work.

Seriously though, I think Samuelsson will be in the NHL as soon as he is back in playing shape. He is ready.

While I doubt there is anything imminent, I would bet GMKA is still actively working on further trades to build this roster. Joker, Dahlin, Bryson are the only defenseman on the current roster signed past this year. That makes Pysyk, Hagg, Miller, and Butcher all tradeable components anytime between now and the deadline. I could easily see them trading one or more of them to open a space for Samuelsson.

 

[Fjordy]

Swap him with Dahlin, who looks like he could use some AHL confidence work.

I hope you understand that this is impossible and not productive.

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[SundherDome]

Swap him with Dahlin, who looks like he could use some AHL confidence work.

Seriously though, I think Samuelsson will be in the NHL as soon as he is back in playing shape. He is ready.

While I doubt there is anything imminent, I would bet GMKA is still actively working on further trades to build this roster. Joker, Dahlin, Bryson are the only defenseman on the current roster signed past this year. That makes Pysyk, Hagg, Miller, and Butcher all tradeable components anytime between now and the deadline. I could easily see them trading one or more of them to open a space for Samuelsson.

Keep Pysysk

Power Dahlin
Samuelsson Joki
Johnson Pysyk

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Perhaps someone smarter than me can explain, but how is he on loan? Isn’t his contract a two way entry level contract, and doesn’t have to go through waivers to be in the AHL?

 

[Kyndig]

Perhaps someone smarter than me can explain, but how is he on loan? Isn’t his contract a two way entry level contract, and doesn’t have to go through waivers to be in the AHL?

Goodwill I guess? Since it's a conditioning loan he's being paid as if hes playing NHL games instead of AHL games.

Edit: Having looked it up though he's not actually on a conditioning loan. I guess they just chose to use the word loan because it's not like hes going to stay down there.

 

[Jim Bob]

Perhaps someone smarter than me can explain, but how is he on loan? Isn’t his contract a two way entry level contract, and doesn’t have to go through waivers to be in the AHL?

He is waivers exempt. And technically, every player that is on an NHL contract that gets sent to Rochester is on loan.

Buffalo Sabres Salary Cap, Draft Picks, and Player Contracts - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Anyone with a little green down arrow is waivers exempt.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

Having goalie problems is a wonderful thing (regarding UPL). Keep up your stellar on ice play Mattias!

 

[Jim Bob]

 

[Revelate]

He shouldn’t be there much longer. It looks like he’s on autopilot (in a good way). To me he meets both criteria for being called up which is, 1.) not much for him left to develop in AHL and 2.) there’s no way he’s not one of the organizations top 6 d men right now. I’d argue top 4.