Speculation: Who might be the Sabres 2nd round targets

[Heraldic]

Bump.

Do people still want Demko at 31? his hip surgeries seem to be a pretty big deal and I only learned about them recently, he's sliding down my board to roughly the 35 are.

Thoughts?

There's slime to none chance that Murray picks goalie with an early round pick.

He just gave an interview where he said that drafting goalies is pretty much like throwing darts, and that the chances to get from late round as potential goalie as from first round, is big.

 

[Paxon]

Bump.

Do people still want Demko at 31? his hip surgeries seem to be a pretty big deal and I only learned about them recently, he's sliding down my board to roughly the 35 are.

Thoughts?

I never did but from what I see I think many of the people who did want him high still do, though I don't know if that's in spite of knowledge of his surgeries. I don't see how he's the clear #1 goalie in this mix, so why take him so high? There will be a good goalie prospect at any of our 2nd round picks if we're so set on taking one high.

 

[Jacob582]

Senators drafted a goalie high despite what he said.

I think just as telling is that he seems to like our goalie prospect depth in the organization. This may indicate that he won't pick a goalie real high.

 

[ZeroPT*]

I hope he nabs Husso/MaCdonald at 49

 

[Paxon]

Senators drafted a goalie high despite what he said.

I think just as telling is that he seems to like our goalie prospect depth in the organization. This may indicate that he won't pick a goalie real high.

While that's true, it's ultimately up to the GM to decide if they're taking a goalie or not. The scouting side just let's him know how good each goalie is and how he compares to other prospects. It's a philosophical decision and it's easy to see that it could have been a difference of opinion with his uncle. I certainly hope he doesn't do everything like the Senators did. Lehner was also a better goalie prospect than Demko by a fair bit imo.

I agree with the second point, in that regardless of your philosophy, if you have no potential future goalies then you really need to add one with as good a shot as you can gather, so taking one high makes more sense. We don't need that. Ullmark might be the second- or third-best drafted goalie in Europe behind Vasilevsky (for certain), and Saros (arguable). Makarov is super-talented and still pretty raw. Petersen is going to let us know where he's at with his play at Notre Dame.

I wouldn't mind another goalie in this draft, but not until the 40's at the earliest. I think a 5th-7th round guy is the smart bet. You don't need to take one every year, either. Every other year is completely sensible.

 

[billsandsabres]

bleakley interests me and i'd love to see him last to 31 if buffalo retains that pick. odds seem to be that he'll be gone by then though.

ryan macinnis is another player that interests me in the 2nd round.

 

[jfb392]

I never did but from what I see I think many of the people who did want him high still do, though I don't know if that's in spite of knowledge of his surgeriers. I don't see how he's the clear #1 goalie in this mix, so why take him so high? There will be a good goalie prospect at any of our 2nd round picks if we're so set on taking one high.

I think it's the combination of his stats and being #1 in most rankings that make some posters want him so bad at 31.
The idea of him becomes greater than the reality.

He deserves to be at near the top of this goaltending class because of his tools (though the hip issues throw a wrench into things).
I just don't think he's a clear cut top guy that is worth getting really excited over, like Vasilevski was for example.

I hope he nabs Husso/MaCdonald at 49

I have not seen as much of McDonald as I would have liked to because of his lack of playing time for the past year and a half, but I know people from Halifax that just rave about him.
I think there are a lot of guys that fit what Murray wants in a goalie later in the draft though, so I'm not sure they bother if he's on the board at 49.
Someone like Halverson for example, who has a lot of the same type of tools as McDonald but lacks the pedigree.

I also think Jack Flinn from Owen Sound could be interesting late.
He's had a lot of bad luck so far, whether it's playing for bad teams (OS this season, expansion Sherbrooke last year) or other prospects taking his spot (he was traded to the Remparts and then Callum Booth signed, a prospect that would have a been a 1st rounder if he wasn't looking at college, which led to a series of events that almost concluded with Flinn retiring), but he had a strong second half of the season and has just ridiculous size at 6'7''.

 

[mgeise]

I really don't want to see a goalie any earlier than 49 at the earliest. There will be some first round talents that slip to 31 (obviously) and 39. A lot of these mocks I see have only 4-7 defensemen going in the first round and no goalies. Of course it could all go down that way, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some slight reaches for defensemen due to organizational needs and maybe Demko going in the top 30. All of the sudden, some forwards are available in the early 2nd that we didn't expect to be there.

 

[mgeise]

There's slime to none chance that Murray picks goalie with an early round pick.

He just gave an interview where he said that drafting goalies is pretty much like throwing darts, and that the chances to get from late round as potential goalie as from first round, is big.

Well, while Murray was the Assistant GM in Ottawa, they picked Lehner at #46 in 2009, Chris Driedger at #76 in 2012, and Marcus Hogberg at #78 in 2013. They only took one goalie after the 3rd round the whole time he was there. Of course, that could be Bryan Murray and/or the rest of the scouting staff overruling what Tim thought was the best philosophy, but this is worth noting.

 

[kenfury]

I'm still hoping one of Ryan MacInnis or Brett Pollock falls to 39. It never hurts to have a big, versatile player who could turn into someone who can play the second line or at worst is Erik Rasmussen.