Young netminder to Buffalo

[ZeroPT*]

I think we should get an extra young goalie. I mean, it can't hurt, right? Look at the Isles, they had depth in goal with Andy MacDonald,Poulin,Nilsson,Nabokov and all that, but look at them know? Their goaltending is horrendous. Personally I'm not too fond of Hackett, Enroth is okay and Ullmark could come over and be great but I mean the chances of that aren't excellent.This would be a small move, little to no risk involved, we should be looking at a team with a proven track record of pumping out goalies (Boston,LA,Nashville,Vancouver) or a team with a lot of goalies and in need of an extra piece. I've made a small list of younger goalies who could be had for cheap:

Andersen

Svedberg

Pickard

Jones
Scrivens

Mazanec

Visentin

Binnigton
Allen

Janus
Helenius

Grubauer

Thoughts?

Click to read more...

 

[OcAirlines]

No. I wouldn't be willing to give up the significant pieces required to get a top-goaltending prospect (who would still be far from a sure thing) and the affordable young goalies that we could get aren't better than what we already have.

 

[dotcommunism]

I think we should get an extra young goalie. I mean, it can't hurt, right? Look at the Isles, they had depth in goal with Andy MacDonald,Poulin,Nilsson,Nabokov and all that, but look at them know? Their goaltending is horrendous.

I don't have any issue with the Sabres picking up another goalie, but you lost me there. Andrew MacDonald is a defenseman. Furthermore I fail to see how Enroth/Hackett/other is an appreciably better situation than Nabokov/Poulin/Nilsson. Lastly, while goalies (especially unproven ones) don't have much trade value, I don't see why most of those teams would move their young goalies who don't have much value just for the sake of it.

 

[ZeroPT*]

I don't have any issue with the Sabres picking up another goalie, but you lost me there. Andrew MacDonald is a defenseman. Furthermore I fail to see how Enroth/Hackett/other is an appreciably better situation than Nabokov/Poulin/Nilsson. Lastly, while goalies (especially unproven ones) don't have much trade value, I don't see why most of those teams would move their young goalies who don't have much value just for the sake of it.

Forget the Macdonald guy. I was talking about Joey and for some reason mixed him up with the Isles nvm

 

[JThorne]

Makarov is just as good of a prospect as any you'll trade for without giving up too much. And as we've seen with Miller, acquiring a goalie isn't exactly hard.

 

[VaporTrail]

I really don't feel comfortable speculating on a new goaltender for Buffalo until I hear confirmation from Eklund that Miller will be on the move.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

I don't see any of those teams giving up a young goaltender. Mostly because their value is low and they probably want the goalie depth too. They might consider it as part of a package (as Hackett was) though. You might be able to trade Miller for (goalie prospect) + (mid round pick) or something like that, but the only team on that list that might consider trading for Miller is St Louis.

 

[jBuds]

With Loo, Makarov and Ullmark, I don't think we're that far behind the rest of the teams with regards to depth at the position prospect-wise.

I encourage some enhanced scouting to try to pluck some quieter European goalies in the later rounds of the draft, though. One a year or so.

 

[Namejs]

I highly suggest you guys take a closer look at Bolts. Their goalie depth is amazing.

Bishop
Lindback
Desjardins
Vasilevski
Janus
Gudlevskis
Helenius
Wilcox

Vasilevski is probably their top goalie prospect right now, the kid is doing wonders in the KHL. Gudlevskis has been surprisingly good, got called up to the AHL from ECHL and looks like Helenius is going to get moved out of Syracuse. Wilcox about to end his NCAA career soon, has some pretty good stats there. Bishop has been great, etc.

The fact of the matter is that they've got way too many decent goalies and they simply can't put all of them to use. I'm sure they're already looking for some possible trade options and I definitely agree Sabres should look into this.

Our depth in the goalie department is pretty damn weak. Enroth is a little overrated and there's not a single top tier prospect behind him.

 

[Jame]

The deeper our pipeline looks on the blueline and in 2 way forwards, the better our goalie prospects look

 

[ZZamboni]

I really don't feel comfortable speculating on a new goaltender for Buffalo until I hear confirmation from Eklund that Miller will be on the move.

Atari Combat! Niiiiiice.


I agree and glad you didn't say any TBN "reporters".

 

[Namejs]

I encourage some enhanced scouting to try to pluck some quieter European goalies in the later rounds of the draft, though. One a year or so.

Enhanced scouting, huh? Add these names to your notepad:
19 year old Elvis Merzlikins, starting goalie for Lugano (NLA/Swiss league), one of the best goalies in the league. Pretty impressive, considering NLA has been constantly improving and should be among the strongest hockey leagues in the world as of now behind NHL/KHL. Until now he's been under the radar. Also, playing behind a very poor Latvian team in World Junior Championships didn't help his image at all.

Exactly the same deal with another 19 year old Latvian Ivars Punnenovs, who likewise is a starting goalie in NLA for one of the weaker teams, outcompeting no one else but some guy named David Aebischer. Also under the radar, hasn't appeared in any official scouting lists.

I've been watching these guys for a while and they're both really impressive. Because there's a bit of a bias nationality-wise in the draft, either of the two could still be available in the later rounds.

Wouldn't be too surprised to see one or even both of them being drafted by the Sabres, as Ted Nolan is definitely aware of their existence. At least one of them will actually make the Olympic lineup for team Latvia.

 

[couture23]

Enhanced scouting, huh? Add these names to your notepad:
19 year old Elvis Merzlikins, starting goalie for Lugano (NLA/Swiss league), one of the best goalies in the league. Pretty impressive, considering NLA has been constantly improving and should be among the strongest hockey leagues in the world as of now behind NHL/KHL. Until now he's been under the radar. Also, playing behind a very poor Latvian team in World Junior Championships didn't help his image at all.

Exactly the same deal with another 19 year old Latvian Ivars Punnenovs, who likewise is a starting goalie in NLA for one of the weaker teams, outcompeting no one else but some guy named David Aebischer. Also under the radar, hasn't appeared in any official scouting lists.

I've been watching these guys for a while and they're both really impressive. Because there's a bit of a bias nationality-wise in the draft, either of the two could still be available in the later rounds.

Wouldn't be too surprised to see one or even both of them being drafted by the Sabres, as Ted Nolan is definitely aware of their existence. At least one of them will actually make the Olympic lineup for team Latvia.

I've noticed Latvians are surprisingly good at English considering their location in the world. Are you guys taught English in school or what?

On the other hand, that Merzlikins guy has some very impressive stats in Lugano - 1.96 GAA and a .931%, not bad. You said he could be on the Latvian national team?

 

[Namejs]

I've noticed Latvians are surprisingly good at English considering their location in the world. Are you guys taught English in school or what?

On the other hand, that Merzlikins guy has some very impressive stats in Lugano - 1.96 GAA and a .931%, not bad. You said he could be on the Latvian national team?

Considering our location in the world? Most people in Europe (and especially Northern Europe) are able to hold a conversation in English. English has pretty much become the lingua franca of Europe (or at least the European Union).

And, yes, Merzlikins is most likely going to be the 2nd or 3rd goalie for team Latvia in Sochi.

 

[couture23]

Considering our location in the world? Most people in Europe (and especially Northern Europe) are able to hold a conversation in English. English has pretty much become the lingua franca of Europe (or at least the European Union).

And, yes, Merzlikins is most likely going to be the 2nd or 3rd goalie for team Latvia in Sochi.

Haha I just said that because of being surrounded by a bunch of countries who mainly speak their native language. I didn't know English is becoming that expanded...neat.

 

[ZZamboni]

Haha I just said that because of being surrounded by a bunch of countries who mainly speak their native language. I didn't know English is becoming that expanded...neat.

I read an article a year ago, about how the english language is slowly becoming a requirement in most schools in Europe and Asia. In 30-40 years most people on the planet will know how to speak, write and understand the English language.

 

[sba]

I don't think Jones or Allen could be had cheap. They're top level prospects.

 

[Man of Principles]

I was too lazy to read all the posts but Scrivens could be had easily most likely. Martin Jones has all but solidified his role as the new back-up to Quick.

Not saying I want them to get him. But I wouldn't mind flipping a 3rd for him if Miller gets traded. Nothing more than that. Keeping our 1sts and 2nds is paramount to the rebuild. Okay, they can have Luke Adam too.

Then let Scrivens and Enroth battle it out for the starting job.

 

[Kevbeau]

Considering our location in the world? Most people in Europe (and especially Northern Europe) are able to hold a conversation in English. English has pretty much become the lingua franca of Europe (or at least the European Union).

And, yes, Merzlikins is most likely going to be the 2nd or 3rd goalie for team Latvia in Sochi.

Elvis Merzlikins? I draft the kid even if it's just for the name!

 

[Paxon]

Makarov is just as good of a prospect as any you'll trade for without giving up too much. And as we've seen with Miller, acquiring a goalie isn't exactly hard.

Definitely don't agree with this. It's not really fair to compare Makarov to NHL-ready guys, but he's nowhere near just as good as goalies like Bernier and Bishop, who were had for reasonably little cost. Most of the guys on that list would obviously cost much less than those two did. Looking at that list, I don't see a single goalie Makarov is as or more likely to be an NHLer than. Makarov's not even an AHL-calibre goalie yet. That said, I don't see it as a pressing matter right now, as the team could easily get by with Enroth and Hackett for a year or two if it wanted.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

They could have drafted Fucali last year had they thought there was a need to upgrade the pipeline depth. Realistically, they view Enroth and either Hackett or another internal option plausible if Miller is traded.

 

[Chainshot]

I like the current pipeline, particularly Ullmark and Petersen. I'd rather they continue to roll the dice on later-round guys to steep in other development leagues than spend anything in trade on the position.

 

[couture23]

I like the current pipeline, particularly Ullmark and Petersen. I'd rather they continue to roll the dice on later-round guys to steep in other development leagues than spend anything in trade on the position.

Yep I would still take a goalie even in the 2nd this year, or 4th/5th like usual.

 

[Meichel Kane]

Priority, this is not one.

 

[Djp]

I read an article a year ago, about how the english language is slowly becoming a requirement in most schools in Europe and Asia. In 30-40 years most people on the planet will know how to speak, write and understand the English language.

If anyone has any aspirations on being something English is pretty much a requirement. Its been that way for years.

With most countries in europe having their own language its alot easier to learn one than to try and learn 20.