Draft in Review

by Anne

I was at rehearsal, where I've been a lot for the last few days and will continue to be for the rest of the summer.

I wasn't able to learn anything about any of the prospects until I returned home last night.

Here are my pithy insights:

HOLY CRAP! Everyone we drafted was at least 6'0" tall!

Round 1:

Zack Kassian -Windsor, ON. 6'3", 210 lbs, RW.

He seems adorably dim and he started out as a figure skater. Amazing. He said his favorite team was Toronto growing up but when asked about this situation now he said: "Now its the Buffalo Sabres...Toronto, I don't like them at all." Well done, Mr. Kassian. He's big, he hits a lot, he scores a lot. Buffalo will like him. He already works out with and knows Mike Weber and knows of Patty Kaleta

ETA: Love for Mr. Kassian from Maine Hockey Blog: “My brother really stepped in there to be a father figure,” Kassian said to the NHL.com. “I have to give a lot of credit to my mom and my brother. They drove me everywhere, got me where I needed and made me the man I am today. They deserve a lot of credit and I thank them a lot.”

Round 2: Nothing doin'

Round 3:

Brayden McNabb - Sasktatoon, SK. 6'4" 200lbs, D

Well we got a Brayden from Saskatoon. Granted, the Brayden I would've hoped for was Schenn, but McNabb works as well. There wasn't much to report from him at the draft, I don't think he was there, so there were no interviews. He's a defenseman. He was tied for the team lead in goals scored by a defenseman this year.

Round 4:

Marcus Foligno - Buffalo, NY - 6'2" 200lbs - LW

Son of Mike. Born in Buffalo when his dad played here. The better looking but perhaps less talented brother of Nick. He had better do the leap if/when he scores his first NHL goal. Do it for Dad, and for the fans, Marky Mark.

Round 5:

Mark Adams - Massachusetts (?) 6'2" 187 lbs

I can't find much of anything out about this kid other than he plays high school hockey and he's committed to play college hockey in Providence. He played for Malden Catholic high school in Massachusetts. He was taken #134 but was not ranked among the 210 North American skaters. Ho-kay?

Round 6:

Connor Knapp - Harrell, NY. 6'5" 215 lbs - G

He's super tall. Built like Millsy but bigger. Plays for Miami of Ohio. Played for Boston of the EJHL. Uhh, he was hella good when he played there. He posted a record of 22-1-0 in 2006-07 with three shutouts and a 1.66 goals-against average. Yeesh.

Round 7:

Maxime Legault - Mont Tremblant, QC. 6'2" 195 lbs - RW

Um, he has the same birthday as my sister, so I'm down.

In other team news: The Kings took Brayden Schenn 5th over all, the Pens took Simon Despres. I'd seen a few mock drafts that had the Sabres taking Despres but, if he fell to 30th overall, I wonder the validity of those drafts. The Canucks got Jordan Schroeder who most people feel was a steal at #22 and most analysts thought he'd go at least in the top 20.

All in all, yet another exciting(?) draft.

Also, Chris Pronger as a Phlyer? Barf.

The Flames acquiring Bouwmeester (or his negotiating rights anyway) is pretty sweet and helps keep them in the running to be a team I enjoy next season. However, if JBo walks away from the Flames, they'll be back to square 1. The Kings traded Brian Boyle to the Rangers. I'm not losing sleep over this.

Free Agency on Wednesday!

If any of you who read this blog cheer for the team that Jaroslav Spacek signs with (sob) on Wednesday... treat him well!! :'(

My Choice for our #13 Pick

by Anne

David Rundblad.

Why? Because he seems a decent young Swede and he already lists the Sabres as his favorite team.

I KNOW! I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER!

The truth is he probably accidentally left that part blank and they just tossed in the team with the least representation on the list.

Think of all the time that'll be saved wondering if he's going to bolt the second he can!

He's ranked 6th among European skaters, according to Central Scouting. He's a right-handed shot and draws comparisons to Mike Green. I'm down. Also, he and my dog (now deceased) have the same birthday. So far birthdays seem to be the thing drawing me to prospects. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Ryan Miller share a b-day. Now David Rundblad and my long deceased cocker spaniel. Good GOD, I have such great GM skillz.

He's supposedly snappy offensively and most mock drafts have him going in the mid-teens. I formerly had my heart set on Simon Despres, but I suppose David Rundblad will be just as bad-ass, if he can be more physical. Lord knows we need tougher d-men, Henrik Tallinder. Toni and Craigory can't do it all, and Sir Christopher is still testing out his wobbly newborn NHL legs. Besides, Simon Despres lists his favorite website as "Fulltiltpoker.com." Please, Simon, everyone knows the NHL poker website of choice is Pokerstars.net.

Hold up, Rundblad has a teammate named Tim Erixon who's a "European" skater but he was born in Portchester, NY. He's got an American flag next to his name but he's listed as a European skater. How often does that happen?

Expect serious OUTRAGE if we don't draft one of these gents. Oh, but if we get another "He's a small, speedy scorer," I'm going to punch something.

ETA… thanks to Alix at Canuck's Hockey Blog for bringing David to my attention

Its Getting Drafty In Here

by Anne

Paul Hamilton discussed on WGR that the Sabres are decidedly anti-European, and its hard to disagree with that sentiment. There are precious few Sabres draft prospects that do not hail from this continent. The majority of our highest ranked prospects are Canadian and American, with the exceptions of Dennis Persson and Jhonas Enroth, among others. But, is this really a significant parameter for discussing the potential for success within the Sabres prospects?

It would seem that the argument for drafting European players is the luck and skill that has mixed together to form the Detroit Red Wings drafting in the last decade. Players like Zetterburg and Datsyuk were drafted very late in the draft (179th and 210th overall respectively) and have become NHL superstars. Detroit struck gold with these two, among many others they've drafted and, when looking at their track record, its hard to disagree that Europeans are the way to go when drafting.

BUT! (There's always a BUT) The 2007 Stanley Cup Champions, the Anaheim Ducks were helmed by one Mr. Brian Burke who has developed a reputation as being anti-European and pro-North American. When reviewing the 2007 Stanley Cup winning team roster we find three European players: Ilya Bryzgalov, Teemu Selanne and Sammy Pahlsson. The entire defense corps was Canadian, the Forwards consisted of four Americans, Selanne, Pahlsson and the rest were Canadian. There's no doubt that Teemu Selanne is and was a huge part of their offense, but, as we can see, clearly the European factor was almost non-existent, even with The Finnish Flash at the helm.

This year's Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins' heritage breakdown goes as follows: Europeans - 5, Americans - 4, Canadians - 13.

The point I'm trying to make is that, just because Detroit happens to have a helluva lot of Europeans and they're good, doesn't mean that one MUST have a Euro-centric team in order to win a Stanley Cup. Talent, skill, leadership, grit and heart can be found around the world, not just in Sweden.

When a team finds these diamonds in the rough, it is to be commended. However, Datsyuk and Zetterberg are most certainly rare players that flew well under the radar and Detroit got a huge return on their investment.

There have been attempts by other NHL teams to capture the same success with less thrilling results. (See: Brunnstrom, Fabian).

So, when the Sabres choose their 13th overall pick if its Simon Despres (D - Canada - St. John Sea Dogs) or Oliver Ekman-Larsson (D - Sweden - Leksand) I hope they choose the better player. Oliver gets my vote because he and Ryan Miller have the same birthday. This is my extremely scientific drafting process, I hope you enjoy it.

Our 2nd Round Draft Pick is better than YOUR 2nd Round Draft Pick

by Anne

For loving Mr. Popper's Penguins, for wanting to be a fan favorite and agreeing to be interviewed by the boys at The Goose's Roost and for being compared possibly the most ADORABLE hockey player of all time in his draft ranking on TSN (why in GOD'S name was I looking at draft rankings yesterday... I just don't remember, especially because the draft was almost 2 months ago...) CHECK IT OUT. He's #34 under Tyler Ennis, actually. Look for the comparison under his picture.... I'll wait.....

dooot doooot doo, I'll look at this picture of him I found on Facebook while specifically looking for a funny picture of him for just this purpose until you get back from reading the draft analysis:

Ha. Nice hair.

Oh, back already? So you saw that they compared him to BIG BEAR!?!!!!!! I ALREADY HAD HIM IN A NECK AND NECK TIE WITH TYLER MYERS FOR FAVORITE 2008 DRAFT CLASS PROSPECT BUT NOW HE HAS BECOME THE CLEAR WINNER!

Oh yeah and he's awesome because we're Facebook friends which means we're like BFFL at least, right? Right. Although Tyler Myers and I are Facebook friends tooo. WHATEV. LUKE ADAM RAWKS.

Here's the next 25:

50. I hate being outside when its raining. These people who like taking walks in the rain must be freaks and wackos because I absolutely hate being outside and getting cold and wet and sloshing around through puddles

49. When I was younger (like high school) I thought people who loved sushi were just doing it because it was trendy. I didn't try sushi until I was in college and now California rolls and Crunchy Shrimp rolls are in my top all-time favorite foods

48. My Grandma really was the best cook ever. I know most people think their Grandma was the best but you never had dinner at Dea's house with the fresh garden peas from the family farm in Georgia and her chocolate chip cookies and all that deliciousness

47. I love to cook and I like to cook for others, basically so they'll eat it and it won't go to waste. WHO WANTS TO COME OVER FOR DINNER?!

46. Even though I'll basically have 2 bachelor's degrees and a masters degree by the time all is said and done, in my perfect world I'd be a stay at home wife and mommy venturing out to direct plays for high school students and such. What a great life that would be

45. Whenever someone pulls out the "Would you rather be blind or deaf" card I pick deaf every time. The thought of going blind freaks me out to no end

44. I hate canned chocolate frosting. It's completely disgusting to me. I like homemade chocolate frosting (especially when my friend Jenn makes it) and chocolate cake and chocolate in basically all other forms, but a can of Betty Crocker chocolate frosting makes me gag

43. At this point I have so many girlfriends to put in a hypothetical wedding party that I might just say "forget it all", slap a maid of honor dress on my sister and call it a day. Also, no one can complain about their dress either... well, she can, but that's because I'm finding the ugliest dress in creation to put on her

42. I almost moved to Detroit for grad school like a year ago. There's a bullet I'm glad I dodged

41. I spent most of my college career being the therapist for my department, so now when friends try to reveal their most personal thoughts and fears when they have not been solicited by me or are not necessary to the conversation, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable

40. My parents instilled in me a little too well not to answer the door when they weren't home. To this day, when I'm home alone during the day, I tend to hide in my room if someone comes to the door and I'm not expecting anyone

39.When I'm riding the bus and a young guy gives up his seat for a person who needs it more without being asked, or offers a seat to a lady or any able bodied person before sitting down himself, it makes me smile a lot because there are still considerate people in this world

38. I absolutely HATE when I'm out at a restaurant with someone and the service is slow or the waiter is rude and they allow it to affect our conversation and drag down the mood

37. I also hate people who don't tip well

36. I have never been a waitress

35. I hate faxing letters. Every time my old boss asked me to fax something for him my blood pressure started to creep up, especially if it was a new fax number. It never works. Unless its a major corporation, I'm convinced its not going to work the first time

34. Both my parents are on Facebook and its AWESOME. JIM JUST WROTE ON MY WALL

33. I used to have a myspace, but one time I clicked on the profile of someone who wanted to be my friend and my PC shut down. It might've been a freaky coincidence, but I deleted my account anyway. I re-joined a few months ago but never look at it

32. I had a LiveJournal that I wrote in EVERYDAY when I was a freshman in college and it was totally dramatic and I was miserable about my life. Now I ramble about hockey and tomfoolery in here

31. I love playing boardgames. LOVE. THEM. Always will say yes to playing them. Especially Catch Phrase and any games involving words

30. Last night I had dinner with some college friends and we exchanged bad date stories. It makes me want to go on CraigsList and find a wacko to go on a date with just for the story it would provide me. S(h)ara has a great first date story that isn't appropriate for retelling on here, but just know that it involves an abandoned Wegman's parking lot

29. I hope to meet Jason Pominville one day so then I can meet a straight man named Jason who isn't a douche or a weirdo

28. I have a freakish ability to make any child fall asleep while I'm holding them

27. I took Spanish for 8 years and still cannot speak it fluently. This frustrates me greatly

26. My dad wanted to go into acting but his parents said NO so he became a lawyer (and recently started acting again) My mom wanted to major in vocal music in college but her parents said NO (and still sings with choirs and some gigs around town). Interestingly enough, my sister has a degree in music education and her instrument is voice and I have a degree in theatre. I'm sure my sister and I will breed nothing but lawyers and speech pathologists, and thus the cycle shall continue

Wow. I have to think of 25 MORE? This will never end. But at the same time its kind of fun. To recap the things not touched upon:

1. Still no Pommer
2. Bucky Gleason hates Teppo and is therefore my sworn enemy
3. Mats had better make a decision before training camps start in like a month
4. I hope y'all enjoy whatever Olympic sport you choose to watch and become emotionally invested in
5. DREW STAFFORD IS TRYING REALLY REALLY HARD TO WIN BACK MY LOVE BY DOING CUTE NON-HOCKEY THINGS TO GET HIMSELF ONTO THE TOP STORIES ON SABRES.COM. Duly noted, Drew. This will go towards your ranking in my selection process for most adored Sabre #5. Your efforts are to be commended. I know it was a stinging blow to be so unceremoniously YANKED from your top seed in my heart, but I can see that you're intent on rebuilding our fractured relationship. Well done Staffers, well done.
6. Bye Mike Ryan! Have fun in Minsk and play well!

Road Trippin' It

by Anne

So Cory (sister's boyfriend) and I trekked it up to NU today to see the prospects skate it out from 3-5. It was way more fun than I anticipated it would be. I was afraid I might lose interest after a while, and yeah, some times I found myself watching the players on the bench or Lindy, but for the most part I was pretty committed to watching the scrimmage.

Cor declared team Golden Oldies was his team, and I was forced to root for the Navy Newbies. Ok, they were only the Oldies because Stafford and Kaleta were on their team. Anyway, team Navy featured Gerbe, Kennedy, Myers and Sekera among others, and they held a commanding 4-1 lead into the 2nd half and held on to win 5-4. Who picked the right team? This girl.

At one point in the 2nd half, Kaleta had some few sweet moves to get around a couple defensemen, and we were all cheering him on when he totally wiped out and landed right on his tush. Then we all, including him and Lindy, laughed at him as he looked for a penalty, haha.

I know its a drum that's been beaten to death but Nathan Gerbe is really really good. He was nuts. He was EVERYWHERE on the ice and scored a couple of goals. He didn't seem to be intimidated or slowed down by anyone or anything. He came out on the winning end of quite a few battles with guys like Mike Weber. He and Kennedy skated well together, and you can definitely see they get along well. At one point, Gerbe was sitting almost at the end of the bench and Kennedy came and sat down next to him and just shoved him out of the way so he could sit down, Gerbe was unfazed.

At one point I think Ennis blocked a shot because he seemed to be in a considerable amount of pain when he was sitting on the bench and kept gesturing to his side... or so it seemed... I couldn't really tell exactly where he was hurt, to be honest, he was kind of far away.

After practice, Myers, Stafford, Gerbe and I think Southorn stayed back to work on some drills. Some other players were down at the other end, but they were far away so I didn't pay them any mind.

Darcy was wandering around going in and out of the locker room, he pretended not to hear me when I asked him about what he was planning on doing tomorrow. Just like Andrew Orpik pretended not to hear me when I asked him about his brother. Jerks. Just pretend not to hear me, I can take it!

Phrase I enjoy that gets tossed around all to much: "He's a special player" "He's a special kind of player" They can't ALL be special, guys!

Anyhoot, it was lots of fun and I'm pretty sure tomorrow is the last day for it, so if you can get up there, check it out, its a good time.

Good Boy, Pie!

by Anne

From a Q&A with Mike Weber from Sabres.com:

Who was one person who helped you along in your first camp?

"Daniel Paille was probably the biggest one. He was there my first year. He was a guy coming around making sure everyone knew how to get back to the hotel and knew where they were going to eat. He was the guy I looked up to then. Hopefully I am as good as he was. He was an excellent leader for us."

Aww! Pie-YAY! Good job! Look out for the lil' ones when you was just a little one yo'self! I've always wanted Pie to rock a letter some day in his career, hopefully it'll be with the Sabres..Darcy... I know, I know, he's got his qualifying offer on the table, and I'm sure he'll take it. I just love Pie! He's my 2nd favorite Sabre of the moment. I don't feel like re-creating the flowchart, but he's up there. 2nd place rotates between Staffy, Big Bear and Pie, depending on who does something awesome or adorable most recently. Hence, PieYAY being #2 for the time being.

Wanna see some totally miserable hockey players? Okay! Here ya go:

My favorite part is when they're riding the bikes. After the stair climber, my least favorite cardiovascular revving activity is riding a bike that goes nowhere. I hate gyms.

Who's headin' up to camp tomorrow? This girl. WOO! The paint is almost dry on my "GERBE, WHY DO YOU CONTINUALLY REFUSE TO BE MY FACEBOOK FRIEND?... OK SO I ONLY ASKED TWICE... BUT, COME ON!" sign. Woo! I'm not sure which scrimmage teams to cheer for so I'll just wholeheartedly throw every ounce of fan in me at whichever team has the most players whom I can identify on sight. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU, "MATT GENEROUS". Seriously, who the eff is "T.J. BRENNEN" or "BRENNAN" If I can't spell your name, you need to work harder. I can spell Afinogenov and Paetsch without even hesitating.

Went to the Bison's game today, after a 20 or so minute rain delay we beat the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees 7-5. Wooo! I enjoy Bisons' games. They played the Sabres intro music and it made me feel all weird inside. Good weird, but weird. Remember when for like 6 1/2 minutes I was afraid my unabashed rooting for the Penguins would carry over into next season and jeopardize my love for the Sabres? HA! What a fool I was for a hot minute. Especially now that Roberts and Malone are out and Orpik is heading out and hopefully out and up to Buffalo.

Good times.