We now know that the Buffalo Sabres will enter the 2002 Draft with 11 draft choices in hand. Of those 11 selections, 7 of them fall amongst the first 121 overall draft choices, with 5 of those choices coming in the first 1/3 of the draft. So, regardless of the merits of the depth of talent in this draft, it would seem that the Sabres have an opportunity to further solidify their organizational prospect depth.
In addition to the 11 picks they have this year, the Sabres could go into the 2003 Entry Draft with as many as 12 draft choices (their own 9 choices, plus Detroit’s 1st and 2nd from the Hasek trade, as well as a possible compensation pick for the eventual loss of FA defenseman Richard Smehlik). The ’03 Draft is said to have a much better talent pool than this year’s draft, so that should be a further opportunity to increase the talent level of the organization.
While the success or failure of these next 2 drafts will ultimately fall at the feet of Buffalo GM Darcy Regier, the man who is the real architect of the Sabres is Director of Player Personnel Don Luce. Luce, a former Sabre himself, has been in charge of Buffalo’s draft table for a decade or more, with his main accomplishment being the assembling of some of the talent that went to the Stanley Cup finals in 1999. Luce is once again faced with the task of helping to build the Sabres back into a contender, with the ’02 and ’03 Drafts seemingly being a key to accomplishing this feat. Should the hockey department fail to turn up at least a couple of bona Read more»
The Buffalo Sabres go into the 2002 Entry Draft with their highest drafting position since they chose Erik Rasmussen 7th overall in the ’96 Draft. In spite of the pre-draft hype regarding the weakness of this draft, Buffalo should be able to add at least a couple of NHL-caliber prospects to their depth chart, given the fact that they currently have 3 picks amongst the top 41 selections.
Buffalo’s strong suits, at least in terms of prospects and younger players, would appear to be in goal and along the right flank. The Sabres do have a few prospects at the center position, as well, but none of that talent is proven up to this point. The depth at left wing and on defense would appear to be the two areas that need to be addressed in this draft, although trying to fill specific needs may not always be the best way to run a draft. The strength of the talent at each position in a draft probably has more influence on the players a team chooses, rather than the specific needs of the club.
The following is a more detailed breakdown, by position, of Buffalo’s prospect depth:
Center
- the Sabres would appear to be solid at this position for the near term, since they have a pretty good mix of talent in the system. Tim Connolly and Derek Roy represent the offensive future at center, although neither player has proven that they will be above average in terms of offensive output. Jiri Novotny, Artem Kriukov and Chris Thorburn would appear to be candidates for the 3rd a Read more»
With the financial controversy and uncertainty swirling around the ownership of the Buffalo Sabres, it has become difficult to focus on little else beyond whether or not the team will remain in Buffalo beyond next season.
The day-to-day workings of the team apparently have not been disrupted to this point, if the recent signings of two 2000 draftees is any indication. The Sabres signed Paul Gaustad, a big, gritty player with leadership ability who can play both center and left wing, as well as tough guy Sean McMorrow, a player considered by some to be the best fighter in the OHL, if not all of the CHL.
This renewal of talent in the system is a necessity for a small market team such as the Sabres. The means of acquiring this young talent, the NHL Entry Draft, is perhaps the single most important event for the Sabres organization, mainly because it will determine the future success (or failure) of the club.
While the Sabres did manage to sign two lower round draft picks at this year’s signing deadline, they have also experienced some significant non-signings in the recent past. Buffalo this year failed to sign their 2nd round pick from the 2000 Draft, defenseman Gerard Dicaire, which followed last year’s loss of ’99 1st rounder Barrett Heisten, as well as one of the the Sabres’ ’99 2nd round picks, center Mike Zigomanis. The losses of Heisten and Dicaire were due to an impasse in negotiations between the players and the team, while Zigomanis was lost due to the ineptitude of the hockey department Read more»
Like the proverbial avalanche (perhaps Colorado and Buffalo should swap nicknames) descending rapidly on the little village below, the financial woes of cable entertainment company Adelphia threaten both the existence of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, as well as the economic outlook of the already economically fragile Western New York region.
The Rigas family, who in recent days relinquished control of Adelphia, also have (or perhaps had) ownership of the Sabres. While there has been much speculation as to the ultimate fate of the team, some information that has come out in the past couple of days gives the impression that, at the very least, the near future for the Sabres could be somewhat rocky and unpleasant.
A story in the May 24th edition of the Buffalo News made reference to the team not meeting certain financial obligations during Adelphia’s ongoing fiscal crisis. No specifics were given as to what bills (or salaries) weren’t paid, but the fact that the team is having these kinds of problems does not bode well for the Sabres making any significant improvements to the Buffalo lineup for the 2002-03 season.
In addition to not improving the current Sabres’ squad, another problem arising from Adelphia’s fiscal woes has to do with the signing and development of draftees and prospects. The signing deadline for some of Buffalo’s 2000 draftees is approaching (June 1st), but the tightened purse strings that will surely result from this mess could affect which, if any, players are signed.
The prospectiv Read more»
Like the steel engines from which they take their nickname, the Yaroslavl Locomotive of the Russian Superleague rumbled over their playoff opponents to easily win the championship of the top Russian hockey league. The Locomotive accomplished the feat in the minimum number of games, going undefeated in the post-season (9-0).
Yaroslavl was the top team in Russia during the regular season, as well, so their playoff success was not a big surprise. During their run to the championship, the Locomotive scored 28 goals in 9 playoff games, while allowing just 9 goals against. The defeated opponents included the Soviet Wings, the Magnitogorsk Metallurgists, and Yaroslavl’s opponent in the finals, the Kazan Leopards.
While most hockey fans would likely recognize only one name from the Yaroslavl roster (Andrei Kovalenko), many Buffalo Sabres’ fans are fairly familiar with one of the younger players on the Locomotive, former 2000 1st round pick Artem Kriukov. Artem appeared in 5 of Yaroslavl’s 9 playoff games, registering 1 goal and 8 PIMs in those contests. Kriukov was a healthy scratch in the other 4 contests, with the Yaroslavl coaching staff favoring a more veteran lineup in games against tougher opponents.
After sitting out the opening round victory over the Soviet Wings, Artem had a solid series vs. Magnitogorsk. The high point of Kriukov’s post-season action came in the deciding game against the Metallurgist, where he scored his lone playoff goal, and earned the 3rd star award for his strong play througho Read more»
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