Eric and I were joined by Pat Malacaro of WGR for this edition of The Instigator Podcast where we discussed Mikhail Grigorenko, Tyler Myers and many other Sabres-related items. As always we mixed in plus/minus.
Thanks again to Pat for joining us and be sure to check out Eric and I on Twitter if you haven’t already.
One thing that Darcy Regier has managed well for the past few years has been his draft strategy. Glaring organizational weaknesses have been addressed in recent seasons via the draft and this approach has led to an impressive stockpile of talent in Buffalo’s prospect cupboards.
June’s draft was certainly no exception as the Sabres took what may have been considered to be a calculated gamble on Mikhail Girgorenko followed quickly by Zemgus Girgensons in the first round. The two selections immediately added two big, talented centers who each possess a unique skillset. In fact, each forward drafted by the Sabres in June had spent time at center entering the draft.
The addition of Grigorenko was perceived as the solution to the lack of a true number one center on the Buffalo roster. Only three days into training camp and Grigorenko has drawn plenty of attention for his play with many thinking that he will have staying power on the roster. It might be wise to ignore Jerry Sullivan’s rambling, contradictory column and instead focus on the other two posts done by Chris Ryndak and Kevin Pritchard on Girgorenko’s chances to make the final roster for the Sabres. Both Ryndak and Pritchard hit a home run with their analysis.
Looking at the makeup of the Sabres roster and assuming that Grigorenko will be a major part of it this season shows quite a different depth chart than what the team had as late as April of last season. Between the trade deadline and draft the Sabres transformed from a team with questionable center depth to one with the capability of having an effective set of nine scoring forwards.
Moving Tyler Ennis to center and the continued evolution of Cody Hodgson has primed the Sabres with three blue chip talents down the middle of the ice. So long as Grigorenko sticks around and the trio arte put in a position to succeed, the Sabres attack should be quite impressive. Continue reading
With training camps across the NHL set to open by this Saturday, at the earliest, the Sabres will be bringing in plenty of familiar faces to be evaluated for the 48 games that will be played in 2013.
Unlike a traditional training camp and preseason, this abbreviated version will keep the position battles to a minimum and many roster spots will go to the usual suspects. This is particularly good news for some veterans who may have otherwise had to claw for a spot on the 23-man roster and this also eliminates the ability for youngsters to make a statement as to if they belong in Buffalo for the duration of the season.
With every team in a similar situation, there is bound to be a league-wide struggle with chemistry. The teams that will be successful will be those who adapt and overcome any issues they have once the season gets going. The biggest struggle, outside of chemistry and fitness, will be those teams that hit any sort of losing streak. With a shortened schedule against conference foes, wins and losses will be magnified and any streak will be magnified that much more.
As the Sabres look to take advantage of the shortened season and build on an interesting offseason, here are a few questions that will likely have an impact on the season. Continue reading
Development Camp isn’t a device that is designed to fill out an NHL roster. The majority of the players invited to these camps are preparing to return to school or junior, not the NHL. However, there are always a few prospects that stand out above the rest.
The Sabres 2012 Development Camp provided the opportunity to see a trio of players that will likely be directly tied to the franchise’s future. Joel Armia, Zemgus Girgensons and Mikhail Grigorenko all participated in their first development camp with the Sabres after being picked in the first round of the last two NHL Drafts.
Armia missed out on the 2011 Camp due to complications getting to North America so soon after the Draft. Armia had an improved season with Assat of Sm Liiga and a point per game pace (5+2) at the World Juniors. He was dynamic at many times during development camp. His size set him apart and it was clear that two full seasons of professional hockey has aided his development.
While he is bound to Finland for another season, I doubt that Armia will have much trouble adapting to the NHL game when he arrives next year. What was most impressive, to me, was his ability to create in tight spaces. On a number of occasions he found ice for an open shot despite being in close quarters. The fact that he was able to do so on a daily basis was truly what stood out over the course of last week.
In tandem with Grigorenko at center, the line has the makings for a talented, dynamic and explosive offensive unit. Whether or not Girgensons is part of the line is up for debate. Having him ride shotgun for the two big guns would be an interesting development, but he would likely be better served on a separate line from Armia and Grigorenko.
Grigorenko was one of the players entering camp with the opportunity to build a resume that would eventually lead to a contract and a chance to truly make an impression at training camp. Outside of those who saw NHL action last year, Grigorenko and Girgensons were the only two at camp who really had the opportunity to jump directly into the professional ranks.
Girgensons contract all but ensures he will see plenty of time playing against men in Rochester for the 2012-13 season. Signing him and getting him into the professional game will be the best step for his development. Continue reading
Even though there has only been two days worth of practice, it is probably safe to say the blue squad is a deeper and more talented bunch than those in gold at Sabres Development Camp.
With an opportunity to watch the gold group’s practice today I noticed that there is a little less flash as compared to the blue team anchored by Mikhail Grigorenko and Zemgus Girgensons. The gold team’s top set of players – Luke Adam, Cody Hodgson and Corey Tropp – certainly has the most fluidity in terms of chemistry, but the rest of the squad lacks the polish of the blue team.
Day two of camp was a little more focused on game scenarios and playing in traffic as compared to day one. There was still a fair amount of flow drills done in the early going, but the latter half of the ice time was primarily centered in a scrimmage setting.
The Adam, Hodgson, Tropp trio was heads and shoulders above the rest of the group during most of the drills. They were particularly dangerous in odd-man situations, shredding the defense on a few occasions during three-on-two drills. They also had success during the final four-on-four scrimmage to close the session.
On the whole, the gold team looked a little disjointed at times during the day and there was certainly an obvious lack of chemistry from top to bottom. I’d venture a guess that two days of 4:30 wakeup calls and SEAL training coupled with a full on-ice practice with conditioning to follow would kick anyone’s ass. So perhaps that, plus the fact that a vast majority of these players have never played together has something to do with the sloppy play. Continue reading
With day one of Development Camp in the books, it is quite clear that the Sabres have some impressive skill throughout their prospect ranks.
The prospect group has been broken into a blue and gold squad, with a few more veterans on the gold side and some more explosive talent on the blue team. Based on my schedule, I will only be able to catch the first session for Monday and Tuesday but be present for the entire time on Wednesday and Thursday.
Today’s first group was the blue team’s prospects that included Joel Armia, Zemgus Girgensons and Mikhail Grigorenko. The blue team is certainly full of more of the high-octane talent on the Development roster as compared to those with more NHL and AHL games played on the gold team.
The blue team is loaded with the top prospects from each of the last three NHL drafts. In addition to Armia, Girgensons and Grigorenko, the blue squad boasts Mark Pysyk, Marcus Foligno and Brayden McNabb.
As for the gold team, Luke Adam, Cody Hodgson and Corey Tropp will anchor the team in terms of talent up front while Dan Catenacci, Brian Flynn, Jerome Gauthier-Leduc, Matt MacKenzie and Kevin Sundher all are players who signed with the Sabres in the past year.
Monday’s first session ran through a number of basic puck movement and flow drills with a few drills with a bit more of battle included. A majority of the ice time was devoted to full ice, transition drills that lead to equal (2-on-2) and odd-man (2-on-1 and 3-on-2) rushes. Most of the drills were straight forward enough that each players’ talent level was on display each rush down the ice. I would expect the next two days will start infusing a bit more systematic hockey as compared to simple rush drills. Continue reading
With Development Camp set to open on Monday morning, the Sabres will be rolling out a few firsts with this year’s version of the evaluation camp.
The first, and biggest change is that First Niagara Center will be home base for the week. The camp was previously held at Dwyer Arena at Niagara University. The twin rink facility there lent itself well to getting the entire camp roster on the ice. However, hosting at FNC will allow for greater fan access, thus leading to greater exposure. Bravo to the Sabres for leveraging this situation into something that benefits them and the fans.
Thursday’s Blue and Gold Scrimmage is bound to draw a large crowd, I’m expecting the lower bowl to be fully occupied by fans wanting to see players like Joel Armia, Mikhail Grigorenko, Zemgus Girgensons and others. Armia, Grigorenko and Girgensons represent the other set of firsts which will be rolled out next week. In addition to the three young forwards, Cody Hodgson and Mark Pysyk will be the other first round picks in attendance for the camp. Providing fans a close look at so many first round talents will not only provide a great look at the future, it will help to generate significant buzz amongst the fan base.
It will be particularly important for some of the invitees to set a good example with these practices. Grigorenko has already been rumored to be working on a deal, while Girgensons can play in the AHL next season should he sign his ELC. Marcus Foligno Hodgson, Luke Adam, Corey Tropp and Brayden McNabb will be hoping to further convince the staff to keep them around next year; while players just into their ELCs (Armia, Pysyk, Kevin Sundher, JGL, Dan Catenacci) will be looking to make a solid first impression. Continue reading
For possibly the first time since Pierre Turgeon was picked first overall, the Sabres have a player capable of making the jump to the NHL immediately from the draft.
Mikhail Grigorenko entered draft weekend as the fifth ranked North American skater and was ranked as high as number two for most of the 2011-12 season. While there were some speed bumps down the stretch that caused him to slip in the draft, Grigorenko is still a draft lottery talent that the Sabres were able to grab at number 12.
With Darcy Regier already trying to work on a contract, it seems as if the Sabres are going to give Grigorenko the opportunity to prove himself on the NHL roster. Since he is underage, Grigorenko is due at least a nine-game audition before burning a year on his yet-to-be-signed entry level deal. The fact that Grigorenko is doing and saying all the right things is making me more comfortable with him by the minute.
The Sabres under Ruff and Regier has not been an organization to rush prospects along. However, they have also only had one lottery pick (Thomas Vanek) to make such a decision on. Only Tyler Myers in 2008-09 and 2009-10 had the Sabres in a pinch as to the course of action they wished to pursue with a top prospect.
Not only is Grigorenko an elite prospect with gaudy numbers, he fills a hole the team has been trying to fill for well over 12 months. In fact, by the time prospect camp begins, it will be a full calendar year since the last solution at center (Ville Leino) was brought onto the roster.
The decision to put Grigorenko right into the NHL will probably be decided by what the Sabres do in free agency. However, this doesn’t seem like it would be a bad idea. Continue reading
Based on what Darcy Regier was able to pull off this weekend, there isn’t much debate about the Sabres coming out of draft weekend as winners. Based on a favorable calendar, last weekend’s action may just end up impacting this weekend and Buffalo’s direction for the rest of the offseason.
After snagging two highly-touted centers, one who might just be NHL ready, the Sabres effectively shored up their organizational deficiency down the middle. If Mikhail Grigorenko is to play next season, they will have also potentially found a solution for their immediate need for a number one center.
Whether or not Grigorenko will begin his NHL career immediately is up in the air. He is already working out with his team, has expressed interest in wearing number 89 in honor of Alex Mogilny (awesome) and being okay with going back to Quebec if he doesn’t make the big club. It certainly seems like he wants to make the jump right away, and his attitude seems to be right. But that choice will likely be steered by Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier, two guys who aren’t always keen on rushing players along.
However, Grigorenko’s natural ability and perceived skillset could make him a strong candidate for the Sabres roster this fall. Where he may fit on the roster may be determined as early as next week.
The assumed trade of Derek Roy is something just about every Sabres fan has probably thought about or discussed over the past few months. Without knowing if there have been or will be any offers for Roy makes most talk futile, yet there is certainly some flexibility regarding his status on the roster.
As it stands the Sabres aren’t short on centers, they just have short centers. With Tyler Ennis, Cody Hodgson and Roy on the roster, the need isn’t to get another center, it is to get a better center. They might just have that with Grigorenko.
If Grigorenko is to be kept around, he would be filling a spot on a line with scoring punch, which would likely mean moving Roy. The market for Roy is an absolute mystery, but he does have value and a manageable cap hit, which increases his value. If a home could be found for him, it would open things up quite a bit for the Sabres. Continue reading
Eric and I are back for another version of The Instigator Podcast. This time we devote our time to chatting about Buffalo’s return at the Draft over the weekend. We devote a good portion to the excitement and potential behind the drafting of Mikhail Grigorenko and Zemgus Girgensons along with exploring the depth obtained in rounds two through seven. Then, naturally, we play a little bit of plus/minus.
Feedback, questions and topics are welcome here at at 3rd Man In along with on the Twitterverse: @3rdManIn or @2ITB_Buffalo.
Two in the Box 
