It’s a big draft episode as we look ahead to Thursday’s first round and the three picks the Sabres hold. We spend time talking about Ivann Fedotov’s situation in Russia and how it could affect teams considering Russians in the first round of the draft. Specifically, Danila Yurov and the smoke surrounding him and the Sabres. We also talk about potential fits at the ninth pick, 28 and even pick 41. All that and more on this week’s episode of the podcast.
NHL Draft
The Instigator Podcast featuring Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff
Chris Peters of DailyFaceoff.com joins the show to offer up a preview of this week’s NHL draft. We talk about the wide variance of opinions on virtually every facet of this year’s first round. From the first pick through 32, we touch on how wide the range of rankings can be for numerous players. We also touch on Buffalo’s trio of first round picks and the players Chris sees as ideal fits at each of those selections.
The Instigator Podcast 10.36 – Sabres Hold 9th and 16th Picks after NHL Draft Lottery
The Sabres didn’t see their picks move in the NHL Draft Lottery and they will draft ninth and 16th in this year’s draft. The only first round pick to be determined is that of the Florida Panthers, which will fall between 28th and 32nd depending on their finish. On this week’s show we talk about the lottery results and who the Sabres could be looking at with their top two picks. We also talk about Barry Trotz’ departure from the New York Islanders and run through some of the key talking points from the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Instigator Podcast 9.32 – Breaking Down a Wild Draft Weekend
We’re back with a longer episode this week as there was a lot of action from the draft to dig into. Not only do we discuss Buffalo’s picks but offer up our favorites of Kevyn Adams’ class of 2021. The big topics were the pair of trades the Sabres made; sending Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers and Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers. We provide a quick update on where the Eichel sweepstakes stand and close the show with a bit of conversation on free agency.
The Instigator Podcast 9.31 – Expansion and NHL Draft Breakdown
Sandwiching this episode between the Expansion Draft and NHL Draft left us with quite a bit to talk about. We break down Seattle’s selections and their lack of side deals. We also run down the players the Sabres will have under consideration at first overall but also at the top of the second round. We close up the show with a brief Jack Eichel update and a quick rundown of Thursday’s trades.
Listen to “The Instigator Podcast 9.31 – Expansion Draft and NHL Draft Breakdown” on Spreaker.
The Instigator Podcast 9.26 – A Busy Summer Awaits featuring Lance Lysowski
Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News joined the show to run down some of the biggest topics surrounding the Sabres. And at the moment, that is a long list. We talk about the impeding Jack Eichel trade and all of the implications (both positive and negative) that carries with it. We talk through some of the expected destinations where Eichel may land, and the sort of return you can expect to see once the trade goes down. Draft talk was also on the table as this week’s rumor that the Sabres are expecting to have two top-10 picks could put them in a somewhat rare position to come away from the draft with two blue chip prospects. Along the way we touch on goaltending and a few other trade targets who fans should keep track of.
The Instigator Podcast 9.25 – Draft Lottery Rewind
We’re back from a brief break to offer up analysis of the Sabres nabbing the top pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and the prospect who Kevyn Adams may be looking at with the first selection. We also discuss the second round of the NHL Playoffs and enjoy a bit of comic relief thanks to our friends up the QEW. All that and more on this week’s episode.
The Instigator Podcast 9.38 – Draft Round Table Featuring Expected Buffalo
We teamed up with the boys from Expected Buffalo to run through a host of draft-related topics. We discuss our favorite targets, including the likes of Anton Lundell and Marco Rossi and the likelihood that either of those players will be available when the Sabres pick at eight. Additional topics of discussion include our view on how the top of the draft will shake out and which x-factor picks may come up. We close with some bold predictions on both the draft and the rest of Buffalo’s offseason.
The Instigator Podcast 7.33 – Draft Week Dealing
The busiest week of the NHL season is here and there’s been a ton of trade chatter ahead of Friday’s draft. We break down the contract extension signed by Erik Karlsson, the Jacob Trouba trade and the moves made by Philadelphia. We also run down potential draft targets for the Sabres at pick seven and 31. We close the show with a brief conversation over Rasmus Ristolainen surfacing in trade chatter in the wake of Karlsson and Trouba’s deals.
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Tyler’s 2019 NHL Mock Draft
The 2019 draft is just a few days away, and with that comes my 2019 Mock Draft. The mock is done with the help of pre-draft rankings and scouting reports from The Athletic (most notably Corey Pronman), ISS Hockey, and the draft team at TSN led by Craig Button and Bob McKenzie, and. The mock was done with no draft floor trades being made, as it’s tough to zero in on what picks are truly in play and what is just hearsay.
- New Jersey Devils- Jack Hughes, Center, USNTDP, USHL
While Kaapo Kakko has made discussions about who should go first overall a bit less one sided with his recent play at the World Championships, the Devils still opt for Hughes. The addition of Hughes gives New Jersey a solid 1-2 punch down the middle, as Hughes can team up with 20 year old Nico Hischier to anchor the top two lines in Newark for the foreseeable future; having Travis Zajac for a few more years is an added bonus as it allows Hughes to play some sheltered minutes and see better matchups in his rookie season
- New York Rangers- Kaapo Kakko, Left Wing, TPS, Liiga
The Rangers have the easiest decision in the first round as they will gladly scoop up one of Kakko or Hughes at 2nd overall. Kakko was the consensus number two pick behind Hughes for the duration of the ranking process leading up to the draft and his displays in Slovakia at the worlds only reinforced that sentiment. Kakko accelerates the Rangers rebuild with his dynamic scoring ability and allows New York to possibly get creative with their surplus of picks in 2019 and 2020 in an effort to further improve their roster for this season. Continue reading
Two in the Box 