Up next in 10
The NHL Draft is over, and it's time to rank the haul.
On this episode of Sabres in Six, D.A. ranks the seven most exciting new additions to the Buffalo Sabres organizationāincluding all five draft picks and the two young players acquired in trades.
Who has the highest ceiling?
Who is the safest bet?
Who could become Buffalo's biggest steal?
Plus:
D.A.'s overall draft grade for new GM Jarmo KekƤlƤinen
The biggest winners and surprises from draft weekend
And the major offseason questions that still need answers before training camp
The draft may be overābut the work of building a Stanley Cup contender is just beginning.
#Sabres #NHLDraft #BuffaloSabres #NHLProspects #JarmoKekalainen #SabresInSix
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0:00
The draft is all about excitement and so
0:02
let's rank one through seven the most
0:05
exciting players added to the Sabres
0:08
roster during these two days of the NHL
0:11
draft. Let's also give the Sabres a
0:13
letter grade and talk about the biggest
0:16
questions left after the draft. Now,
0:24
all right, here's my most exciting
0:25
players from the draft. Number one, how
0:28
could it not be Dax Rudolph? It's got to
0:31
be Rudolph as the most exciting piece of
0:33
this puzzle for obvious reasons, but
0:35
also because of the type of player he
0:37
is. Not only where he was drafted, but
0:40
the skill set he possesses just gives
0:43
you so much excitement about the type of
0:46
player, the type of game he will develop
0:48
into. It's offense, offensiveminded,
0:53
fluidity, playmaking, and playoff
0:56
production. We detailed this after the
0:59
round one recap and breakdown, but when
1:01
you look at Rudolph's greatest assets,
1:04
it's that obviously as a defenseman, he
1:07
is so offensive generationminded that he
1:10
just creates things for everybody in
1:12
front of him. Also though, he played at
1:15
his best down the stretch. She might
1:16
have been the hottest player in the WHL.
1:19
End of the season into the playoffs. He
1:22
was a playoff performer. That's what you
1:24
got to love against the best competition
1:26
when the lights were brightest is when
1:28
Rudolph delivered. Not everybody had him
1:31
at a number four overall value in this
1:33
draft. But because of the type of game
1:35
he has, clearly he's got to be the most
1:38
exciting piece of the puzzle for the
1:40
Sabres. Quick reminder to make sure
1:42
you're subscribed to the channel because
1:43
all off seasonason we've got Sabres in
1:45
six videos coming for the big offseason
1:48
maneuvers and roster build of this hot
1:50
stove season. Number two, it's Olen
1:53
Zelwagger. He's a guy that comes over in
1:55
the trade with Anaheim and essentially
1:57
becomes a second round pick of the
2:00
Sabres. But when you look at his stats,
2:02
he really has a lot to be excited about.
2:06
He's 22 years old and yet has already
2:09
played in 164 NHL games. So, he's just
2:14
scratching the surface from a playmaking
2:16
age standpoint and yet already has more
2:20
than two full seasons of NHL games
2:23
played and played in this last
2:25
postseason with the Ducks. He's also an
2:27
incredibly fast player. So when you
2:30
think about how he adds to the Sabres
2:32
roster, you're thinking, okay, already
2:34
good experience, still young, hyper
2:38
fast, has some playoff experience as
2:41
well. All that's super exciting. We have
2:44
to see where he fits in obviously to the
2:46
roster, the lineup in the off season
2:48
where this looks to kind of fit
2:50
together, but Zelwaggers are a really
2:53
interesting piece of the puzzle and he's
2:55
the number two most exciting piece added
2:57
by Yarmmo. Number three, I'm going to go
3:00
with Louis Krevier. He comes over in the
3:03
Byum trade and you just look at some of
3:06
these these tangibles, the the draftable
3:10
skill set or or the listable skill set.
3:13
He's 68.
3:15
And you look at him on the slap shot. I
3:18
mean, just a a howitzer of a slap shot.
3:21
He also has some decent stick handing
3:24
ability. and that size. You just combine
3:27
the you combine all those things and go,
3:29
boy, that's that's a really exciting
3:32
package as well. He played in 78 games
3:35
for the Blackhawks last year, which is a
3:38
huge bulk of games and he's 25 years
3:41
old. So, let's see where he fits.
3:44
Clearly, he's going to be in the
3:46
defensive rotation somehow and we'll see
3:49
where that stacks depthwise. But I think
3:51
Crevier, even though he might have been
3:53
a throwin to the Byum trade, I really
3:57
like what he might bring to the table.
3:59
Just watching highlights of him, I was
4:00
thinking, boy, this is going to be fun
4:01
to see how he adds to this roster.
4:05
Number four, Ilia Morose.
4:08
seemed like the Sabres were circling in
4:11
the water bar rose off when they moved
4:13
up from 27 to 20 because he was not
4:15
going to be available when they drafted
4:18
before they made the trade to move up.
4:20
And you look at the type of package he
4:22
brings to the table, he's big, he's
4:26
strong, he's physical, he's a guy that's
4:29
going to kind of drag you down, beat you
4:31
up, and wear you down. And you know,
4:34
those are assets that translate very
4:37
well to the NHL. We talked about this in
4:39
the round one recap in that he might not
4:42
have a huge upside to be a first or
4:45
second line center, but if you are very
4:47
confident he can be a third line center,
4:50
that's a tremendous value to get at the
4:52
uh in the 20s of the first round. So,
4:54
Morose certainly has a package that
4:56
you're excited about. And I would put
4:58
him at number four in terms of this
5:01
draft season for the Sabres. All right,
5:03
number five most exciting is going to be
5:05
their fourth round pick, Oliver's
5:07
Morning. Another center comes in at pick
5:10
124 and this is a guy that has Boston
5:14
College connections and that staff is
5:16
very close to the Sabres staff. So,
5:19
here's what I like about it. I don't
5:21
think the Sabres make this pick unless
5:24
they have back channel confidence that
5:29
he can be a player in the system that
5:31
you can keep an eye on and has some NHL
5:33
skill sets. Again, this is a good
5:35
connection between the Sabres and the
5:37
Boston College staff. He's obviously a
5:39
few years away from making it to the
5:41
NHL. He's got to kind of see where he
5:42
goes from here. But the at the end of
5:44
the day, when you're kind of picking
5:45
fourth round and beyond, you're going to
5:47
have to take a few flyers on things. If
5:49
you're going to take a flyer, why not do
5:51
it with again institutional knowledge of
5:54
the player itself and why they recruited
5:57
him to BC and what they envision with
5:58
him. So that's why I'm going to put him
6:00
at number five. Number six on this list
6:03
is Hungarian Dolman Shaong Goth. Round
6:06
five, pick 156. Again, a young center.
6:10
Here's what's interesting about him. His
6:13
father played professional hockey, so
6:16
there's some bloodlines there. That's a
6:18
good thing. Also, this is a young man
6:20
that could make history being Hungarian
6:22
born and trying to make the NHL. So,
6:24
I've got him at number six on this list.
6:27
And finally, number seven, Dylan Dumont.
6:30
He was their sixth round draft pick. He
6:32
went number 188 overall. And if you look
6:35
at the most interesting thing about him,
6:37
his age, just 17 years old right now.
6:41
So, a lot to hope for and build with
6:44
because of how young he is in the sixth
6:46
round. Overall for the draft, I would
6:48
give Yarmmo and company a B+. And look,
6:52
I'm not going to pretend to know how all
6:54
these guys have been scouted, pretend to
6:56
have watched a bunch of their games in
6:58
all these these leagues. Not going to do
7:00
that. What I'm just going to do is look
7:02
at the type of player they got, why they
7:04
got him, and how it all fits together.
7:06
And look, there might be a bit of a
7:08
reach for some for where they took
7:10
Rudolph at number four, but I'm excited
7:13
about his playmaking abilities. I'm
7:15
excited about the type of player that he
7:17
could potentially grow into. And I think
7:20
overall, you just look at this and
7:21
maybe, you know, you'd give them an A+.
7:24
That's what a lot of graders will do if
7:27
they feel like the team got great value
7:29
for where they drafted. Like the Sharks
7:33
are getting A+es all around for that
7:35
reason. The Sabres are not. But to me,
7:37
this looks like a B+ on the surface. You
7:39
go, "Okay, I get it. A lot of these
7:41
things make sense. I see how they're
7:42
putting it together." They also moved up
7:44
from 27 to 20 and then all the way to
7:46
number four. You got to give them credit
7:47
on those fronts. And then this could be
7:50
a draft that turns into an A. If Jackson
7:52
Rudolph becomes a star, if Rudolph and
7:55
Marose off end up becoming NHL players,
7:57
if there's another player in here that
7:59
ends up becoming a very good player,
8:00
again, you you can move up obviously
8:02
into an A. Here's the biggest questions
8:04
left after the draft. Number one, the
8:08
Sabres literally are not a better team
8:11
than they ended the season because they
8:12
have lost players like Alex Tuck, like
8:15
Bo Byum, and all of these guys that
8:18
they've acquired in the draft are going
8:20
to need at least a year of seasoning.
8:22
Now, we'll see about Zelwagger and
8:24
Krebier. Those are guys that are added
8:26
to the mix to compete this upcoming
8:28
season for roster slot roster slots and
8:31
and you know where they end up um
8:34
fitting into the the grand scheme of
8:36
things. But there's going to have to be
8:38
another addition here. There's going to
8:39
have to be a trade. There's going to
8:40
have to be a free agent signing. The
8:42
Sabres obviously need to replace some of
8:44
the production that they have lost with
8:46
Tuck and with Byum. So that's the first
8:49
part. Where does that come from? Because
8:50
that didn't come over those two days of
8:52
the draft. The second question is going
8:54
to be goalending because at this point
8:56
in time, you've got to make some
8:58
decisions there. And I don't think
9:00
really any Sabres fan is going to feel
9:02
hyper comfortable with going back to a
9:06
UPL and Alex Lion situation that there's
9:09
going to have to be a a different name,
9:10
a different body competing in there. And
9:13
look, there's the the Connor Hellabuk
9:15
stuff that has been gurgling under the
9:18
surface here for a couple of days.
9:20
Clearly, it wasn't a price that Yarmmo
9:22
was comfortable in in selling on. And
9:25
so, we'll see if that price comes down.
9:27
We'll see if they pivot somewhere else.
9:29
But the fact that they've had
9:30
conversations and clearly significant
9:32
ones about Hell Buck means that they
9:34
want to make an upgrade. They want to
9:37
make a move at goalie and that's going
9:38
to be something obviously to watch
9:40
during this off season. So, that's going
9:42
to be the the two question marks going
9:44
forward now with free agency here and
9:46
the hot stove of the NHL. But man, it
9:49
was a fun couple of days at the draft. I
9:51
loved seeing Deion Dawkins and Thurman
9:53
Thomas at the draft. I mean, that just
9:55
was very, very cool. Even though Thurman
9:57
called it the NFL draft, it's okay.
9:59
We'll we'll give it to you. You've had a
10:01
life in the NFL. It's all right. It's an
10:03
understandable Freudian slip, but that
10:05
was cool to see those guys up on the
10:06
podium on Friday night. All right,
10:08
everybody. Thanks so much for watching.
10:10
Appreciate you. As always, make sure
10:11
you're subscribed because Sabres and Six
10:13
breaks down all the big moves and all
10:15
the big news over the course of this off
10:17
season. And so make sure you're
10:18
subscribed to the channel. Appreciate
10:20
that very much. We picked up a bunch of
10:21
subs during this draft. And so let's
10:24
keep that thing going and keep the
10:25
momentum going. Also, plenty of Bills
10:27
coverage coming up here during the the
10:29
off season and mini camps are just
10:31
around the corner and then training
10:33
camp. And so make sure you are locked
10:34
into Bills Madic right here on the
10:36
YouTube channel as well. And my alma
10:38
mater Syracuse. You've got the Orange
10:40
Fizz. Plenty of Syracuse coverage right
10:41
here on the channel as well as we head
10:43
into football season. big expectations
10:46
for the football program that turned
10:47
things around after last year and then
10:50
also Jerry McNamera at the helm of the
10:52
hoops program. Thanks so much for
10:53
watching. Listen to me on SiriusXM
10:55
channel 82 as well weekday morning 6
10:57
until 9 Eastern time. I'm DA Damon
11:00
Amandelar. Appreciate you watching.
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