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The Buffalo Sabres Top-5 Prospects |
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In my previous blog on the Bruins top-5 prospects, I mentioned how difficult it was after number 2. They had a bunch of guys hovering around that B-C level prospect and it all depended more or less on who you personally liked better. Buffalo has thankfully given me a much easier task as their top-3 prospects are pretty unanimous. 4-5 is a bit dicey, but I don’t think I will get too many complaints. I’m not a Sabres fan by any means, but they are on my teams to watch just because of all the turnover and potential.
A poster suggested in the previous thread that I change the format to 5-1 instead and I will take up this advice. Though for the Sabres, there’s really no need as we all know who is number one…William Worge Kreü.
5. Alex Nylander– Left Winger, 6’1 192lbs, 20 Years Old, 8th Overall, 2016, Rochester Americans in the AHL
51gp 8g 19a 27p
Prospects are funny things. When drafted most fans were constantly comparing Alex to William, going through primarily their impact on the international scene. Despite having similar numbers, Alex came on top. Then you watch William have an amazing AHL season and make the NHL. You figure, “well now it’s Alex’s turn.” He didn’t disappoint internationally…but boy oh boy he has had a rough time professionally. In 116 games in the AHL, Nylander only has 18 goals and 55 points. Granted he was 18/19 and 19/20 during those two seasons, but clearly people expected more points from a forward known almost exclusively for his scoring game. Despite all this negativity, I think it would be stupid to give up on a player of his obvious skill. He has been a fantastic player for Sweden’s U20 squad. He has been a top-3 player on all three of the Swedish teams he played for. Leading the Swedes in points each tournament (tied in his final).
Nylander has consistency issues and some have complained about his defensive deficiencies, but that’s why players grow. The Americans haven’t been the most talented roster, nor had the best track record in terms of developing talent recently. He has a great shot, he’s a very good skater and he has shown when he has talented shooters to make plays with, he can.
There are quite a few red flags here, but I think he’s still a very good prospect and has potential. If he has another poor AHL season, I’ll have to reevaluate.
Potential : Top-6 Scoring Winger
4. Linus Ullmark – Goaltender, 6’4 220lbs, 25 Years Old, 163rd Overall, 2012, Rochester Americans in the AHL
44gp 2.44GAA .922sv%
I’m stretching Ullmark as a “prospect” as he is 25 years old, but I feel like he deserves a shout out for the progress he has made. He’s huge and he’s athletic. Hence the Rinne comparisons I’ve seen. He has taken the long route in development spending three seasons in the AHL after two years in the Elitserien. He has been a back to back AHL All-Star on a less than stellar team and was the Elitserien Goalie of the Year as a 20 year old.
He almost hit the cut off of this list having played 26 games in the NHL. This includes a 20 game stint where he was thrown to the wolves due to necessity. In his brief NHL stints he has been very successful.
This season with Carter Hutton being added to the Sabres it will be interested to see where they go with this. Ullmark is expected to be their goalie of the now…or not so distant now…while Hutton has put up ridiculous numbers, but always as a backup and on a team that has exported their ridiculous numbered goalies to poor results in the takers. I wouldn’t be surprised if he splits this year and takes the reigns the next.
Potential : Starting Goalie
3. Brendan Guhle – Left Defenseman, 6’2 189lbs, 21 Years Old, 51st Overall, 2015, Rochester Americans in the AHL
50gp 8g 18a 26p
Buffalo has had some issues developing defenders outside of Ristolainen and McCabe, but Guhle is looking like he is going to break that mold. He had a very successful rookie season in the AHL showing the two-way transition game he became known for in the WHL. This despite being behind veterans Fedun, Redmond and Percy for a lot of the season. He also has had a few cups of coffee in the NHL playing in 21 games.
He’s a strong skater and uses his speed to cut players off. He’s hard to get behind in a race. Guhle also has a very hard shot which has been evidenced both at the junior and pro levels. If he can get a shot off, there’s a good chance that it hits the net hard.
At the NHL level it’s hard to see him putting up huge points. I can see him hitting the 8+ goal mark quite a bit, but I don’t think he has the playmaking ability or the raw creativity to take a spot over Dahlin or Ristolainen in terms of offensive deployment. However, his defensive game and skating make him a very good candidate to have a solid career.
Potential : Top-4 Two-Way Defenseman
2. Casey Mittelstadt – Centreman, 6’1 201lbs, 19 Years Old, 8th Overall 2017, University of Minnesota in the NCAA
34gp 11g 19a 30p
Yet another easy and obvious pick. Mittelstadt was one of the highest risk/reward players in the 2017 draft showing extremely high end skills against lower competition. A year later and it’s looking a heck of a lot more like little risk and all reward. Mittelstadt was drafted after a split year in the USHS and the USHL. He had opted out of the US National Development Program to remain closer to home. The year previous he had made a large impact as a 17 year old in the U18 on the Bronze winning American’s with 9 points from the second line. He’s probably the most hyped US High Schooler of all time. The only two even remotely close were Nick Leddy and Ryan McDonagh from memory.
Mittelstadt has really put his stamp on being a top prospect this past season by having a very successful rookie season in the NCAA, having a great small pro stint in Buffalo and winning the U20 MVP. His 11 points in just 7 games were tops for the tournament and he was very dynamic. Dynamic is the way to describe him, he has the ability to make top end plays. He has that nice mix of very strong vision, but with the ability to actually finish plays when he needs to. Making him very dangerous when entering the offensive zone. In the 5 games he played for Buffalo he had 4 points. I don’t think anybody should or does expect that level of production going into his rookie season, but with his skill level and an improved cast of characters around him, I think 50 points is the minimum.
Potential : 1st Line Scoring Centre
1. Rasmus Dahlin – Right Defenseman, 18 Years Old, 6’2 181lbs, 1st Overall, 2018, Frölunda HC in the Elitserien
41gp 7g 13a 20p
Surprise. The best defense prospect in the league and just the third defenseman to be picked 1st overall since the 2000’s began is the easy choice at number one. Hell, he’s the top prospect in the world right now. Elite skating, elite hockey sense, amazing offensive ability, good size and strong defensive awareness has this Swede poised to be the next “franchise” defenseman. The recent U20 Best Defenseman has put up better scoring numbers in the Elitserien than top Swedish picked forwards at a younger age. What he did this past season is remarkable.
One thing I am interested in seeing is how Dahlin is deployed in the NHL. In the Elitserien and internationally he has primarily played on the right side, despite being a left handed shot. The NHL often demands Left-Right combos for easier board work. The larger ice gives players more time to turn and avoid contact, which a skater of Dahlin’s ability made look easy. So that will be an interesting transition. You also have to wonder if the Sabres won’t be tempted to try Dahlin (LHD) with Ristolainen (RHD). Maybe not this season as a rookie might not be a good idea to try to calm some of the defensive holes in Ristolainen’s game. Going forward though? You’d have to imagine that’s the dream.
Can’t wait to see him play and watch his progress through the season.
Potential : Franchise Two-Way Defenseman
There's a lot of guys who could go in that 4-5 range depending on who you like. Samuelsson, Fitzgerald, Asplund and Davidsson are interesting prospects you could convince me to take out either Ullmark or Nylander. Goalies don’t get a lot of love on lists like these due to their volatile nature. If you’re wondering why Tage Thompson (acquired from the Blues) is not on here, it’s because he played 41 games in the NHL and doesn’t meet my 30 game cut off.
Thanks for reading.
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