Bennet
- jackoc150

EDIT: Anyone want to help me come up with a deadline/punishment(maybe Leino instead of Darcy this time?)/punishment duration?

Hockeybuzz Draft Bet:

sbraods24 - Draisaitl
pegulaville -Draisaitl
herzeleid - Draisaitl
rover16 - Bennet
gerbe - Reinhart
letsgobuffalo75 - Reinhart
powerslave - Reinhart
89 - Reinhart
stripes77 - Reinhart
GilPerreault11 - Bennet
Maximum Signal - Reinhart
evatnorth - Trade
gibby111 - Bennet
Otsegolectric - Draisaitl
Enzomatic - Reinhart
Leninthebuff - Draisaitl
jackoc150 - Bennet

I've been watching hockey live since 1979, I have over 5000 classic games on DVD or tape from 1950-present day(mostly playoffs), I've seen Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky play live hundreds of times...When I watch Girgensons play live over the last two seasons(35 Amerks games etc) I don't see this natural star talent everyone keeps talking about...He doesn't skate like Paul Coffey or Messier(Gaborik or Parise), he doesn't stick handle the puck like a star player with his head up(scouting report was he doesn't have great ice vision, hard to see the open guys with head down), doesn't win a faceoff like Drury, Brindamour or Ron Francis(he was 41% on faceoffs, 30% and 37% last two games). He couldn't even score 8 goals in the AHL, I don't understand why the guys are WGR550 have him penciled in for the next 15 years at center on the top lines. What makes people think that Darcy Regier after all these years drafted a player in the first round(besides lazy Vanek who was 5th overall) who is going to amount to anything more than a grunt? In my personal opinion I think Girgensons is a 3rd line winger, a grunt who might be able to get 10-15 goals(same thing Mike Robitallie said). Ted Nolan said "Girgensons has the same qualities of superstars like Messier" lol. WGR stat geek Matthew Collier said "I wouldn't trade Grigensons for Mckinnon" "Girgensons is already one the of the very best two way centers in the entire NHL" .
- MrSquirrel

Hi Squirley, who's your choice for the Sabres 1st pick?

I have not heard a single person say that one of Bennett's main abilities is making those around him better until this sudden revelation. If that is some kind of allusion to leadership, it's pretty off-base considering Bennett didn't wear a letter at all last season. Reinhart carried his team the entire year, and made Jaedon Descheneau a very good player since back in the 2012-2013 season. Similar to how Crosby turned Marc-Antoine Pouliot into a machine with Rimouski.

Unrelated to the great Bennett vs. Reinhart debate, Ritchie at 3 is just horrific. His skating is awful, he doesn't have much by way of passing or stickhandling, and his shot is simply "ok". He has pretty much nothing except for his size. He's a benefactor of a 1st round that is pretty much void of large forwards. If he was average sized like Reinhart or Bennett, he wouldn't be a 1st rounder. That's exactly why I want the Leafs to pick him at 8, so they can be immensely disappointed with another hometown kid.
- LetsGoBuffalo75

I'm not picking sides, but I have heard multiple people say/write that Bennett is an elite playmaker as well.

Here's my take, Bennett is an elite skater, so therefore Reinhart gets labeled a bad skater just because Bennett is better.

Same with Bennett's playmaking ability, it gets under rated because Reinhart is an elite playmaker

EDIT: Anyone want to help me come up with a deadline/punishment(maybe Leino instead of Darcy this time?)/punishment duration?

Hockeybuzz Draft Bet:

sbraods24 - Draisaitl
pegulaville -Draisaitl
herzeleid - Draisaitl
rover16 - Bennet
gerbe - Reinhart
letsgobuffalo75 - Reinhart
powerslave - Reinhart
89 - Reinhart
stripes77 - Reinhart
GilPerreault11 - Bennet
Maximum Signal - Reinhart
evatnorth - Trade
gibby111 - Bennet
Otsegolectric - Draisaitl
Enzomatic - Reinhart
Leninthebuff - Draisaitl
jackoc150 - Bennet
- Herzeleid

Leino as avatar until the player picked scores 5 NHL goals.

I don't think we could ever make a deal if you think Myers is worth Hall +, lol. Not taking a job, we clearly have opposite opinions.
- Jeropotato

You have not watched Myers game under Nolan . He finally has a coach that gets him and let's him play . Defense men do not develop as fast as forwards . Scared that Hall 's body will not stand up as well . Great player but a bit injury prone.

And so is Myers at this point , give it one more year under Nolan and he is not touchable either . We can't trade away his salary anyways without getting near same back.
- Maximum Signal

You know I agree on Myers, but realistically if we had another top 3 pick + a top 4 defensive prospect it would be tempting.

I have all the faith in Myers, but he hasn't been an all star (yet)

I'm not picking sides, but I have heard multiple people say/write that Bennett is an elite playmaker as well.

Here's my take, Bennett is an elite skater, so therefore Reinhart gets labeled a bad skater just because Bennett is better.

Same with Bennett's playmaking ability, it gets under rated because Reinhart is an elite playmaker
- sbroads24

Reinhart has the better playmaking ability IMO, but Bennett's doesn't get downgraded like Reinhart's skating does. I think most know that Bennett has playmaking ability.

I have not heard a single person say that one of Bennett's main abilities is making those around him better until this sudden revelation. If that is some kind of allusion to leadership, it's pretty off-base considering Bennett didn't wear a letter at all last season. Reinhart carried his team the entire year, and made Jaedon Descheneau a very good player since back in the 2012-2013 season. Similar to how Crosby turned Marc-Antoine Pouliot into a machine with Rimouski.

Unrelated to the great Bennett vs. Reinhart debate, Ritchie at 3 is just horrific. His skating is awful, he doesn't have much by way of passing or stickhandling, and his shot is simply "ok". He has pretty much nothing except for his size. He's a benefactor of a 1st round that is pretty much void of large forwards. If he was average sized like Reinhart or Bennett, he wouldn't be a 1st rounder. That's exactly why I want the Leafs to pick him at 8, so they can be immensely disappointed with another hometown kid.
- LetsGoBuffalo75

When you quoted the quote about your boy Reinhart's weaknesses when compared to Bennett you forgot to include the source of the quote "scout"

Now, I respect your opinion but I respect an NHL team's scout more and the way you have it structured here it looks like I wrote that analysis.

Ritchie is described as being big with soft hands but I don't know enough about the guy so I'll leave that to others.

From last blog earlier today.

1.) Reinhart has NHL-level skating, and there is room for improvement for everyone. Even if he decided to not work on it, he'll keep pace with the speed of the NHL IMO.

2.) Reinhart absolutely will shoot the puck. Go watch a couple of videos of him, and you'll see he's a pretty big fan of taking shots from the point. You tout Bennett as a much better shooter than Reinhart, yet they both had 36 goals last year.

3.) Reinhart is a very good forechecker. He just doesn't get much credit for it because he doesn't go flying into corners pushing guys around. He'll just lift your stick and take it from you, just like Toews and Datsyuk do.

Bolded - Reinhart has been known as a VERY complete player straight from the get-go. His passing is known as the best in the draft, and he's shown he can put pucks in the net. His intelligence is already known to be outstanding, and he doesn't need to play aggressively when he can just steal the puck from you like a damn ninja.
- LetsGoBuffalo75

THIS

I'm not picking sides, but I have heard multiple people say/write that Bennett is an elite playmaker as well.

Here's my take, Bennett is an elite skater, so therefore Reinhart gets labeled a bad skater just because Bennett is better.

Same with Bennett's playmaking ability, it gets under rated because Reinhart is an elite playmaker
- sbroads24

Can't help it, I like the bloodline. The Reinhart family is hockey . The kid grew up around the culture . I think that is worth something if everything else cancels out with them.

You know I agree on Myers, but realistically if we had another top 3 pick + a top 4 defensive prospect it would be tempting.

I have all the faith in Myers, but he hasn't been an all star (yet)
- sbroads24

Were you visited by a ghost?

Leino as avatar until the player picked scores 5 NHL goals.
- LetsGoBuffalo75

So most likely for a year

When you quoted the quote about your boy Reinhart's weaknesses when compared to Bennett you forgot to include the source of the quote "scout"

Now, I respect your opinion but I respect an NHL team's scout more and the way you have it structured here it looks like I wrote that analysis.

Ritchie is described as being big with soft hands but I don't know enough about the guy so I'll leave that to others.
- GilPerreault11

That's my point. I have not seen anybody (scout, GM, or analyst) say anything about Bennett's ability to make others around him better until some anonymous scout says it's suddenly better than Reinhart's. Didn't try to make it seem like you wrote it, just tried to shorten the comment.

I may have been a little harsh on Ritchie's stickhandling, since it's alright, but IMO he will be the biggest disappointment of this draft.

So most likely for a year
- Herzeleid

It adds a bit of mystery. We could also make it Leino as the avatar until the player they wanted the Sabres to choose scores a goal against us. With the Western Conference teams picking in that area, it could be a long time.

From last blog earlier today.

1.) Reinhart has NHL-level skating, and there is room for improvement for everyone. Even if he decided to not work on it, he'll keep pace with the speed of the NHL IMO.

2.) Reinhart absolutely will shoot the puck. Go watch a couple of videos of him, and you'll see he's a pretty big fan of taking shots from the point. You tout Bennett as a much better shooter than Reinhart, yet they both had 36 goals last year.

3.) Reinhart is a very good forechecker. He just doesn't get much credit for it because he doesn't go flying into corners pushing guys around. He'll just lift your stick and take it from you, just like Toews and Datsyuk do.

Bolded - Reinhart has been known as a VERY complete player straight from the get-go. His passing is known as the best in the draft, and he's shown he can put pucks in the net. His intelligence is already known to be outstanding, and he doesn't need to play aggressively when he can just steal the puck from you like a damn ninja.
- LetsGoBuffalo75

Matt Ellis is an NHL skater and is really smart and Tim Connolly liked to shoot from the point as well but it doesn't mean they should be taken 2nd overall. Tim Connolly didn't like to shoot from a lot of other areas, would rather pass first. In my opinion just too many questions about Reinhart to take him 2nd overall.

You know I agree on Myers, but realistically if we had another top 3 pick + a top 4 defensive prospect it would be tempting.

I have all the faith in Myers, but he hasn't been an all star (yet)
- sbroads24

Can't help it . When people that I trust opinions on tell me Myer's is going to be a gem . Rough edges just have to get polished off . Murray says he gets lots of calls about Myers. I suspect because he gets calls from other teams think the same thing. They are just hoping Buffalo is not patient enough. The big ones take a little longer for some reason to get it i.e. Chara and Pronger. What has been said to me about Myers is you can't teach size and they love his skating ability for his size. He need to use that reach better and develop a bit more of a mean streak.

Matt Ellis is an NHL skater and is really smart and Tim Connolly liked to shoot from the point as well but it doesn't mean they should be taken 2nd overall. Tim Connolly didn't like to shoot from a lot of other areas, would rather pass first. In my opinion just too many questions about Reinhart to take him 2nd overall.
- GilPerreault11

Ellis is a quite decent skater. It's just that he has pretty much nothing else. And Reinhart doesn't just shoot from the point. It's just an example of where he's scored from a decent amount of times, since he plays the point on occasion for power plays. I just don't see the same questions you do about Reinhart.

Were you visited by a ghost?
- rover16

Yes, ghost of Darcy Regeir

It adds a bit of mystery. We could also make it Leino as the avatar until the player they wanted the Sabres to choose scores a goal against us. With the Western Conference teams picking in that area, it could be a long time.
- LetsGoBuffalo75

I've seen other articles with anonymous scouts say similar things in TSN and ESPN articles about their preferences for Bennett over Reinhart and how Bennett makes players better around him. I posted an article months ago via ESPN and have no idea were it is now that had multiple scouts back Bennett over Reinhart. By the way, all scouts and personnel people currently employed by teams are going to be anonymous.

After all this Reinhart/Bennett debate, we'll probably end up with Ekblad or Draisaitl.

I've seen other articles with anonymous scouts say similar things in TSN and ESPN articles about their preferences for Bennett over Reinhart and how Bennett makes players better around him. I posted an article months ago via ESPN and have no idea were it is now that had multiple scouts back Bennett over Reinhart. By the way, all scouts and personnel people currently employed by teams are going to be anonymous.
- GilPerreault11

I think you quoted the wrong comment of mine, but anyway

I myself don't buy into what those "experts" believe. Those are the same guys that tout players like Patrik Stefan, Thomas Hickey, and all the rest as fantastic players. I like to go out and find a way to watch a player (whether in person or on tv), and then make my own opinion on said player.

After all this Reinhart/Bennett debate, we'll probably end up with Ekblad or Draisaitl.
- sippyd

Honestly, the intrigue I have with Draisaitl would keep me from being too angry if we picked him. TM has made some unexpected picks in the past.

I'm not picking sides, but I have heard multiple people say/write that Bennett is an elite playmaker as well.

Here's my take, Bennett is an elite skater, so therefore Reinhart gets labeled a bad skater just because Bennett is better.

Same with Bennett's playmaking ability, it gets under rated because Reinhart is an elite playmaker
- sbroads24

Much like how this draft is considered "weak" by some that don't have the proper adjective for it.

EDIT: Anyone want to help me come up with a deadline/punishment(maybe Leino instead of Darcy this time?)/punishment duration?

Hockeybuzz Draft Bet:

sbraods24 - Draisaitl
pegulaville -Draisaitl
herzeleid - Draisaitl
rover16 - Bennet
gerbe - Reinhart
letsgobuffalo75 - Reinhart
powerslave - Reinhart
89 - Reinhart
stripes77 - Reinhart
GilPerreault11 - Bennet
Maximum Signal - Reinhart
evatnorth - Trade
gibby111 - Bennet
Otsegolectric - Draisaitl
Enzomatic - Reinhart
Leninthebuff - Draisaitl
jackoc150 - Bennet
- Herzeleid

Ekblad

Honestly, the intrigue I have with Draisaitl would keep me from being too angry if we picked him. TM has made some unexpected picks in the past.
- LetsGoBuffalo75

TM keeps raving about him. I know he likes his size. Don't know if that's a smokescreen.