- 28 minutes ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Right, right.
00:00If I'm Paul, I might never leave.
00:02I don't know.
00:02It's over, though, at least now.
00:04You have some incentive to leave.
00:07But, man, I bet it felt pretty good in there today, Paul.
00:10Yeah, it did.
00:11And there were a lot of people in there.
00:12They had a really nice crowd for it.
00:15So it was like what the All-Star game used to look like.
00:19It was basically just road hockey.
00:21But, yeah, I think it wound up like 18-15 or something like that.
00:25But, yeah, they got to see a show.
00:28And that kind of gives the prospects a chance to show what they can do
00:33in that type of a situation where their talent maybe can come out a little bit.
00:38But you can't really get too much out of it because, at the end of the day,
00:42it's not really a hockey game.
00:43Right, yeah.
00:44I wanted to ask, it feels a little bit like overreacting to minicamp highlights
00:48in football, except it's with younger guys who aren't even really league-ready yet.
00:54But that said, Paul, you know, you're there.
00:58You're making observations as you're watching.
01:01Like what did stand out to you?
01:04Again, grain of salt implied in anything you have to say here about.
01:07But, you know, I'm curious about what Mertka looks like,
01:10how close, how much closer he might be to being NHL-ready after watching him for a few days
01:16and anyone else that requires or would, you know, be deemed, you know, in the same group.
01:24Well, we've talked a lot about Adam Kleber, you know,
01:27almost being right there with Mertka as far as development and that kind of thing.
01:31And the thing with Kleber is they really wanted him to start working on his offense.
01:36Well, he worked on his breakaways, I can tell you that.
01:39He had three breakaways and wound up with a hat trick and put, like, gorgeous moves on.
01:44It was like, wow, where did you pull that out of?
01:48I mean, you know, forehand, backhand, roof, you know,
01:52and it was just like some really nice moves that he made.
01:57And, you know, he did a good job killing plays, too.
01:59I mean, he was noticeable at other ends of the rink, too, you know, in a three-on-three format.
02:03He skates pretty well, especially for a big man.
02:06So, he's not behind the times when it comes to skating or anything like that.
02:12And so, you know, that was, you know, a good –
02:16and even though he didn't get a goal in the 30-some-odd goals that were scored in this thing,
02:23their number one pick, Ilya Morozov, I liked him a lot.
02:26I was sitting with Dan Dunleavy, and I kept commenting to him.
02:29I said, look at how he – like, he tracks the puck, like he causes turnovers.
02:34He uses his size and strength to, like, muscle the guy off, take the puck, and go the other way.
02:41Numerous times I saw him do that.
02:43And he almost seemed like he was – made it his mission to go out and play a hockey game
02:49and not a skills competition.
02:52And, you know, to show that, you know, hey, I'm not going to get scored on when I'm out here.
02:56I'm going to cause some turnovers when I'm out here.
02:58I'm going to show that I can use my size and strength to my advantage.
03:03And I liked him a lot.
03:04I want to get back to Kleber for a moment here because I don't know that that's a name.
03:09You know, I think certainly a certain level of Sabres fan is very tuned in to who these guys are
03:15and where they came from and all that.
03:17It's a level above me.
03:18Okay.
03:19Kleber is a second-round pick.
03:21This is not like some fly-by-night dark horse guy.
03:23He's been playing at Minnesota Duluth for a couple of seasons, 6'6",
03:28and was named the conference's defensive defenseman of the year,
03:32thus the comment about working on his offense.
03:35Paul, so this is a big body to go – another right-handed shot to go along with Mertka,
03:40who's been worried about right-handed shots with so many lefties around.
03:44There are guys – they're not here yet, obviously, but, you know, they're getting closer.
03:48But this is a guy that I think is projected to be an NHL defenseman.
03:52Like, there's not much question about that at this point, right, Kleber?
03:55Well, right now I'd have them both ranked above the guy they drafted.
03:59I mean, they are studs, and they're different between Mertka and Kleber.
04:05Kleber's filled out.
04:06I mean, he's muscular, he's big, he's strong.
04:10Mertka still looks like a skinny young kid.
04:13I mean, they're the same height, but, you know, he still looks like a skinny young kid,
04:17and he'll fill out.
04:18I mean, he's only 19, so I'm not worried about him at all.
04:22But, you know, they look quite a bit different when you look at them out there.
04:26And their games are quite a bit different.
04:29You know, Mertka does have a lot of offensive flair to his game.
04:33He can kill plays where you mentioned, you know,
04:37Kleber has already been named defensive defenseman of the year in his league.
04:42He's the first sophomore ever to be named that.
04:45No sophomore or freshman has ever won that award.
04:48So he was the first one to do that.
04:50So that shows you maybe where he is at in his growth.
04:53And that's a good program that he's in, Minnesota Duluth.
04:57So he's going to go back to school for one more year.
05:00He felt, especially playing at Duluth, it was a place where he could still grow.
05:06And then it sounds like he'll probably come out after that.
05:08But if those two stay in the organization, it'll be very interesting to see who winds up in the top
05:15four
05:16in the Buffalo defense earlier, Mertka or Kleber.
05:19Because they are both, you know, right now studs.
05:23Now they still have to develop.
05:25But they are both ticketed for good things in the National Hockey League.
05:29Kleber off to school.
05:31So, too, Dax and Rudolph.
05:32He'll be a freshman only?
05:34Yeah, at Denver.
05:35Did you see anything?
05:37You said you'd put him behind the two guys you're talking about.
05:39Yeah, just I did.
05:43I mean, he had a nice shootout goal.
05:45Same thing.
05:45He went in and deked the goalie out of his shorts and made a nice play for a shootout goal.
05:51He put a move on a defenseman, like right off the bat, right off the puck.
05:55He came in and made whoever the defenseman was look absolutely silly and got in on goal.
06:01He wasn't able to score on that play.
06:04You know, I was watching a little bit.
06:07You talk about, well, how were they as a defenseman?
06:11Well, this really was more of a three-on-three.
06:15It was like pond hockey.
06:16It was like, you know, everybody picked sides in the backyard and went out and played.
06:22That's basically what this turned into.
06:24So, it's hard for me to say, well, this guy really played great defense.
06:29Right.
06:29You know, he really killed plays out there.
06:32It's like, yeah, he also was up at the other blue line yelling for the puck, too.
06:36And, you know, so it makes it a little bit tough.
06:40But you can see how the fluidness he skates with.
06:44You know, the strides are just very easy for him.
06:46He's got speed.
06:47He can get up ice.
06:49You know, it wasn't surprising to me that he did that on the shootout because he is an offensive defenseman.
06:56But one of the reasons he was drafted is he also was good defensively, you know, at killing plays, too.
07:03So, they felt he was good at both ends of the ice.
07:05It's just this wasn't a format to actually see that.
07:08Right.
07:09Before we move off of the defenseman and maybe talk about a couple of the forwards that may have caught
07:13your eye or that I just have questions about,
07:16one other defenseman that I feel like sort of gets lost in the shuffle,
07:19and I mostly say that because he was someone that I didn't really keep track of last year when he
07:26went back to juniors,
07:27but that's a third-round pick from last year.
07:30Another big guy, Betkowski, who, to me, was he not, like, voted last year, like, the best hitter in the
07:36OHL or something when they drafted him?
07:38I just remember hearing raves about his physicality.
07:42What sort of prospect is he, Paul?
07:44He's listed at 6'5", 221.
07:47He's a beast.
07:48I mean, I think he's grown since they measured him.
07:52Yeah.
07:526'5", you should see him out there.
07:55No, he's a very good prospect, you know, that they drafted.
07:59They were very high on him when they drafted him.
08:01He had a good year, apparently, last year.
08:05And another one, you know, that really has people talking is Luke Osborne, who was a fourth-round pick at
08:14Wisconsin.
08:15And I kept hearing all about him during the regular season last year.
08:19Everybody was raving about him, how he really, you know, has improved his game
08:25and now is really, you wouldn't think, well, that's a fourth-round guy.
08:30You might be thinking that's a first-round guy or something like that.
08:33So there's a guy that really, since he's been drafted a couple of years ago, has improved his stock.
08:40And another guy, you know, that maybe is going to get on their radar.
08:44Well, we know Paul Hamilton on the Western Hotline.
08:46We're putting the wraps on development camp.
08:49We'll get to yesterday's action and how Kekalainen sounded, because we talked to Paul before we heard from Kekalainen yesterday.
08:57So we're going to get to that.
08:58But we know the Sabres have recently, you know, graduated guys that were like the young up-and-coming forwards
09:05in Rochester.
09:07Roseanne's been traded, Helen Hughes, Ausland, Kulik's been here now already, Wahlberg's sent away in a trade.
09:17Forward-wise, like, who's the focus on here?
09:20I mean, you mentioned Morozov already, draft pick from this year.
09:23But I'm thinking maybe about Jake Richard, or is it Richard?
09:28I'm sorry.
09:28No, it's Richard.
09:29Richard, okay.
09:30Who I think was kind of a darling at this thing last year, if I remember correctly.
09:34Every year he's been here, he has been.
09:36It's like, who is this guy?
09:38And then he goes and only scores 10 goals at UConn.
09:40But, yeah, he's going to be one of the forwards down in Rochester that, you know, they're going to be
09:45looking.
09:45It is his first year in hockey.
09:48They re-signed Trevor Kuntar, a guy from this area, as you well know.
09:53And, you know, he got a two-year deal, so he's going to be one of the forwards down there.
09:59That's the thing.
10:00They just – actually, Rochester today had a signing, Matthew Pekka, for an AHL signing at forward.
10:07And they've got the guys like Connor Sherry and Jason Polin, you know, the guys that they brought in that
10:14are there to kind of help the young Americs, so to speak.
10:21So, you know, that's another thing that they're – you know, they've got, like, AHL veterans, the guy they just
10:26signed today.
10:27McDonough, right.
10:28A.D. McDonough, you know, same thing.
10:30So, you know, a lot of – plus, Buffalo has won too many guys.
10:34So, I don't know if there's not an injury, who winds up going, you know, because they actually have, as
10:42I wrote a depth chart, five full lines.
10:45So, I don't know who winds up down in the minors.
10:48Is it Kozak?
10:49You know, do they wave Danforth or Carrick or, you know, what do they do?
10:54So, you know, there's an extra guy that might wind up in Rochester from that group.
10:58And I imagine still there's going to be some signings, you know, and as I mentioned, you know, before free
11:05agency started, I know people get, oh, wow, they signed Jason Polin.
11:10Wow.
11:11Right, yeah.
11:11They're going to win the Stanley Cup.
11:13Now, well, wait a minute, guys.
11:14They do have to sign guys for Rochester.
11:16That's part of their job is they do have to sign some guys for Rochester who you can also call
11:22up in an injury type of a situation.
11:24So, let's not get too crazy here.
11:26Or, you know, and they've done that.
11:29You know, they – and who – I didn't – free agency's gone the way I thought it would.
11:34I mean, I didn't think they were going to – I didn't think they should or would go in there
11:38and start overpaying for the people that were actually out there.
11:41I mean, if they're going to get better, it's going to have to be by trade.
11:44I've never felt that you build a team through free agency, and I definitely feel it now, now that free
11:50agency isn't even what it used to be.
11:52And there were a lot of people yesterday who got overpaid.
11:55Great.
11:56Their teams are going to have to worry about it.
11:58But I didn't sit there and go, boy, Buffalo really could have used that guy, you know.
12:02Right, same.
12:03Yeah, I think I told you yesterday, like, so far that was, you know, at the time it was three
12:07and a half hours in the free agency.
12:09I was like, there's not a single move that's happened.
12:12And probably were numerous that I was like, thank God we didn't do that.
12:16Because there was – we knew for months leading up to it that the class was going to be really,
12:22you know, nothing that appealing.
12:25So, you know, I'm not bothered in the least that the Sabres didn't dip in there.
12:31And, frankly, I'm still not eager for them to do so, even though prices maybe go down.
12:37Trade-wise, you know, I just wonder how much action there's going to be.
12:41Kekalainen, to my ears yesterday, Paul, sounded like he was ready to go to the cottage.
12:46Like, you just said, like, give me out of here.
12:48I'm gone fishing.
12:49I wondered if Paul got a chance to look over there today and see if it was boarded up.
12:53Right.
12:54I didn't see the duck.
12:56It was supposed to be a – Jeremy told me to look for the duck.
12:58They're inflated.
12:59The duck is being inflated, Paul.
13:00Okay, I didn't see a duck.
13:02The giant duck, the 10-story duck.
13:04Jeremy had me all fired up to see some large duck rolling around down there, but I didn't see him.
13:09That's a symbol?
13:10Is that, like, the end of –
13:12I don't know.
13:13The giant inflatable duck goes on tour, and it's been here before, but it will be at Canale side.
13:18Yeah, there's a –
13:19People all go running down to see him, whatever.
13:21Right.
13:21That's fine.
13:22But, yeah.
13:23I thought you were saying that that's like the – if you see the duck in the window, don't come
13:28calling.
13:28Like a red flag at Bob Woodward's patio that means he wants – Deep Throat wants to talk to him,
13:34or some sort of, like, inside knowledge symbol, but no, apparently it's just the giant duck at the –
13:39And, you know, they've got about 8.7 million – just under 8.7 million available.
13:46And Krebs isn't going to – I mean, he might eat up 3 million or so of that.
13:52If they want – I don't know how to put this.
13:55If they want to sign a guy like Pat Kane, he wants to come here for 3 million to see
13:59if he can help your power play.
14:00I mean, your power play is on the way to nothing.
14:03Lindy Ruff's power plays, if you look back in Dallas and in New Jersey, with the exception of one year
14:08when they were fourth,
14:09I believe it was with Dallas, were awful.
14:13Awful.
14:14And what I can't get people to understand, everybody wants to blame Seth Appert.
14:18Seth Appert coaches Lindy Ruff's power play.
14:20You know, Lindy Ruff, that's what they do over the summer.
14:23They sit down as coaching staff.
14:24They talk about everything, including power play and penalty kill.
14:29Lindy Ruff listens to recommendations, and then he decides what they're going to do on the power play,
14:34and then Seth Appert coaches it.
14:37And Lindy Ruff just has not had good power play since he left Buffalo, with the exception of that one
14:43year.
14:44So, if they want – I wouldn't criticize them if they went out and got Kane and paid him 3
14:51million for a year
14:52and let him go out there and see if he can help the power play at all.
14:56Okay, knock yourselves out.
14:57Go for it.
14:58I mean, I don't have any desire to see that happen, and I don't have any – well, if they
15:04did it, all right, fine.
15:05Go for it.
15:06See what happens.
15:07Because, you know, that's the kind of move that they have left without getting rid of somebody.
15:11You know, they could fit him in if he makes around the money he made last year, even after they
15:16signed Krebs.
15:18Paul, so Devin Levi traded yesterday, and if you don't mind my asking,
15:23who is now next on the Sabre goalie development chart?
15:27I know Marty Baran's son, Jacob, was a part of festivities this week.
15:32He plays at West Point.
15:34He's not in the organization, though.
15:35That was just a camp invite, right?
15:37Right.
15:37Just to mention his name.
15:39But with Levi gone, if the Sabres were to, you know, who's next in line, I guess, maybe?
15:47Well, in 2022, they drafted Topias Leninen from Finland.
15:52He was up and down.
15:55He and Ratzlaff, Scott Ratzlaff, who was a fifth-round pick in 2023, went back and forth.
16:00One went to East Coast League.
16:03The other was in the AHL.
16:04Then they'd switch.
16:06But they felt when they drafted Leninen, it was 41st overall.
16:10He was the first goaltender, and they thought they had to take him then because he would be gone.
16:17They felt he was the best goalie in the draft.
16:20So, you know, his numbers I don't think are going to knock you out from last year,
16:25but it was his first, you know, he only got 15 games and seven with Jacksonville and eight with Rochester.
16:33His goals against was 3-2-4 and 3-4-8.
16:37His save percentage was 8-80, 8-55.
16:39So, that's his first year.
16:40He's 22 years old, over 23 in January.
16:43So, you know, he's going to be around.
16:45And, you know, Ratzlaff, too, is going to be around.
16:48Now, I would imagine they're going to sign a veteran goaltender to be with those kids.
16:53I don't think they're just going to hand it over.
16:55Ratzlaff is 21.
16:58And his numbers, as I look, in Jacksonville were pretty good.
17:02He had a 9-13 save percentage.
17:04In Rochester, he had an 8-78 save percentage.
17:06He played more.
17:08He played 13 games in the AHL and 15 in Jacksonville.
17:12So, you know, he will, you know, so those two will be involved.
17:16And then, as I said, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a veteran that they, you know, pull in there.
17:23To be with those two kids.
17:25How, I don't know, Paul, this is a tough question to ask you.
17:28Like, as you're sitting here today, like, how much on watch are you going to be over the holiday weekend
17:35and even into early next week wondering if, not just with the Sabres, but, of course, you know,
17:41that's when your phone really buzzes, that maybe trade activity will pick back up
17:47as we've gotten through free agency.
17:49Because, as Mike kept pointing out while I was, you know, to some degree throwing a fit here yesterday
17:56about the inaction and how Kekalainen sounded, none of the big names got moved.
18:04You know, no Larkin trade, no Jason Robertson trade, no Hellebuck trade.
18:08I don't know who, Matthew Nyes.
18:10Wierenski in Columbus kissed and made up.
18:12Yeah, he said, like, I'm ready to stay, I guess.
18:15I don't know what's going on there.
18:17Do you think that all just gets shelved?
18:19Or, like, is there another round of action that might sort of bubble up here
18:24as we get into the holiday weekend?
18:26Well, I can tell you when the Sabres traded for Jeff Skinner, that was on August 2nd.
18:31Right.
18:32So, that was in August.
18:33So, I think I may have mentioned this to you yesterday.
18:36If I was going to overpay for anything, whether it's free agency or a trade,
18:40it would be for Dylan Larkin.
18:42Yeah.
18:42That would be the one.
18:43If I had to throw an extra prospect in there, I think I would.
18:47Because I think he would be, he would really,
18:51somebody like him in the lineup would really vault them back up again.
18:55And if it's going to cost you Mirka and maybe Ausland or Hellenus,
19:01maybe you've got to do it, you know,
19:03if he's willing to waive his no trade to come here.
19:06And you still have a lot of prospects around, and I know you hate to do it,
19:10but to be able to put that into your lineup when you are an up-and-coming team,
19:16you were one overtime goal away from going to the conference finals,
19:21and now you've lost your, some people would say, was your best forward.
19:26I think you've got to do it.
19:28That would be the guy I would overpay for if I had to.
19:31Paul, with that in mind, like we were, you know, eventually we got around to,
19:34I get in the habit of, you know, like you mentioned,
19:38you put the lines together and you've got five full lines of forwards, right?
19:42I didn't quite get that far, but, you know, Mike and I on the air,
19:46we're talking it through, like, okay, I'm going to put all the centers down here.
19:50And so I put, you know, Kulik, Norris, McLeod, and Carrick.
19:55And then we started filling in the wingers, and we had mentioned Ausland's name,
19:58but then by the time we got done with the exercise, I didn't have a spot for him.
20:02Which, where I ended up was, that's why you make a trade involving a couple of these guys
20:09for someone that's a proven player, because I don't even know if I've got room for everybody.
20:14You know, I don't know what they have in mind for Sam Carrick,
20:17but to me, that's a fourth-line center.
20:19You re-sign Krebs and Malin signs here, there's my fourth line.
20:23McLeod played almost all year with Zucker and Quinn, there's my third line.
20:27I want Doan on an offensive, you know, line, so he's with Norris,
20:33and that's where I put Helen Use, and then Benson, Thompson, and Kulik up top.
20:39Like, I don't have room for everyone, I don't think.
20:42So, that's, maybe they'll free that up somehow, but right now there's a lot of bodies.
20:48That's the thing, I sit here and look at these lines, and I got Ausland with Krebs and Malinstein,
20:52and I go, no.
20:53Right.
20:54That's not where I want to put him.
20:56I ideally would like to put him in McLeod's slot,
20:59because I think McLeod was not anywhere near as good last year as he was the year before.
21:03And maybe that's what you do.
21:05Maybe because McLeod was down with Malinstein near the end of the playoffs,
21:09because Lindy Ruff just got tired of it.
21:12So, maybe that's what you wind up doing there.
21:15And I have Carrick centering my fifth line with Dan Forth and Kozak.
21:19So, you know, it's going to be a battle for jobs.
21:26Injuries, I'm sure, will happen in training camp, so we'll see where that all goes.
21:30But, yeah, I sit here and look where I have Ausland in my lineup,
21:33and I don't like where I have him.
21:34So, you know, it's – but actually everything else you just said would be the same that I have.
21:43You know, real quick on Dan Forth, is there any question about him continuing his NHL career?
21:48Has that come up at all since the season ended?
21:50I can't – because, I mean, he just missed the whole year.
21:53And I just – I wonder what his – are they expecting him back for camp?
21:56I think so.
21:58I mean, a broken kneecap turned into knee surgery also, so he had to have both dealt with.
22:02Right.
22:02This is the second year of a two-year deal.
22:04He's getting paid $1.8 million.
22:06He's somebody that Lindy Ruff really wanted.
22:09Lindy Ruff wanted him and Timmons quite a bit.
22:11Yeah.
22:11And then Adams went out and got him.
22:14So, you know, yeah, he – I know – as far as I know, he was expected to come back.
22:19He was doing on-ice things near the end of the last season.
22:23Yeah.
22:23But he wasn't – he never made practice.
22:25Right.
22:25I mean, he never made it up to practice, but he was at least back on the ice doing some
22:30things.
22:31So, yeah, it sounds like, you know, he and Kulik – I mean, Kulik, he actually had the – it
22:39removed the blood clot.
22:42So, it's gone.
22:43It's not in his body anymore.
22:45So, he had that surgery to have it removed.
22:47So, he should be ready to go full speed when they get back here.
22:51Paul, thank you.
22:52Enjoy your holiday weekend.
Comments