Major sports network ranks Buffalo Sabres prospect pool #1

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman recently ranked the Buffalo Sabres pipeline at #1. Here is what he had to say regarding the talented pool. 

While Pronman did not outright say this deep pool that Buffalo Sabres general managers Jason Botterill and Kevyn Adams constructed will make the playoffs, he sounded highly optimistic. He mentioned at least half the 2022 draft picks as key additions, along with Peyton Krebs, and he further mentioned the likes of Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens as the top players selected since 2018.

When I conducted my Atlantic Division prospect pool rankings, I placed the Sabres second only to the Detroit Red Rings, believing they had more top end talent. But with Pronman placing Dahlin and Cozens on his list because of his rankings criteria, the Sabres would outlast the Red Wings in this case, whom Pronman ranked #2.

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranks the Buffalo Sabres prospect pipeline as the NHL’s best, but his rankings within the pipeline has some flaws.

After Dahlin and Cozens, Pronman listed Owen Power, the first player in the organization most still consider a prospect. Power, rated between average to above average in skating, competitiveness, puck skills, and hockey IQ, classifies as a potential All-Star, just as Pronman projected Cozens.

One aspect that jumped out at me was that he ranked J.J. Peterka seventh, behind the three aforementioned players, plus Jack Quinn, Peyton Krebs, and Matthew Savoie. While I agreed with Pronman in the fact that Peterka could mold into a top-line player, he has, at this point, shown more than Savoie and, playoffs included, performed right on par with Quinn.

He also ranked defenseman Mattias Samuelsson way too low, sitting at #12. As if the stay-at-home defenseman did not show enough last season, he tiered the 32nd overall pick as Projected to Play NHL Games. Meanwhile, Samuelsson worked his way onto the top pairing last season and projects to pair with Dahlin this year.

No, Samuelsson does not have a great offensive skill-set, but he proved he can play and perform last season. Even more head-scratching is this statement:

“He’s a sure-fire career NHLer to me on a third pair, and if the offense clicks enough he’ll be top four.” – Corey Pronman via The Athletic.

Problem is, Samuelsson is already in the top four and he was playing there even when the offense wasn’t clicking. So I’m kind of confused regarding this ranking and statement.

Given Pronman’s criteria, I agreed with most of his rankings and I was elated to see he ranked the Buffalo Sabres #1 as far as pipelines go. But the mid-tier Peterka ranking was rather confusing and I seriously think he should have checked last season’s lineups before deciding to rank Samuelsson so low.

Dahlin is the clear-cut #1 player here, though I wouldn’t necessarily call him or Cozens, #2, a prospect. Power and Quinn are also accurately ranked here, with Krebs coming in at #5. Each, plus Peterka will find time in the NHL this season.

Article Source: Buffalo Sabres rank No. 1 in NHL Pipeline Rankings for 2022 by Corey Pronman