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00:00Chris Peters back on the Western Hotline.
00:02Chris, we'll see how far we can go here.
00:04I want to go right into the prospects, if that's okay with you.
00:08Absolutely.
00:09Are you coming to the draft, by the way?
00:10No, no.
00:12Yeah, I'm in Chicago right now.
00:13We're doing a live draft show with the Athletics.
00:16Oh, funny.
00:17Yeah, yeah.
00:19Who does not have a first-round pick now, which is funny.
00:22Or at least they don't have the fourth pick.
00:24Well, yeah, we're not doing it for the Blackhawks.
00:26Right, right.
00:27Right, so on a couple of the individual prospects,
00:30I've been staring at Ivor Stenberg for the last couple of days
00:34since the Sabres made this trade.
00:36Starting with him, one, how good a prospect is he,
00:39to the point where even maybe number one wasn't crazy for him?
00:43And two, is there any chance you think that he would fall
00:47because of what, San Jose, I know, needs defensemen,
00:50and Vancouver might be in a tricky spot
00:53because obviously the coach's son is a top-five pick.
00:57Yeah, yeah, very, very bizarre kind of circumstances.
01:00I think, you know, a lot of us felt,
01:02and I think the reason that Chicago made the trade
01:05was that Stenberg was probably going to be the pick for San Jose.
01:09And so that's at least what people are thinking.
01:12The Sharks telegraphed, you know, in terms of making that move,
01:15trading William Eklund, and then acquiring, you know,
01:19what they got in terms of, you know, the defensemen and everything else.
01:24So the assumption was that they would probably be picking Stenberg.
01:30But in terms of how good of a prospect he is, you know,
01:33I think there are definitely teams that have him ahead of Gavin McKenna
01:36on their list.
01:36There are definitely teams that feel like he's no worse
01:39than the number two prospect in this class.
01:41And the reason being is that he had one of the most productive seasons
01:44by an NHL draft eligible in the Swedish Hockey League.
01:47The only two guys that had more points than him in their draft season
01:50were the Sedin twins.
01:51So, you know, so there's that too.
01:53And also, you know, we've seen him at the World Championship.
01:55We've seen him at the World Juniors.
01:57He's been a top player.
01:58And so he is probably, you know, while Gavin McKenna
02:02is the more offensively gifted of the two players,
02:05Stenberg is the more complete between the two players.
02:07And yes, they're both wings and they're both sub-six-foot players.
02:10And so that does give teams a little, you know,
02:12how much do you really build around those guys?
02:14But Stenberg is an exceptional talent,
02:16and he's proven it at every step of the way.
02:18So I think he's a really, you know, a really impressive young player,
02:21a guy that would help anybody.
02:23And as far as what I think, you know,
02:25I kind of doubt that he'll be there at four
02:28because I don't think Chicago would have moved the pick
02:30if they were confident he would be there at four.
02:32Right.
02:33In terms of if that is the case and he's gone
02:36or the Sabres don't move up or anything,
02:38and it goes forward, forward, forward at the start,
02:41would you feel like, all right, you're the Sabres,
02:44Byram's gone, I know your top 3D are great,
02:47but would that be a position where you'd think
02:50you'd just take the best defenseman available?
02:52Yeah, I think so.
02:54I think so.
02:55And, like, you know, let's say it does go three forwards.
02:58You know, to me, Chase Reed is the number one defenseman in this class.
03:01He's a right shot.
03:02He's got size.
03:03He's going to Michigan State.
03:04He's probably going to need a year or maybe two at Michigan State.
03:07I think where you're at as the Sabres right now,
03:09you're not necessarily looking for, you know, immediate help.
03:13It would be nice to get,
03:14but I don't think you're going to get it in that range.
03:17And then, you know, you get the player that I think very well could be
03:20one of the top defensemen, you know, not just in this draft,
03:23but really has a chance to be a star guy at the NHL level in Chase Reed.
03:27And, you know, he's a guy that's had a very unique development path.
03:30He's kind of only on the, really,
03:31the front end of some of his, you know,
03:33most elite hockey joined the OHL halfway through last season
03:37and then came in and was outstanding this year.
03:40And one of the highest minutes, you know,
03:43in terms of usage played about more than anybody in the OHL this season.
03:47I think he's a tremendous athlete.
03:49And you say, okay, well, we've got, you know,
03:50Darlene, Power, the others, you know, Samuelson, all those guys.
03:54But this is another guy that you could really start building a juggernaut defense there
04:00potentially as soon as two seasons from now.
04:02And that's, I think that's a good place to be.
04:04There are other options.
04:05There are other good, really good defensemen.
04:07And I think if, you know, depending on what the Sabres are really looking for,
04:10there's a lot of different guys that you can talk about.
04:13But to me, Chase Reed is the guy.
04:15And if it goes three forwards, I just would,
04:17I would very quickly pick up Chase Reed.
04:19Yeah. Does he also fit maybe perfectly what the Sabres last year with their blue line,
04:25it was you guys jump up in the play up and down the ice.
04:28It's like, we trust your mobility to be involved.
04:31And I feel like that sounds like what Reed is.
04:36Is he more that than the next couple defensemen beyond him?
04:39Or are there other defensemen at four that would kind of fit that style of play for the Sabres?
04:44Yeah. You know, I think there's quite a bit of quality offensive defensemen guys that,
04:49you know, are quality two-way guys that have a really good offensive game,
04:52including Carson Carls and Dax and Rudolph and others.
04:56But, you know, I think for me, the most dynamic of the group is Reed.
05:00I think he does the best job of getting pucks through.
05:01He's got a tremendous shot.
05:03He's really just a great skater.
05:05Reed's the play really well in terms of the offense.
05:07You know, he played for Team USA at the World Juniors this year.
05:10And, you know, kind of coming in, we weren't sure exactly what he would end up being.
05:14Cole Hudson gets hurt, and he stepped into being their number one defenseman.
05:18And it was pretty seamless.
05:19And, you know, I just think that he's so, you know, the athletic toolkit that he has is so enticing
05:25that, you know, that's the thing where you're like, okay, well, he's got that plus the offense.
05:29You know, as he continues to round out his defensive game, continues to get stronger and better in that regard.
05:35I mean, he has a chance to be, you know, a top-pairing guy down the road here.
05:40So, you know, I think he's really an exceptional talent.
05:43What would you say is the next guy for you at that position, Carson Carls, as you mentioned?
05:49Yeah, Carson Carls, really, I mean, he's probably the most complete of the D guys at this point
05:56because his defense is really strong.
05:57He's a physical guy.
05:59You know, he's able to make a lot of plays as well, and he's a really good skater.
06:04So, I mean, he fits a lot of the different profiles just with a better defensive ability.
06:08I think the offensive upside for him is lower than it is for Reed.
06:12But at the same time, this is a guy that, you know, produced 70 points this year
06:15and showed that he can really score as well.
06:18So, you know, I think he's going to North Dakota.
06:21He's probably going to be there, my guess, is for a year and then into the NHL.
06:24So, he might have a slightly shorter timeline with him.
06:28But he also, you know, he checks a lot of boxes.
06:30And there are teams that definitely have Carls as their number one defenseman, too.
06:34Chris Peters on the Western Hotline, Flow Hockey.
06:37Lots of great content as the draft is approaching.
06:41And that fourth pick, how many, I mean, I'm sure the names we've talked about already,
06:47especially Reed, of course, would be this.
06:50How many names do you feel like are defendable for them to take at the fourth pick?
06:55There's quite a few, actually.
06:56I mean, I think that when we look at this draft, you've kind of got your top three,
07:01and the depending top three players.
07:03And that's actually typically Reed, Stenberg, and McKenna.
07:09And then after that, you know, it's like Malhotra and the next group.
07:12I think there's a lot of defensible names there, you know, including Albert Smith,
07:16who is, you know, probably the most NHL-ready player of anybody in this draft outside of maybe Stenberg.
07:22And he is, you know, he played pro hockey in Finland.
07:25He also played in Germany this year.
07:27He played at the Olympics.
07:28You know, he's a guy that has the size, the strength, you know, the physical maturity.
07:33He is definitely a guy that I would look at as an option,
07:37especially since his timeline for the NHL is pretty short.
07:40You could probably even get him into Rochester right away next year,
07:43maybe even into your NHL lineup for various stretches of the season,
07:47depending on if you have the availability.
07:49So that's a defensible one.
07:51You know, I look at other guys, you know, Dax and Rudolph, some teams have him high,
07:54you know, and he's the more offensive of anybody.
07:57His defending still needs a lot of work,
07:58but he's a guy that I think is defensible in that range as well.
08:03And then there are others where you say, okay, well, it might be a little bit of a reach,
08:06but still there's, you can make a case like a Wyatt Cullen,
08:09who has, you know, probably the most dynamic player outside of the next,
08:13outside of the forwards that we think will be gone.
08:15And then there's still the chance that maybe everybody's kind of telegraphing Malhotra to Vancouver
08:21and it doesn't happen that way.
08:22But if he's there, I mean, all of a sudden, okay, well, we've got some centers in the mix here,
08:26but here's a guy that's six foot two, really good two-way guy,
08:29can probably, you know, fill a lot of different holes and gaps.
08:33You know, that would also be a, you know, a really strong pick.
08:35So really the Sabres are kind of left with nothing but good options,
08:39because I do think that while I'm not enamored with the very top of this draft,
08:44I think that the guys that are in that, like, there's a lot of, like, guys that could go two,
08:48three in most years or four, you know, so you have a lot of good options available.
08:52So I think it's a really great place to be.
08:54It's certainly a position of strength, and there's always the option, too,
08:58where it's like, hey, if a team really is desperate, could you flip the fourth again?
09:02You know, like, that's the crazy thing is, is there something more immediate
09:05that you can potentially get out of that?
09:07Right.
09:07Doesn't Mel Hocher have to be the third pick?
09:10I mean, I guess that'll be what Vancouver's doing right now, right?
09:13Like, Manny Mel Hocher, they're going to want to know, like,
09:17you're going to be willing to coach this guy the same way that anybody else,
09:21because they know he's your son, but if you're bringing a young player
09:25into the lineup like that, you know, like, I just wonder what the Vancouver
09:30management would think of that, whether they would think of that as a positive
09:34or maybe they would be worried about the dynamic there.
09:37Yeah, I mean, you know, I think that that's something that they probably even
09:40considered before hiring Manny, because that was, I believe the Canucks have been
09:48in on Mel Hocher, you know, before they knew where they were picking in the draft,
09:52you know, in terms of their, what they would like out of the pick.
09:57And the fact that he is a center, the fact that he is a good two-way guy,
10:02you know, and I think there's reason to look at that.
10:06I think with Manny and Caleb together, like, it is a weird dynamic.
10:11It's not something we see very much in the NHL.
10:13I think the other thing, too, is you can't really know, like,
10:17the shelf life of an NHL coach is so short, you know, too, where it's like,
10:21you kind of have to prioritize the player over the coach.
10:23So if you really believe that Caleb Mel Hocher is going to be that top-level guy,
10:28then you just, you take him and that's what you do.
10:31You say, all right, that's our guy.
10:33He's going to be a long-term center for us.
10:35He's going to probably play longer for us than his dad coaches for us.
10:38That's going to have to be okay.
10:39It's an odd dynamic, but I think because of the familiarity of the Sedins
10:44that are now very heavily involved in this process with both the family,
10:49the Manny, you know, the kid as well, you know, that I think helps their cause.
10:53Chris Peters from Flow Hockey with us for just a couple more minutes.
10:58Undersized players are always fun to talk about as the draft approaches.
11:01What are your thoughts on Vigo Bjork?
11:04You know, I love Vigo Bjork, and I probably should have mentioned him
11:06as one of the guys that is totally defensible at number four.
11:10He is a 5'9 center, which is absolutely, you know,
11:14not what a lot of teams are looking for in a top-six center.
11:18However, he's incredibly competitive.
11:20He probably has the best hockey sense in the draft.
11:22He played professionally all season.
11:25You know, he is just the hockey sense on him just makes me really excited
11:30about what he can be as an NHL player, but he also has this incredible motor
11:34and compete level, and obviously we've seen that with Zach Benson, you know,
11:37and what he's done in his young career and how that competitiveness
11:41and that motor can really, you know, push a player forward.
11:44I think that Vigo has something similar.
11:46And I think you also look at the Carolina Hurricanes.
11:48You say, okay, well, they just want a Stanley Cup with Logan Stankoven
11:51as a real driver on their second line.
11:53You know, how do we, you know, can we do that?
11:56Because I think Vigo very much has that capability to be a Logan Stankoven-style player.
12:01I think the only question is, is his offense as strong as, you know,
12:05a player like Stankoven who could be a real scorer down the stretch?
12:08And I think that it is.
12:10It's just, you know, there's still a little bit more that needs to be seen
12:13in terms of that.
12:14But, I mean, I think, you know, he's one of my favorite players in the draft,
12:18and it's just you look at the size and you just look at the hockey sense
12:20and the compete, and you're just saying that that guy's going to play.
12:23Yeah, as you were laying that out, I mean, you mentioned him,
12:25but it sounds like there might just be another Zach Benson in this draft.
12:30Yeah, absolutely.
12:31I mean, very, very much.
12:33I mean, like, the biggest reason I was so high on Zach was because of that motor
12:36and that compete, and that's something that Vigo has in spades.
12:39All right.
12:40At the 20th pick, what's the other interesting names right now
12:45that you think are going around that area?
12:48Yeah, there's a lot.
12:49I mean, I think that the variance is so much where, you know,
12:52there could be a guy that slips a little bit further than you expect,
12:55and you say, oh, wow, there he is at 20.
12:57Like, that's a real possibility.
12:59You never really know.
13:00So some names to just kind of keep in mind to look at, Adam Novotny,
13:05good two-way winger, 6'1", you know, has a lot of physical strength,
13:09had 30 goals in the OHL this season, and, you know,
13:13I just love the way that he plays.
13:15I think that he can fit into any kind of spot.
13:19You know, if, say, the Sabres end up going forward,
13:22there could be that second-tier defenseman that's available.
13:25In the 20 range, guys like Tommy Blyle,
13:27who's probably one of the best skaters in the draft
13:29and, you know, a really talented offensive defenseman
13:32who had, you know, 80-plus points in the QMJHL this year.
13:36And he's also committed to Michigan State,
13:39so he's a really interesting guy on top of that.
13:42One player, you know, with the trade of Alex Tuck,
13:45Maddox Dagenais is a guy that I feel like has –
13:47he's not quite as good a skater as Alex Tuck was,
13:51but he's a 6'4 player with high skill level.
13:54Scores goals, you know, he's listed as a center,
13:57but he probably plays wing at the NHL level.
14:00And that's a guy where I'm looking at just that size-skill combo
14:03that really is enticing to me.
14:04So those are just a few of the names that I think are really reasonable
14:07to expect, you know, in that range.
14:10You know, there's the chance that some of them go on the teams
14:12or maybe a little bit later.
14:13But I think, you know, there's really good options.
14:16I think 20, you know, every first round starts kind of thinning out,
14:19but 20 is still a good spot to get some real value.
14:22Yeah.
14:22And we'll wrap with this.
14:24Chris, because I think Sabre fans and myself included, I mean,
14:28are expecting that they will at least try to trade one,
14:32if not even both, of those first-round picks, 20 especially.
14:35But there's a lot of smoke that even four is in discussions.
14:39How many players – because this is a loaded offseason.
14:43There's a lot of big names being talked about.
14:45Robertson, there's a report in the last couple minutes
14:47about what the price would be for him.
14:49And Matthew Nise and Larkin, Hellebuck.
14:52I mean, there's a lot of them.
14:53How many of the names that you see being out there do you feel like are worth
14:59flipping the fourth pick for in a trade package?
15:02Yeah.
15:03I mean, I think, like, really any of the guys you just mentioned,
15:07even –
15:08Even Hellebuck?
15:08Yeah, I think that – yeah, especially Hellebuck.
15:12Yeah.
15:12Like, I mean, that's the thing is, like, really, at this point with the Sabres,
15:17you're in win-now mode.
15:18You just had the season that you had.
15:21How much does this pick really matter to you in a couple of years,
15:24whereas you can get somebody – you know, you obviously want to have somebody
15:27with some term.
15:28You want to have somebody that's going to be able to be around for a little bit.
15:31But, you know, I do think that you can really be aggressive with that pick
15:37given, you know, the success that you've had recently.
15:40You know, either way, I think they have nothing but good options
15:43because I do think there's a lot of intrigue in this pick.
15:46The question is going to be, like, for teams like Winnipeg and others is, like,
15:50how much of a step back are you willing to take where you're going to take on futures
15:54versus, you know, maybe having to do something a little bit more?
15:58I think Hellebuck obviously is going to require a larger package
16:02than just a fourth overall just because you've got a Vezina Trophy winning goalie.
16:06But there's a lot of other things that you can do.
16:08So I think those Sabres will continue to be aggressive
16:11and look at all those options because they're in a real position of strength right now.
16:15Chris Peters on the Western Hotline, at Chris M. Peters, Flow Hockey,
16:19a must-follow as we approach the draft.
16:21Thanks, Chris, for efforting to come on with us.
16:23We were really glad we could get you in here.
16:26Yeah, so glad to do it.
16:27Sorry about the phone issues, but appreciate the conversation.
16:30Yeah, thanks, Chris.
16:32Chris Peters, and, yeah, I was very glad we could get that in.
16:38And he had a little bit of a different attitude on Hellebuck
16:42than I've even felt from others and myself.
16:45Like, I think I even said it yesterday.
16:48I'd like to trade the fourth pick for a Jason Robertson or even a Matthew Nyes.
16:53But even I think I'd have to draw the line in Hellebuck before I'd trade the fourth pick.
16:58And Chris is like, no, Hellebuck would be the guy I would do it for.
17:02So I respect that.
17:04I mean, he would make the Sabres.
17:07I want to say they're not right now.
17:09I think he would make them an instant Stanley Cup contender.
17:13I don't know if I want to say that about them after losing Tuck and Byram.
17:17I might be willing to say it tomorrow when they do whatever they do.
17:23I'd want to put it in two ways.
17:25Because, you know, the offseason's incomplete and everybody knows that.
17:27Right now, I wouldn't want to say they're a Stanley Cup contender.
17:30My guess is by the time they play a hockey game,
17:32we're going to think they're a Stanley Cup contender.
17:34There.
17:34There.
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