Sabres Take Kassian in First Round
Paul Hamilton & Dan Cave Reporting
Montreal, QC (WGR 550) -- One knock against the Sabres following the 2008-09 season is that they were simply not tough enough. On Friday, Buffalo's brass took a hopeful step toward fixing that, with the selection of right winger Zack Kassian at the NHL Entry Draft. Kassian, coming out of Peterborough of the OHL, stands 6' 3 and 210 pounds and has drawn comparisons to Todd Bertuzzi and Milan Lucic in terms of playing style. Darcy Regier wouldn't discuss that saying, "I stay away from those comparisons, I think it puts tremendous pressure on the kid and it isn't fair to him." Regier added, "He's a player we felt strongly about. You always talk about taking the best player, but it's tough to ignore when the needs match up with what you feel is the best player." This is probably the first time I had the Sabres picked nailed. There was no doubt in my mind they'd take Kassian. It's exactly what the organization doesn't have.
As far as Kassian stepping in the October Regier said, "That's too much to ask. He'll come to the conditioning camp, he'll come to training camp and with his size, he'll get a lot of attention, but as far as him playing, it's a reach."
Kassian is physical -- he left number one overall pick John Tavares with a shoulder injury following a powerful hit during a prospects game -- and also has a bit of a scoring touch. The 18-year-old forward scored 24 goals and added 39 assists, last season for the Petes. As far as Kassian he said, "I had no idea Buffalo would take me. It's great to be picked here,
it's a great organization and I've heard nothing but good things." Kassian knows Mike Weber and Pat Kaleta.
According to NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards: "Kassian is one of the toughest guys in the OHL and probably the entire draft. Last season as an under-ager there were overage guys in the league who would not take him on. He has not fought much this season (because) he has not had to. He is at his best when he is playing physical and tough along the boards. He protects the puck very well and fights through checks. He has very good play-making and puck-handling abilities."
Buffalo's next pick is in the third round, 66th overall. Darcy Regier had expressed interest on Friday about pulling off a trade to move into the second round, however a deal never materialized.
Regier said they had four offers for the 13th overall pick. They would've moved down in the first round to get a late second to third round pick. Regier said, "We really had identified Kassian as the player we felt would be a real good fit for us."
Regier said he's been asked about some players already in the Sabres organization since being in Montreal, but he wasn't interested. I asked him if he'd be interested in moving a couple of guys off the roster and Regier said, "We would. we have a lot of good pieces." My speculation is he's looking to move Jochen Hecht and Henrik Tallinder.
1.) NY Islanders -- John Tavares, C, OHL
2.) Tampa Bay -- Victor Hedman, D, Elitserien
3.) Colorado -- Matt Duchene, C, OHL
4.) Atlanta -- Evander Kane, C, WHL
5.) Los Angeles -- Brayden Schenn, C, WHL
6.) Phoenix -- Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Allsvenskan
7.) Toronto -- Nazem Kadri, C, OHL
8.) Dallas -- Scott Glennie, RW, WHL
9.) Ottawa -- Jared Cowen, D, WHL
10.) Edmonton -- Magnus Svensson Pääjärvi, LW, Elitserien
11.) Nashville -- Ryan Ellis, D, OHL
12.) NY Islanders (from Minnesota) -- Calvin de Haan, D, OHL
13.) Buffalo -- Zack Kassian, RW, OHL
14.) Florida -- Dmitri Kulikov, D, QMJHL
15.) Anaheim -- Peter Holland, C, OHL
16.) Minnesota (from NY Islanders) -- Nick Leddy, D, Eden Prairie High School
17.) St. Louis -- David Rundblad, D, Elitserien
18.) Montreal -- Louis Leblanc, C, USHL
19.) NY Rangers -- Chris Kreider, C, Andover
20.) New Jersey (from Calgary) -- Jacob Josefson, C, Djurgarden
21.) Columbus (from Anaheim) -- John Moore, D, Chicago
22.) Vancouver -- Jordan Schroeder, C, Univ of Minn.
23.) Calgary (from New Jersey) -- Tim Erixxon, D, Skelleftea
24.) Washington -- Marcus Johansson, C, Farjestad
25.) Boston -- Jordan Caron, RW, Rimouski
26.) Anaheim (from Columbus, from NY Islanders) -- Kyle Palmieri, F, US under 18
27.) Carolina -- Philippe Paradis, C, Shawinigan
28.) Chicago -- Dylan Olsen, D, Camrose
29.) Tampa Bay (from Detroit) -- Carter Ashton, RW, Lethbridge
30.) Pittsburgh -- Simon Despres, D, Saint John
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