Sabres find talent in roundabout way
First-round draft picks have wavered, but some late selections have thrived
NHL scouts and executives will gather in Montreal this weekend for the 2009 entry draft, intent on finding the future of their franchises.
The Buffalo Sabres and General Manager Darcy Regier are good at doing so ... though not necessarily in the first round.
The NHL draft is among the trickiest in pro sports, joining the Major League Baseball selection process, mainly because the 18-year-olds being chosen aren't ready to compete with the men in the league. NFL and NBA draftees, by comparison, are able to play immediately.
For the Sabres, the crapshoot begins right from the start. They have a number of first- round busts under Regier's watch.
From 1997 to 2006 (leaving out the last two drafts for natural maturation), three of the Sabres' 11 first-round picks haven't played in the NHL, while another played just 10 games.
Artem Kruikov (15th overall in 1999), Marek Zagrapan (13th in 2005) and Dennis Persson (24th in 2006) have yet to make "The Show." Barrett Heisten (20th in 1999) played 10 games for the New York Rangers in 2001-02.
Of the 291 first-round picks in the 10-year span, only 33 failed to make the NHL. The Sabres' three no-shows account for 9 percent of those failures, tied for most in the league. Edmonton, New Jersey, Phoenix and the New York Rangers also whiffed three times. But the Sabres are able to unearth contributors in the ensuing rounds. In fact, they do it at a better rate than the last six Stanley Cup champions.
The Sabres have made 107 picks under Regier, and 24 have become NHL contributors. (A contributor is someone who has played in 140 games or, in the case of Detroit rookie Justin Abdelkader, made a significant impact on his team.) That works out to a 22.4 percent success rate for Buffalo.
Among the Cup winners, only Pittsburgh and Anaheim boast success rates over 20 percent during the past 12 drafts. The Penguins have hit on 23 of their 109 picks (21.1 percent), while the Ducks were successful on 19 of 92 (20.7 percent).
Carolina is next at 16.7 percent (15 of 90), followed by Tampa Bay's 12.6 percent (15 of 119), New Jersey's 12.3 percent (13 of 106) and Detroit's 12.1 percent (13 of 107).
The Sabres will have six chances this weekend to add to their pool of potential contributors. They select 13th overall in the first round Friday night in Bell Centre, then have five picks Saturday. They do not have a second-round selection (it was traded to San Jose in last summer's Craig Rivet deal) and pick once each in Rounds Three through Seven.
The 13th spot generally yields a solid player, though the Sabres were one of two teams to buck that trend. Zagrapan and Edmonton's Michael Henrich (1998) are the only two players from 1997 to 2006 who have failed to make the NHL after being picked 13th. NHLers selected 13th in the span include the Oilers' Ales Hemsky, Washington's Alexander Semin, Los Angeles' Dustin Brown and the Sabres' Drew Stafford.
. . .
The Sabres and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery are teaming to host a draft party Friday at the Elmwood Avenue museum. The free event, which also features free parking at Buffalo State College, will run from 3 to 10 p.m. The draft will be broadcast beginning at 7 p.m.
Sabres players will be in attendance to sign autographs, and the Sabres Store will conduct a sidewalk sale. Street hockey games will be set up for children in the gallery's front parking lot; players must bring their own sticks, and those 12 and under need to wear a helmet.
There also will be inflatable games and hockey-related crafts, along with an appearance by Sabretooth.
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