At times like this, you have to chuckle to yourself and think of The Process. How many times did we hear Sean McDermott talk about it? Far more than we wanted to, but he just wasn't deviating from it and nothing you or I or anyone else would say was going to change his mind.
Which brings us to Kevyn Adams.
Now, building a hockey team is far different from building a football team. The NFL allows for instant transformation in the draft that doesn't exist when you're picking 18-year-old hockey players, many from far-off lands.
The Sabres' general manager has articulated his "Process" ad nauseum and did it again Wednesday in LECOM Harborcenter: He's identifying a core for his team and letting that group develop and grow together. You're not blocking their ice time or their development path with big-ticket items, at least not now.
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And safe to say there was lots of happiness throughout the organization as development camp opened Wednesday with seven first-round picks and gobs of other talent on the ice.
Adams got what he needed Wednesday too, getting Victor Olofsson re-signed to a team-friendly two-year deal and then heading into free agency for a goalie in Eric Comrie, a physical right-shot defensman in Ilya Lyubushkin plus some reinforcements on defense for Rochester.
Vinnie Hinostroza and Malcom Subban are back too, the latter to pair with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the Rochester net.
Like all of those moves. Comrie rates as a risk but he has looked good the last two years in both the AHL and NHL in Winnipeg. And this is a huge chance for him to break out of Connor Hellebuyck's shadow and start 40+ games for the Sabres. Lyubushkin is a physical blueliner the Sabres need.
Still, it's hard for we mortals on the outside to not see what's going on out of town in the Atlantic Division and wonder how clouded the upward path the Sabres seemed to be on has now become.
The Ottawa Senators have traded for Alex DeBrincat and Cam Talbot and then signed hometown hero Claude Giroux in free agency. The Detroit Red Wings traded for goalie Ville Husso and then signed forwards Andrew Copp, David Perron and Dominik Kubalik, and defenseman Ben Chiarot and Olli Maatta.
The Sabres finished ahead of both teams last season, a point ahead of Detroit and two ahead of Ottawa. Playing at a 103-point pace over the final 28 games was certainly encouraging but it remains to be seen what, if anything, it means for this season.
Ottawa, in particular, has taken huge steps and Detroit has gone for big quantity. The Sabres are minding their plan. In the long run, it absolutely could benefit them. Right now? It leaves you hoping they're right but wondering if they are.
Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion has no great resume that should let him look bigger than Adams. Detroit's Steve Yzerman obviously does.Â
"I think you pay attention to what happens around the league, pay attention to what other teams are doing," Adams said when I asked his reaction to his division rivals' moves. "But ultimately, we don't worry about that. And we don't worry about what other teams are doing. We have a plan, and we're going to stick to it.
"A key piece of this for me is to make sure that we're doing everything we can to help our own players get better and make sure that we round it out with the right type of people at the key positions that we targeted today. What other teams do or how they do it, everybody's in a different spot. But I think for us, we believe in this team, we believe in the players we have here."
We know that. But, I asked again, what about Ottawa and Detroit? Two teams you're ostensibly competing with just took a huge step.
"They got good players," Adams said. "This league is competitive, and if that's where they felt they needed to make the moves. they're both great general managers and smart guys. But honestly, I don't really think that much about it. I think so much about our team. And I think about what [coach Don Granato] and I especially talk about every day: "Where our players are at right now, how do we get them better?"
Now, on the Sabres' organizational path, this was actually a watershed day. Have we ever seen them with this kind of elite young talent all on one sheet of ice at the same time?
"I just think our scouting staff has done a fabulous job of selecting skill, skating ability, hockey intelligence," said Rochester coach Seth Appert, who ran the on-ice portion of the program. "And then also character, guys that that drive their teams, guys that were captains, leaders that are going to come in and be future strong Sabres."
It's the first time 2019 draft picks like Ryan Johnson, Erik Portillo and Aaron Huglen were able to participate in any Sabres activity in three years, since the initial camp after they were selected. It was the first development camp at all for any of the 2020 or 2021 picks, and that meant the first time in Buffalo for names like Isak Rosen.
Johnson, long rumored to be waiting for free agency, didn't say he was going to sign with the Sabres rather than return to school, but said how happy he was to be here and how much he loved the organization and was looking forward to signing. Very positive.
Portillo was much more reserved about his future. He seems to see the writing on the wall. Adams' group didn't draft him and they're clearly pushing Devon Levi as their goalie of the future.Â
Still, you watched the ice and saw so much worth watching. Owen Power was out there. So were Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka and Mattias Samuelsson. There's plenty of hope for lots of draft picks. This really is the way to do things. The Sabres already short-cutted in the past and it failed miserably. Look at how Colorado just won a Stanley Cup five years after a 48-point season, not finishing the team off with trades or free agents until it was totally ready to contend.
Who's in town for the season opener on Oct. 13? Ottawa. That's three months away. Things sure change in this league in a hurry. Forget the tight standings. It felt like the Sabres had shot past Ottawa and Detroit and now were on to hunting bigger game in the division like Boston.
Now? You wonder.Â
