I know everyone is expecting (or really wanting) Johnson to step right into Buffalo's top-six. But if he signs with the Sabres I find it really hard to believe he'd step right into a top-six role and even if he did, the learning curve is very steep. From a development standpoint thrusting a rookie into a difficult role may be counterproductive and because of that I think KAGM and Co. are more inclined to be overly cautious when it comes to possibly rushing a player's development. Am of the opinion that one year in the AHL working his way into top-pairing, all-situations minutes will work wonders for his future as a probable 4-6 NHL d-man. Am also of the opinion that they really should be looking into a top-four defenseman to help take the load off of Dahlin and Power, as well as log quality minutes when (because it will happen) Samuelsson goes down with an injury.

I guess we'll see.

They shouldn’t necessarily be expecting Savoie &/or Kulich to make the team either
They might, but they might not
Putting Kulich on line2 definitely seems silly to me
There’s no need at all to rush these guys

Agreed. However, two reasons why they might--Kulich is killing it as an 18 yr.old in Rochester (on pace for 23+25 in 64 games) and Savoie is in no-man's land next year because of the NHL/CHL agreement. Personally, I'm leaning towards Savoie making the club because there won't be much left for him to prove in Junior.

Very interesting situation

Not gonna lie Buffalo seems like the perfect team to offer sheet Swayman

Very nice predicament for the Buffalo Sabres.
If one more year in the AHL will improve a players defense, then that is a great move.
Kulich is really close, we need to remember he is ONLY 18 yo playing against men in the AHL.
While he did not score yesterday he had 7 SOG and including yesterday over his past 18 games he has 10 goals and 18 pts.
He currently is the Amerks leading goal scorer, very impressive for an 18 yo (did I mention he is only 18?).
One more year of development for all three of the 2022 draftees would be good.

EDIT:
Jake McCabe stepped right into a Sabre uniform and he was 15 months younger than Johnson is now.
So it could happen, hard to predict as he is 16 months older than Power.

Here’s the thing with Kulich….
Is he doing well in Rochester?
Yes, obviously
But he’s not doing as well as Peterka or Quinn did last year,
not even all that close really
And there’s a bunch of Sabres fans talking about how Peterka should maybe be sent down
And Quinn has been pretty streaky up here as well

Now if those 2- who again, were better than Kulich in Rochester- are struggling to varying degrees here….
Why EXACTLY would we feel the need to rush Kulich into the lineup?

This is the kind of bullsh!t that fans do,
& NOT what a real life GM does


And just bc Savoie has (supposedly) done all he can in juniors,
that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s ready for the NHL
Maybe he is
Maybe he isn’t
Whether or not he’d too good for Juniors will only play a small role in determining that though

Wow, I can see "homie don't play dat," but no need to get testy.

I agreed with you that there's no need to rush...right off of the bat. But prior to that you stated, "They shouldn’t necessarily be expecting Savoie &/or Kulich to make the team either
They might, but they might not."

That is an open-ended question that circumvents a definitive opinion (which you did again, "maybe he is, maybe he isn't"). I gave possible reasons they might and you laid the hammer down on those opinions. Which is fine, because you make valid points. However, perhaps you can answer your own question as to why they might make the team?

Bc they’re obviously talented
However,
I said “might” just to leave open the possibility, as nothing is 100% certain
It sure does seem extremely unlikely though
So there’s little reason to give it much thought

id be willing to bet Savoie makes team next season