How Quinn and Other Sabres Players’ Starts Compare Across NHL

Jack Quinn was a healthy scratch for the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday, which was an inconceivable move if drawn up over the offseason. The Sabres have struggled to get going out of the gate, thanks to a combination of key contributors struggling early on. Other players, such as JJ Peterka and Jordan Greenway, have been relied on heavily for any semblance of success while everyone else finds their footing.

Let’s turn to the player comparison charts to determine exactly where the truth lies about some of the Sabres’ more polarizing players in the early going. If you’re not familiar, these charts are used as a way to measure player attributes and compare them to other players across the league.

There are 12 measured categories – sniping, volume shooting, playmaking, play-driving, shutdown defense, hitting, enforcing, penalty drawing, powerplay success, penalty kill success, and faceoff success. These categories may vary in the importance of measuring how good a player is, but the purpose is to display which attributes best fit each player’s profile.

Starting with Quinn, let’s look around the NHL at some of the most similar starts in other organizations to Sabres players to determine room for improvement, cause for concern, or, in the case of Buffalo’s better players to start, time to sing praises.

Jack Quinn

Jack Quinn is a natural shooter and one of the best not just on the Sabres, but in recent league history. With no goals on the season, that success has yet to come through his five games played. He’s still shooting at a high rate, placing him in the 74th percentile of all players so far this season.

The only other bright side is his defensive play in easy matchups. Ryan McLeod and Tage Thompson’s lines have been drawing the tougher defensive matchups, allowing Quinn and Dylan Cozens to push play into the offensive zone more often. Even still, the playmaking is way down, and the play-driving, relative to his team, is also very pedestrian.

The poor start is echoed by some good players across the NHL, giving early signs of hope for improvement. The Chicago Blackhawks acquired Tyler Bertuzzi to accompany Connor Bedard on the top line, but his demotion before the season has resulted in only one goal, and one point, on the season.

Kevin Fiala was the Los Angeles Kings’ best offensive threat last season and has four points in five games already this season. His even-strength playmaking and play-driving numbers are way down from last season though, with most of his success coming on the powerplay.

Jett Luchanko and Mackie Samoskevich are first-rounders in their rookie seasons and Dawson Mercer has only two points in seven games despite playing a similar scoring role to Quinn. The upside of all of these comps is high, suggesting that time, not discipline, is needed for the Sabres forward to figure things out.

JJ Peterka

JJ Peterka is off to a dynamic start despite a concussion limiting him to three full games. He has three goals and four points, propelling Buffalo’s offensive production almost single-handedly at times. The Sabres selected Peterka in the second round of the same draft as Quinn, and the German forward has already leapfrogged him on the depth chart.

His player comparisons across the NHL support that notion, with huge names such as Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Kucherov are in the mix. Former Sabres winger Jeff Skinner, who is a notoriously good five-on-five player, also has the shooting success, playmaking, and penalty-drawing numbers to draw early comparison. Clayton Keller and Ivan Barbashev are also off to hot starts and round out the top five most similar to Peterka.

More: Peterka is Sabres Best in Overtime Loss to Penguins

Mattias Samuelsson

Besides Quinn, Mattias Samuelsson has been one of the biggest disappointments to start the Sabres season. Samuelsson’s “sniping” metric was boosted by a down-and-out Spencer Knight on his only goal. Other than that, the puck has been in the right areas of the ice when he has been on the ice, but nothing good has resulted from it.

Perhaps that’s expected in a third-pair defenseman, but the Sabres are paying him top-four defenseman money. Samuelsson is supposed to be a luxury in the role, ready to fill in the top four if necessary.

Similar players across the league tell a similar tale, with Ryan Suter carrying a name bigger than his quality of play at this point in his career. Nils Lundkvist was a high-priced acquisition for the Dallas Stars who hasn’t lived up to expectations. Cam York is a top defenseman in Philadelphia who is off to an okay start, but Andreas Englund and Erik Gudbranson are no more than physical third-pair contributors to their respective teams.

Jordan Greenway

Jordan Greenway stuck out like a sore thumb as one potential player not fit for head coach Lindy Ruff’s uptempo, aggressive system in the offseason. Instead, Greenway has not only fit but thrived under Ruff so far. While the shutdown defense metrics take a hit due to his tough matchups, the offensive drive and willingness to shoot have aided Greenway’s defensive talents.

The penalty-killing numbers have also taken a hit and need to improve, but the physicality and shot-blocking Greenway has displayed draw comparisons to some of the best bottom-six presences in the NHL. Nathan Bastian is generally considered a versatile fourth-liner who can play in all situations. Brandon Tanev, Scott Laughton, Garnet Hathaway, and John Beecher are all quality defenders at the forward position and key penalty-killers for their teams.

Related: Where Does Jordan Greenway Fit on the Sabres?

Bowen Byram

Playmaking is Bowen Byram’s best attribute, and the defenseman has leaned into that to begin the season. The problem is that nothing else – not the shooting, play-driving, or even the physicality – has been there.

Byram is supposed to be one of Buffalo’s best blueliners, but instead, he’s receiving big minutes and doing little to help the team with them. He’s one of the big reasons Ruff switched up the defense pairs mid-game versus the Columbus Blue Jackets, splitting the struggling Byram and Owen Power.

Justin Faulk and Noah Hanifin are two notorious underachievers according to underlying metrics. Name recognition over performance is not a good category to fall in, but that’s where Byram was last season and seems destined for again this year.

Of course, there’s an upside to Faulk’s and Hanifin’s games. Henri Jokiharju, Dmitry Orlov, and Jordan Spence are his other closest comparisons so far, and bring positive elements to the game as well.

This is a big year for Byram and his future as he’s a restricted free agent at the end of the season. If he can put things together, he’ll earn himself some big money. If not, he could be someone the Sabres give up on a lot quicker than expected.

More Byram: Bowen Byram Primed to Thrive Under Ruff