I have to say, i'm seeing absolutely NOTHING from this kid. I blame him more than ennis for our non 4th goal in the avs game, he had a LOT of real estate to shoot the puck towards, and he manages to find the 1 inch occupied by ennis's stick?

But forget that incident, dude just doesn't seem to have it. Is anyone seeing positives in his game? Think he's got potential? Need better linemates? All i'm seeing is him being full of fail, can anyone school me on what his positives are, what I should be looking for from him?

PSP you always see the silver lining, what should I like about Luke?

So you're blaming him for taking that shot?

Are you fucking kidding me now?

Have you ever played hockey? You aim for the corners of the net.

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Wow complaining about Luke Adam is one of stupidest things I have read on these boards.

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just call me Brad

Twitter @BUrbanowicz13

I agree with these guys, outside the harshness. I think it was a touch break for Luke on that shot. Had Ennis's stick not been there, it's a goal for the kid.

He's been called upon far too early in his progression to look impressive in the NHL. That said, I think he's a fast learner. He's picking up on little areas of his game that will make him a better player.

He's also a big body. And that's something the Sabres need.

He'll be fine. Sit back, relax, and watch the progression. Don't look for every little mistake, because he has an awful lot of victories out there as well.

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Wheelhouse

Ennis got shoved into the net by a Colorado defender (too lazy to find the video and post who exactly). Not his fault his stick was there.

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mechaphil

In Adam I see a rookie who is playing like one most of the time. The expectation to come up and be more than occasional contributor was expecting too much I think.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

exactly. it's just too much, too soon.

He is very young and new to the NHL. It is way too early to say he is a failure. I see this kid being a pretty good player someday. He will mature, learn from mistakes that he will make and become better for it.

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--Scott

12 months ago, Luke Adam played in the WJC Under 20 championship game. He's still a kid. Expecting him to be a productive NHL Player after 14 games in the bigs is just absurd.

I very much dislike that we're at the point of shitting on rookies just because the team overall is losing.

Guys that should be picked on should be Hecht, Niedmayer, Rivet,Pominville and Grier, not Luke Adam.

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just call me Brad

Twitter @BUrbanowicz13

I'm 'blaming' him for taking a shot? What the fuck does that even mean sky? I literally said "I blame him MORE than ennis for our non-4th goal", as in, I dont really blame ennis (for whoever the hell said I was blaming him, learn to fucking read) because Adam had so much room to shoot the puck. And that was just a bit of a sidenote. Generally i'm trying to say i'm not impressed with Adam, and am wondering if you guys see any positives to his game. Thanks for being an asshat though.

Thanks for the assessment PSP. I certainly agree it is early in his career, perhaps it is too early to be making any sort of judgements, i'm really not sure. Some guys just seem to have 'it'...ya know? Like when Ennis came up, fast, good hands, good vision, and it was all apparent. Hell, even Gerbe, snakebit as he is shows more drive and determination, speed, will, desire, than this big bodied Adam.

But it's early for him, I'd really love to see him settle down a bit, start to look a bit more comfortable out there, hope it happens.

Nice, I didnt know he was in the U20 championship game...that is somehow reassuring, knowing he's got 'big game' experience.

I'm not really 'expecting' him to be anything yet. I was hoping, that he'd show more of a spark than he has so far.

If the team was winning, would it then be ok for me to post a topic about a new sabres player who's future is uncertain, and who's play i've not been impressed with yet, and ask for the opinion of more seasoned hockey fans to show me a silver lining? Or is this a freaking sabres forum, where we come to discuss our hockey team for better or worse? Fucking A man, this place is god damned hostile lately.

Adam put up 4G 4A in 6 WJC games last year. He had 12G 10A in 20 AHL games this year. He's currently 9th in AHL rookie scoring, even though everyone else in the top 20 has over 30 games played. He knows how to score.

My point is this.

Only top tier talent can make the leap from junior hockey one year to the NHL the next, and be successful and productive at it. The overwhelming majority of players need a good stint in the AHL to hone their game to the point where they understand how to play at the pro level. Adam started this season as an AHL rookie. Saying that you see him being 'full of fail' just isn't fair, and neither is blaming him for the non-goal.

Alright, thank you squanto for providing a bit more perspective. I'm fairly ignorant of these guys before they have a sabres uni on, so I didnt know he'd started this year as an AHL rookie, I figured he'd been there a year or so already. I guess it isnt fair to judge him with NHL standards yet.

Luke Adam is a power forward, he's still got a lot of growing to do to compete at the NHL level. He's blessed with good size for a 20 year old kid, and he's freakishly strong for his age. Give him 2-3 years of natural growth, and we're going to be saying this kid was a steal as a 44th overall pick. Mark my words now, he's going to be a 30 goal scorer by his 25th Birthday.

He's a rookie, and rookie power forwards, with the exception of guys like Getzlaf, and Ryan don't really come into their own until they are about 23-25; Patrick Sharp is a great example of this. The two players are so similar it's kinda freakish. His 6th season in the NHL was when he came into his own. I think we'd all be thrilled if Luke Adam became the next Patrick Sharp; and I think worst case scenario that's what Luke Adam becomes.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

Luke Adam should have done an entire season and perhaps more in Portland, to both garner the confidence he'll need at the NHL level as well as not feeling any pressure to perform at such a high standard immediately, further enhancing his confidence while his development progresses.

I thought it was a mistake to bring him up.

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Lord Stanley's Cup is what its all about.
Mr. Pegula, your destiny awaits you sir.

i get what you mean. im high on ennis. im high on luke adam. i just wasnt pleased with how ennis appeared to play recently. i hoped several players "going through the season" wouldnt rub off on the kid.

but upon further thought, you are correct. rookies are getting blamed when the whole team is shitting the bed. not fair.

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Yeah, I have to agree with you both on this point. Earlier in the year I wrote a thread saying I thought maybe Ennis should be sent down. I feel even more strongly now that he should have been, but I know the Sabres don't have the depth to do that. In fact, they're in a lot worse shape now than back then. Guys like Ennis and Adam are too young to be given so much responsibility at this level. Even if they have the skill, I'm not sure they have the discipline and mindset to succeed yet.

Playing so many games in the NHL at this age threatens to kill their confidence. I think that's already happened with Ennis. He was way more effective when he first came up last season, and at the beginning of this season than he is now. He's pulled a disappearing act. But I don't blame him. Not everyone can pull a Tyler Myers. Guys like Roy and Pominville had a lot more time in the AHL and it got them more prepared to contribute on a regular basis when they made the big leap. I

Pominville is on a tear. So is Stafford.

We need talented centers. Our wings really are not that bad.

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Wheelhouse