Now that we’ve listed the promising players, the countdown to the Sabers’ top 24 begins with Jacob Bryson. Bryson appeared in 36 games for Buffalo and 46 games overall for the organization. This includes a 10-game stretch with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
He leads our countdown as the lowest-rated Sabers player to finish the season with the team and has played more than 10 matches with the club. The goal of this countdown is to understand each player’s performance throughout the 2023-2024 season. This will help us evaluate what the team needs to do this season to improve next season.
Score System
If you missed the introduction to the System scoring system, I assigned letter grades to each Buffalo System player based on their gaming performance. The assigned letter rankings are based on statistical calculations, taking into account the following factors:
It is important to understand that the performance ranking of that player is based solely on the generated algorithm , except in the event of a match being cut short. due to injury. A player who has missed significant playing time due to injury will not receive fewer minutes on the bench. This helps eliminate any confusion about how players will perform when present. >
I went back and recorded all 82 games this season. each player. This way we can fully understand each player’s match-by-match progress.
Thanks also to Evolving-Hockey for the match-by-match data. They are one of the best in the industry.
Here is the score scale in tabular form for reference:
Upper Limit, Lower Limit
A+ 92% 100%
A 85% 92%
A- 77% 85%
B+ 69% 77%
B 62% 69%
B- 54% 62%
C+ 46% 54%
C 38% 46%
C- 31% 38%
D+ 23% 31%
D 15% 23%
D- 8% 15%
F 0% 8%
Previous Sabers Score: Casey Mittelstadt, Kyle Okposo and Erik Johnson
Jacob Bryson
Seasonal Grade: C-
Average: C-
Consistency: B+
Boom% : F [0% failure rate: F [25%]
The 2023-2024 season was a strange one for Bryson. He has been a mainstay for the Sabers over the past two seasons, appearing in 132 games for the club.
He played just three games for Buffalo in the first half of the season, losing his job to former first-round draft pick Ryan Johnson.
When Johnson was placed on the roster, Bryson was demoted to the AHL. with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, Henri Jokiharju, Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton healthy.
Bryson’s season went well in the second half, earning a spot as the final pairing with the Sabers first line day, thanks in part to Samuelsson’s injury and the Erik Johnson deal.
As you can see in the chart, the trend line represents Bryson’s individual rating across games.
Of course, there were ups and downs throughout the second half, but overall he received the trust of the coaching staff.
Stat distribution
The ceiling of the Pair A defender is only very high. , taking into account the structure of the rating system. Points are awarded for fewer minutes played and protected roles.
Bryson faced both with equal strength. He also did not play a significant role on special teams units, which limited his opportunities to improve his scoring ability.
Is this fair to the player ? Well, yes and no.
Ultimately, the coach will decide how to use a player, but that player can take on a larger role if he performs exceptionally well. Notable games for Bryson, just a few good to great games.
With the first half of the season essentially devoid of Bryson, let’s focus on his second half. Eight of his 33 games in the second half of the season were above average. 19 matches had below average results, including 7 “failures”.
The general consensus is that Bryson fulfilled his role admirably, perhaps because he did not have high expectations for this defender. At the age of 26, evolution is no longer a topic of discussion.
What you see is what you get with Bryson and what you get is an excellent NHL player.
Player List
If you want a positive look at what Making up the game, what stands out about Bryson, are his traits compared to many solid NHL defensemen.
For his part, Power stands out as a similar player on the same team. Because of their size difference, it’s a little funny, but Bryson and Power try to accomplish the same things when they’re on the ice.
Powerful offense, mobile skating and Driving the ball on ice cream is the name of Bryson’s game. He’s not a good shooter like Ryan Graves or Vladislav Kolyachonok.
He won’t initiate contact as much as Artem Zub. The comparison to Montreal’s Jordan Harris as a two-way defenseman on the bottom pair is most apt.
Early 2024-2025 Outlook
With the addition of Bowen Byram at center center of the blue line and Samuelsson’s return from a season-ending injury meant his starting position on the left-side defense was gone.
Bryson is seventh or eighth on the depth chart, depending on how the Sabers’ Ryan Johnson ranks.
He and Henri Jokiharju are restricted free agents, meaning the Sabers still retain their rights and are the only team that can sign them. a deal. If Buffalo chooses not to tender Bryson, he will become an unrestricted free agent.
That’s a long way of saying that Bryson has a tough road ahead of him to keep his NHL job mine.
If there aren’t too many defensive prospects knocking on the door, the Sabers could plan on using him in an AHL-NHL line role to add depth.
Riley Stillman is an undrafted defenseman the only one mentioned under Buffalo’s control.
with NHL experience, Bryson could therefore sign a short-term deal to stay with the organization.
The first support role is probably the right one, one that has merged with Bryson during this phase of her career.
