i like mike

"I have never felt comfortable...I'm always on my toes"
--mike weber, from a 2006 prospects interview with hockeysfuture.com

"always on [his] toes" because sabres d-man mike weber realized early on that nothing would be given to him, that, although he "might not be the best or most talented player on the ice," he'd be the guy "working the hardest, trying to be the smartest."

it's a great q&a with a young prospect who would spend the next 4+ years battling his way into the nhl...

what stands out in the piece is the comfort level he has with himself and his game, his focus on what he needs to do to reach the nhl and his humble thanks to the teammates who helped him early on...what also comes through in the interview is his discomfort with complacency, as there are constant references to working hard and a realization that "there are always younger guys coming up the ranks looking to take a job"...

when you look at weber's game, you see the same things that lured the sabres to pick the pittsburgh, pa native with the 57th overall pick in 2006...as a big (6' 2", 210 lb,) stay-at-home d-man with an attitude, weber represented a departure from the traditional darcy regier-era top-round pick...

although it wasn't really that shocking that weber was picked in the 2nd round that year (he was the #34-ranked north american skater at the time,) it was somewhat surprising...the sabres were in full "new-nhl" mode usually drafting highly skilled, smooth-skating puck-movers on the back end when they drafted weber, and it was a pick that got this blogger, and much of the fan-base excited...

yeah, i knew the guy could hit, fight and punish the opposition...i knew he was a stay-at-home d-man and was impressed (lately) with the way he passed the puck with authority in his own zone...but what stood out last night, and it's something that i haven't noticed with him, was his skating...he seems to be alot faster...and it seems as if it's a confidence thing, as if he's passed through a thresh-hold to another level...

as i'm writing this, i'm listening to wgr...howard simon keeps bringing up weber mentioning him to paul hamilton as well as mike robitaille...both agree with simon that weber's game is worth noting...the focus of sabres talk is mostly on tyler myers' game winning ot goal, the sabres first three-game winning streak of the season, a nearly perfect road game last night and how they're knocking on the door of the eastern conference top-eight...all well worthy of talk...

i really like the fact that simon brought up weber because i thought he played a helluva game last night and has been playing well for a number of weeks...he's playing with a ton of confidence and it shows in his skating...

there's been alot of talk about drew stafford and the panic over his impending rfa status come years end, but this morning i woke up thinking that the sabres should seriously consider signing weber to a five or six year extension...even though jeremy white today, as i was typing this, mentioned trading him in one of his typical hubristic "epiphanies"...

nah, jeremy...weber has attributes like toughness, grit, 100% effort, and attitude...he's also comfortable in himself and with his game...and...he skates with a sense of purpose which is an endearing quality to those who've watched "la core" skate with a sense of entitlement the past 3+ seasons...all of these attributes are fully ingrained in him and no matter what the situation, as long as he's physically able, he'll bring these to the table...he's the type of player that's a building-block, not trade-fodder...

yeah, i like mike