When Sabres' prospect Sam Reinhart was sent back down to junior after his nine-game stint in Buffalo, GM Tim Murray said of him, "He was emotional. I guess he was emotional walking out of the rink. He should be disappointed. I told him that, ‘Be disappointed. You’re allowed to be disappointed.’"
But don't wallow in self-pity.
The second-overall pick in the 2014 draft took his demotion in stride as he continued to do what made him successful last season in the WHL. Reinhart was stellar this season for the Kootenay Ice before the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships. In 15 games for the club, the captain had eight goals and 19 assists which is roughly his pace from last season. Reinhart was also captain of Team WHL in the Subway Series vs. Russia in November and was assistant captain for the Gold Medal winning Team Canada at the just completed World Juniors.
Team Canada was loaded with top-notch prospects this year and held on for a desperately needed 5-4 win over Team Russia in front of the home fans in Toronto. The Russians had knocked Canada out of the last four tournaments: 2011 Gold Medal Game, 2012 semi-finals, 2013 and 2104 in the Bronze Medal Game. Reinhart was credited with the game-winning goal on a tip from Max Domi's point shot in the win last night.
Reinhart finished the tournament tied for the lead in points with 11 (Nic Petan, Connor McDavid)as well as plus/minus with a plus-13. In last night's game he had a goal and an assist, was a plus-3 and was on the ice for only one goal against, Ivan Barbashyov's powerplay goal that cut the lead to 5-2. It was the first of three consecutive goals by the Russians in the second period that put the home crowd on edge. "I'm glad I was on the ice and not in the stands in the second period for a while there," said Reinhart of that 3:16 span when the Russians blitzed right back into the game.
How he approached his demotion and the above quote speaks volumes about Reinhart's character. There's been a litany of whining recently from drafted players who feel entitled to an NHL roster spot and are loathe to accept anything less. And there are plenty of players, many of which came through Buffalo over the course of the last eight years or so, who would rather be in the stands or on the bench in pressure packed situations.
Reinhart was in the thick of it last night and he was on the ice for the final buzzer winning a d-zone faceoff that sealed Russia's fate (he went 61.5% on the dot.) He was one of four Canadians to be named to the All-tourney team (forwards Domi, who also won best forward, and McDavid plus defenseman Josh Morrissey) and he also continued a streak for the Buffalo Sabres organization as they've had a player on the All-tourney team for the third year in a row.
Defenseman Jake McCabe started the streak in 2013 as he and Team USA won the gold. He scored two goals against Team Canada in the semi-finals. And in 2014, defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov were honored. Ristolainen scored the golden goal for Team Finland in OT.
(thx, NHL Universe)
Reinhart is the first forward with U-20 All-star honors for the Sabres and he's only the fifth Buffalo player in the 39 yr. history of the IIHF U-20 tournament to do so. Defenseman Brian Campbell (1999) is the other player drafted by Buffalo to receive that honor.
Congrats to Team Canada on a great win in a fantastic hockey game and congrats to Reinhart as well.
Maybe we should also through some love to those in the organization who were responsible for drafting McCabe, Ristolainen, Zadorov and Reinhart. Namely Kevin Devine and his merry band of scouts.
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