The Buffalo Sabres will have a new No. 13 when they hit the ice for the 2019-20 season. Recently acquired winger Jimmy Vesey tweeted out that he will be wearing that number for the Blue and Gold. Vesey, a former college free agent who shunned the Nashville Predators and the Sabres when he signed with the NY Rangers in 2016, wore No. 26 for the Blueshirts but unfortunately for him that number is taken by 18 yr. old defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
Of note, only six other players in Sabres fancies history have worn the No. 13: defenseman Jim Schoenfeld, on his second go-round with the Sabres; winger Yuri Khmylev; Vyacheslov Koslov, the disenchanted winger who came to Buffalo in the Dominik Hasek-forced trade with the Detroit Red Wings; first round pick Jiri Novotny; Buffalo native Tim Kennedy; and the most recent, Nicholas Baptiste in 2017-18.
Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill sent a third round pick to the Rangers in order to land Vesey, a player that he believes will help in the top-nine forward group. Vesey spent three years in the Big Apple registering 90 points (50+40) in 240 games with most of those goals (32) coming at even strength, something that has been a focus of Botterill ever since he took the Sabres GM position in 2017. It's the second time the Sabres sent a third-rounder to a team for the player. In 2016 then Sabres GM Tim Murray traded the 76th-overall pick (Rem Pitlick) to Nashville for the rights to Vesey in the hopes that an exclusive negotiating period before Vesey became a free agent in August would entice him to sign in Buffalo.
Perhaps Vesey's relationship with Sabres 2015 second-overall pick Jack Eichel had something to do with Murray playing that card. Both Vesey and Eichel grew up about 30 minutes from each other just outside of Boston and train together in the summer and both were team mates on the Bronze medal winning USA team at the 2015 IIHF World Championships. However, they never publicly mentioned anything said between the two when it came to Vesey's pending decision.
The two are training together once again, this time as team mates. NHL.com's Dave McCarthy caught up with Vesey in Toronto during a charity event and the new Buffalo winger was very willing to give us some insight into Eichel's mindset this off season. "I'm not sure how aware of this you guys (in the media) are," said "Vesey to McCarthy, "but [Eichel's] just a specimen of an athlete. It maybe shows more in the gym, not a lot of guys can keep up, bit I know he's super excited for this year to finally push through."
That "push through," of course, involves making the playoffs, something Eichel hasn't seen in four years and something the franchise hasn't been a part of in eight years, the longest playoff drought in the NHL right now. "Last year was a little bittersweet for him with that good start," said Vesey, "but he wants to be in the playoffs.
"You might use the word frustration, but he's a competitor, he's the captain of the team, he was drafted second-overall and he wants to be the best and lead the way."
After three years of struggles where he averaged just under 25 goals and 0.85 points per season while dealing with injuries and a myriad of problems up and down the Sabres organization, Eichel had a breakout campaign last year with 28 goals and 82 points in 77 games. However, they not only missed the playoffs, but after a franchise-tying 10-game winning streak in November, the bottom fell out and Buffalo went from first overall in the NHL to finishing 26th in the league. "I think just the second half of the year left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths," Eichel said at locker cleanout (via the McCarthy article.) "I think guys have a lot to work for. Guys have a lot to prove to themselves next year, myself included."
Botterill upgraded the lineup with the additions of Vesey and Marcus Johansson up front as well as adding defenseman Colin Miller this off season but there's plenty of work to be done with a roster that still has gaping holes. "I think we've made some great moves as a team," said Vesey. "Buffalo was right there for so long, they fell off at the end but I think this is a group on the cusp of doing something special and I'm excited to be a part of that."
A lot of things will need to go right for Buffalo to break their playoff drought but having an extremely motivated captain in Eichel, as well as the return of 40-goal scorer Jeff Skinner on the wing and a host of other young players from Dahlin to Sam Reinhart who are looking to take the next step in their development, should move the team forward. What Botterill is able to add in the off season and what new head coach Ralph Krueger and his staff do with the on-ice product will help the process along but for now it's Jack and his merry band that includes old pal Vesey, who said of his new situation, "I'm really excited for not only what I can bring to the team but also what we can accomplish as a group."
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Buffalo's prospect pool is filling up not only with players, but quality players as well. Two of them, defensemen Mattias Samuelsson (2018, 32st overall) and Ryan Johnson (2019, 31st) were on the top pairing for USA Team Blue at the USA Hockey 2019 World Junior Summer Showcase where youngins begin making their case for inclusion in the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championships.
Team Blue defeated Team Finland 7-1.
In the other matchup yesterday, USA's Team White took on Team Sweden who had two Sabres prospects, including goaltender Erik Portillo (2019, 67th,) on the team. Portillo and the Swedes defeated the American squad 2-1 in overtime with Portillo stopping 32 of 33 in 62:33 of ice time. Forward Filip Cederqvist (2019, 143rd) registered two shots for Sweden.
Today is a practice day with play resuming tomorrow with Team Canada playing a combined USA squad.
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