Sabres development void being filled by self-confidence

Last season, with the team in disarray and in the tank, Sabres fans were venting their frustration at just about everyone in the organization save for Rip Simonick. And if fans knew that he was the long-standing (36 years) equipment manager for the team, they probably would've been blaming him for the dismal on-ice product as well.

From GM Darcy Regier to coach Ron Rolston to owner Terry Pegula, nobody was safe. And that included Head Amateur Scout/Assistant General Manager Kevin Devine.

Russia/Canada Challenge ends

A four game series between Russia and Canada wrapped up on Tuesday. Of importance to Sabreland is the play of 2012 first round pick Mikhail Grigorenko.

Grigorenko was on the top line with 2012 #1 overall pick Nail Yakupov (EDM) and fellow 2012 pick Anton Zlobin (#173 overall, PIT.)

Kris Baker of Sabresprospects.com followed the series throughout as the 6'3" pivot and his fellow Russians took on a loaded Canadian team.

Grigorenko didn't fare too well--0 goals, 1 assist--in the four game series. He looked winded at times, was cautious often and seemed to be thinking an awful lot. Not the fleetest of foot, he also looked slow to average at best skating up and down the ice.

Cause for concern?

Not really. Early in the series his linemate, Yakupov, seemed intent upon doing his best Alex Ovechkin/Pavel Bure impersonation. Not a lot of chemistry between the two. Linemate Zlobin was playing on his off-wing and just looked out of place with the two first-rounders.

That line also saw a heavy dose of Canada's top checking line lead by 2012 Winnipeg Jets draft pick, Luke Sutter (2nd-round, #39 overall.)

In a harbinger of what's to come in the NHL, Sutter and Co. bottled them up throughout with relentless, tight checking and deft stick work.

Whether or not motivation played a factor in Grigorenko's lack of production is to be determined as the challenge was nothing more than a showcase, but the kid may need to spend another year in junior to hone his skills and build up his strength. It's a long NHL season and a top-line player will see the best checking forwards, those intent upon making life miserable for them.



Speaking of showcase. Baker also tweeted that Russian goalie Andrey Makarov has accepted an invitation to Sabres training camp.

Sabres GM Darcy Regier was in Halifax Nova Scotia taking in the event and apparently liked what he saw in a 6-5 Russia win with Makarov in net. He wasn't the only one either. Despite giving up five goals in that game, Makarov was voted 1st star as he faced over 40 shots, many of the golden opportunity variety.

As of now, the Sabres goalie depth is depleted on the junior/college level with the pro contracts of Nathan Lieuwen and Connor Knapp.

2012 6th-rounder Linus Ullmark helps fill the void, but there's room for another junior and Makarov will get his opportunity.



From thehockeywriters Final Impressions of The Challenge:

Mikhail Grigorenko (Buffalo Sabres, 12^th in 2012) – Russia’s Grigorenko certainly did not shake the critics with is wildly inconsistent play. Skating alongside Nail Yakupov and Penguins’ prospect Anton Zlobin, Grigorenko and company were expected to lead this team offensively. The line was matched up against Canada’s top shutdown line but Grigorenko, once again, failed to elevate his game when it mattered the most as he was virtually invisible in the critical game four. Grigorenko certainly showed that he is extremely gifted with his ability to create offense using elite vision and power puck distribution game but inconsistency continues to overshadow his unique talents. Unless Grigorenko finds another gear at Sabres’ camp, Mikhail will be available for Russia’s 2013 WJC team and look to be counted upon to “step up”.

Andrey Makarov (undrafted) – The undrafted Andrey Makarov continues to prove that he is an elite goaltender prospect. Despite coming to Canada to chase his NHL dream and succeeding in the WHL, Andrey Makarov was passed over by thirty NHL teams for the second time in as many years. Internationally, Makarov has owned Canada and that was clear once again as Russia won both games with Makarov as the starter. He’s a netminder that shows great poise and with his strong positioning he is difficult to beat on the first shot.

Stat Line: 2GP – 2W – 74 SVS – 4.00 GAA – .902 SV%

Via sabresprospects.com, you can check out every Grigorenko shift through the hard work of Baker's friend, James:

Game 1  http://www.sabresprospects.com/2012/08/grigorenko-earns-helper-in-russian-loss.html

Game 2  http://www.sabresprospects.com/2012/08/top-threats-quiet-as-summer-tune-ups.html

Game 3  http://www.sabresprospects.com/2012/08/grigo-blanked-as-russians-gain-series.html

Game 4  http://www.sabresprospects.com/2012/08/grigorenko-russians-cap-series-with-loss.html

Other notes from the 2012 Sabres Development Camp scrimmage

Lindy Ruff summed up the 2012 Sabres Development Camp like this after the scrimmage last night, "I think we've got maybe as heavy a load of talent as we've had. Some real good skill, some good size. We've got some good skill on the back end and up front and I think we saw some of that talent there in the scrimmage."

In addition to the obvious, the play of Jamie Wise, and the NHL-look of goalie Linus Ullmark, there were some other players that had an interesting scrimmage.

D Jerome Gauthier-Leduc "of Earl"--a 2010 3rd-round pick (#68-overall) has some speed and quickness on the back-end, almost Maxim Afinogenov-type shiftiness. For 6'4" and 192 lbs. he's a pretty shifty player. He can get that puck up ice and make some moves plus, as his 28 goals in 62 games for Rimouski attests to, he can finish. "JGL" still has a ways to go, but he'll be one to keep an eye on.

G Nathan Leiuwen--The Rochester Americans recently re-signed their starting goalie, David Leggio and they let Drew MacIntyre walk so up for grabs is the back-up position in Rochester. In the duel of the back-ups with Connor Knapp, Leiuwen looks more pro-ready, his movements are much smoother than Knapp's and seems pretty confident. At 6'5" he has the size, and he has plenty of junior experience with the Kelowna Rockets. It will be interesting to see what a little fine-tuning and pro experience does for him.

G Mark Guggenberger--Nothing Dominator-like in the save department, but, after reviewing video, noteworthy because he always seemed to come up with the save. Not bad for an invitee.

F Fredrick Roy--Feisty like his father, Hall-of-Fame goaltender Patrick. He has one gear, "go!" Got himself a couple of assists last night. Although he clocks in at 5'10" and 160 lbs, he definitely has the chutzpah, as well as some definitive skills, to make a strong push for an AHL team. Will it be Rochester? Wouldn't be bad having that bloodline on the roster, especially with a player who doesn't take it for granted.

F Zemgus Girgensons--Everything that's been said about his is that when he latches on to something, he will not let it go. It would seem as if he's latched on to the thought of playing in the NHL this season. That will depend upon training camp, but word on the street is that he will forego the University of Vermont and sign a pro contract with the Sabres. Oh, and he's got some skill too:

And finally, ya gotta hand it to F Jacob Lagace. The 2008 5th-round pick (#134-overall) was planted into the boards by Corey Tropp (I believe) on a boarding penalty that Brendan Shanahan would have reviewed.

Lagace got to his skates, obviously in a lot of pain and took the penalty shot. And he scored. And then wiped-out.

More from WGR:  http://wgr550.com/Wise--Girgensons-lead-Blue-to-7-3-win-over-Gold/13706888

Girgensons signs:  http://sabres.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=637872&navid=DL|BUF|home

Ullmark on the mark in net for the Gold

Fredrik Andersson was hired as a European Scout for the Buffalo Sabres in January of this year. His stated task, according to Head Scout Kevin Devine, was to find late round goalies, like Pekke Rinne of the Nashville Predators, for the Sabres to take a flyer on.

Andersson's first Rinne-like suggestion was Swedish goalie Linus Ullmark, whom they invited to the second annual Sabres Draft Combine and selected with their 6th round pick.

The Sabres Combine is an important tool for the Sabres as they get to work out prospects on the ice (unlike the NHL Combine.) Ullmark was one of five players the Sabres selected after working them out.

Although is not 6'5" 210 lbs. like Rinne, Ullmark looked big in net. Not that he's small by any means, he's carrying 198 lbs. on a 6'3" frame. But to look big is a huge plus for the kid.

Ullmark came into the game midway through the second period of the scrimmage last night and held the fort pretty well, but what may have stood out more than anything is his poise and positioning:

and his focus, as with this freight train coming at him:

In addition to his positioning and calm, he also showed some nice leather work. He blatantly robbed 2012 1st-round draft pick Mikhail Grigorenko top-shelf (although Grigorenko would later exact some revenge in the shootout,) and managed to get a glove on this one:

Despite allowing some goals and with the "game" clearly out of reach, Ullmark also showed his "compete" as he didn't hesitate to get out there for an errant puck:

And for good measure, he stonewalled Marcus Foligno in the shootout portion of the program:

Ullmark still has plenty of learning to do, but his fundamentals are sound, and in many ways he looked like an NHL'er.

The Sabres needed to draft a goalie because they had none in junior or the college ranks, and Ullmark looks to be a good choice. It would seem as if goalies Connor Knapp and Nathan Leiuwen will have some stiff competition a couple years down the road.

A Wise guy

Yes, as of today, Sabreland knows the name of Jamie Wise.

The camp invite who stepped on the ice in the middle of the first day--the last camp invite--netted the hattie in the Blue/Gold Sabres Development Camp scrimmage at the F'N Center.

But if you had a roster, like we had at the scrimmage, you wouldn't have found his name on it. It's kinda like he just appeared on the scene.

And appeared, he did, to the point where Lindy Ruff, was somewhat confounded with what he had. Our good friend, Kris Baker, of sabresprospects.com was in the room after the game, and he started out his 2012 development camp scrimmage piece with Ruff saying this about Wise, "Either he had the game of his life or we just discovered something."

Ruff also mentioned that Wise "had a little of Kaleta to him," referring, of course to Sabres agitator Patrick Kaleta. But Wise, obviously showed some "stick" as well:

and is pretty good in tight quarters:



The 21 yr. old Stouffville, ONT native packs in 206 pounds on a 6'0" frame and scored 31 goals in 59 games for the Mississauga St. Michael Majors as an over-ager. According to Baker, OHL scout Yuri Khmylev caught his attention, and the Sabres brought him to camp.

Sunaya Sapurji of Yahoo Sports did a nice background piece on Wise a few months ago saying that he's "isn’t the most skilled forward in the Majors’ arsenal, but what he brings to the team is tenacity, fearlessness and an energy that has made him a difficult forward for the opposition to handle."

"Difficult to handle" is something that the Sabres are focused upon these days having been known for years as "easy to play against." The Derek Roy for Steve Ott trade is a perfect example of the transition, Roy put up points in his top-six role, but lost the tenacity he once had as a rookie. Ott isn't the most gifted athlete, but he's a bottom-nine forward with an edge. And what you'll get from him night-in, night-out is an honesty to his game.

Ott was a fan favorite in Dallas because of that edge, that honesty. He skated hard for them, took hits and gave them, took punches and threw them. He was the guy in the trenches doing the dirty work. Plus he could net you 10-15 goals--tough goals, at that--and get you 35 points or so.

Here's what Mississauga Major coach and general manager James Boyd had to say about Wise, "He's an unsung hero." Boyd continues, "The game that he plays cannot be pleasant. He plays hard and he does all the things nobody else wants to do and he’s been such a reason for our success. He was voted [in the OHL’s coaches poll] as the best penalty killer, he blocks shots – he’s reckless blocking shots. Most of his goals he scores are from five or 10 feet from around the net and a lot of time he absorbs punishment doing it."

What happens with Wise the rest of the way remains to be seen, but he may have caught himself a break with the Sabres being in this transitionary period. He's the type of player, like Ott, that they're looking for.

They gave him the opportunity, and boy did he take advantage of it.



Six Sabres' (including one former Sabre)....Brayden McNabb, Corey Tropp, Marcus Foligno, T.J. Brennan, Travis Turnbull, Zack Kassian)

...have scored their first NHL goal this season with the former Sabres being Zack Kassian.

Here are the videos in chronological order:

Corey Tropp 11-8-11




TJ Brennan 11-23-2011




Zack Kassian 11-26-2011





Brayden McNabb 12-26-11




Marcus Foligno 3-10-2012




Travis Turnbull 3-23-2012





The "new core" is rising.

Two Big Bodies Stick With the Sabres, A Huge Body Gets His NHL Contract

Of the five youngin's who were with the team in Saturday's 5-1 win vs. the no-show Washington Capitals, two are still with the team--Brayden McNabb and  Zack Kassian--while  RW Corey Tropp (10 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, minus-2,) TJ Brennan (3 games, 1 goal, 0 assists, zero plus/minus,) and Paul Szczechura (1 game, 0 goals, 2 assists, plus-two) were sent back to Rochester.

They were sent down because a trio of walking wounded--Robyn Regehr, Drew Stafford and Patrick Kaleta--will all get back into action tonight vs. the NY Islanders.

A quick note on the Capitals. The players, led by Alexander Ovechkin, were successful in ousting their coach, Bruce Boudreau, as he was fired yesterday. GM George McPhee had this to say, "The reason for the change was we weren't winning obviously, This wasn't a slump. You can ride out slumps. This was simply a case of the players no longer responding to Bruce.

"When you see that, as much as you don't want to make a change, you have to make a change." (for more, click here.)

Boudreau was replaced by Dale Hunter.

Another note (part 2):  The Carolina Hurricanes fired Paul Maurice (for the second time) replacing him with Kirk Muller the same day.

OK. Back to the Sabres.

We all know what happened with Milan Lucic and Ryan Miller. We also know about the rematch. As Sabres fans we've also seen a parade of smaller, skilled players in the 2000/2010's and the transition to a bigger team seems to be gaining traction.

The decision to keep McNabb (6'4", 205 lbs.) and Kassian (6'3", 215 lbs.) is based, in large part, upon size and, to an extent, attitude. Both used their size and showed glimpses of ferocity on Saturday and will have the opportunity to get more of a taste of the NHL.

They join  2007 draftee Luke Adam (6'2", 203 lbs,) and 2008 draftee Tyler Myers (6'8", 227 lbs.) on a Sabres team intent upon getting bigger.

Yesterday, the team announced that they signed defenseman Joe Finley to a three-year, two-way contract worth $1.575M.

Recent-signee, Joe Finley may be
on hisway to bringing that snarl,
not to mention his size, to the
Buffalo Sabres

Finley is a huge specimen at 6'8", 260 lbs, and adds even more size to the Sabres organization, an organization who has the Boston Bruins to look at six times per year. Lindy Ruff on the Howard Simon Show today, while talking about the Sabres/Bruins rematch last week, talked about matching up with the Bruins in the physicality department saying, "It's gonna be a war when we play 'em." (12:51-mark)

Ironically enough, Finley was drafted by the Washington Capitals with the 27th overall pick in the 2005 draft. He left high school after his junior year and played in the USHL in 2004/05, the year before the draft. Finley attended the University of North Dakota afterwards playing for the Fighting Sioux. In his four years there he played in 154 games scoring seven goals, adding 28 assists and finishing his career plus-66.

For Finely, though, injuries started to creep in. He played in only 27 games his senior year at North Dakota due to concussion. He played in a mere 15 games in 2009/10 for Washington's ECHL affiliate in South Carolina due to a deep hand bruise. Last season he ruptured an artery in his hand and appeared in only 26 games for the Stingrays.

The Capitals opted not to resign Finley after his two year entry-level contract was up. Darcy Regier and the Buffalo Sabres invited him to camp and he was eventually signed to an AHL contract.

You can't teach size, nor can you teach work ethic and Finley has both. Hockey's Future had this to say about him, "Finley has an enormous frame with tremendous focus and a strong work ethic."

The size is obvious, but when he was injured kingsofleonis.com pointed out that he "took a positive approach regarding the time missed due to his injury." Finley put it this way, “Looking back I am just thankful that it wasn’t a lower body injury that would have kept me from skating and doing lower body exercises. It just means that I’ve had more time to work hard and get better at specific areas of my game."

That's where Ron Rolston, Jay McKee and "Sabres University" comes into play.

Finley had acquitted himself well in the previous pro seasons with the South Carolina Stingrays and the AHL's Hershey Bears. In fact only once was he a minus-player. But it's a big jump from the ECHL to the AHL, and there's an even bigger jump to the NHL.

Surprisingly, for a player that big, skating isn't the issue. He can play the role of defensive-defenseman using his size and girth, he's not afraid of hitting people, nor is he afraid of dropping the gloves. Injuries and opportunity were his biggest hurdles up until this point. Being big and tough, as well as being able to skate, and play top-pairing minutes in the AHL is a big advantage for Finley with the way the NHL has changed over the last decade and a half.

Joe Finley (L) goes at it with
Paul Bissonette

The days of Dave Semenko protecting Wayne Gretzky or the late Bob Probert protecting Steve Yzerman are fading away. Any enforcer-type needs to be able to play solid minutes. The latest enforcer for the Sabres was Andrew Peters. The organization rid themselves of his 2 minutes per game preferring an "enforcer by committee

" approach.

And it worked for a little while, that was until Milan Lucic took out Ryan Miller.

That hit may have changed the whole thought-process of the organization. It showed that Regier's "soft-but-skilled" players are still easy to push around in the post-"New-NHL" era.

So it's not surprising that the Sabres signed big Joe Finley to a three-year NHL contract.

And he's doing his part by putting in the work and playing his game. Letsgoameriks.dom did a piece on Finley. The author of the article, Keith Wozniak, asked Rolston about Finley during the Sabres training camp. Here's what Rolston had to say, “Joe came in and really impressed a lot of people there (in Buffalo). The way he moves, his size, it’s the first thing you see.” He continued, “Watch him skate and his hands, he has a lot of things there. He wasn’t put into any game situations, playing will give him that opportunity to show this is the place to play.” (this Wozniak piece is a great read)

From there to the Amerks where he is paired in a shutdown role with with Shaone Morrisonn. His plus-10 rating, which is consistent with his hockey career, is tops on the team and proves he can play the pro game.

Can he eventually bring his size and brawn to the Sabres? He's definitely out to prove it. The Sabres organization is loaded with puck-movers on the back-end, so Finley stands out. "A guy like (Sabres defenseman) Robyn Regehr, he's obviously someone you want to pattern your game after," Finley said. "But there really isn't any other defenseman that really fits that mold."

If he could get himself into a #6 role playing 10-12 minutes on the NHL level, I'm pretty sure the Sabres would be ecstatic. But he still has some work to do.

For now, Finley is a project that could pay big dividends should he continue to thrive in Rochester. Former Bears coach, Bob Woods, mentioned his sheer size but also mentioned his desire to learn, "His stick's taller than I am," he joked. "He's a big boy, great kid. You can tell he really wants to learn. He's looked good. He moves well for a big boy."


With his size and desire to grow as a player, as well as Rolston's player development acumen and McKee's NHL insight on defense, Joe Finley could be the guy that brings the organization's vision of a "Sabres University" to life.

Unlike Previous Years, the Sabres Brass Show No Hesitation

2010 draftee Mark Pysyk

With the signing of 2010 1st-round draft pick (#23 overall) Mark Pysyk the Sabres front office seem to be eager to show the hockey world that they're not farting around playing games signing players.

Pysyk (pronounced "Pess-ick") inked a three-year entry-level deal yesterday and the d-man will get the chance to earn a long look this camp and possibly into the regular season.

The following is from our friend Kris Baker at sabresprospects.com:

The Buffalo Sabres have signed 2010 first-round pick Mark Pysyk to a three-year entry-level contract. The captain of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, Pysyk recently completed his third full season of major-junior, posting a career high 40 points (6+34) while registering an impressive +29 rating.



The 6'1 defender, who at 19 years of age is not eligible to play in the AHL in 2011-12, will compete for a job this fall in training camp but in all likelihood return to junior and quite possible skate for Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championship.


Here’s the profile on Pysyk from the SabresProspects Spring 2011 Rankings:


3) Mark Pysyk, RHD, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL), 2010 1st round (23rd overall)


Smart and steady, Pysyk lands on his first rankings list at the #3 spot after a solid post-draft campaign that saw him score 40 points as captain of the WHL's Oil Kings.


At 6'1, 174 pounds, the smooth-skating Pysyk cleans up well in his own zone without being overly physical. His two-way development was augmented this year on special teams, where he gained power play experience while proving extremely valuable on the penalty kill.


The overall package saw Pysyk earn huge minutes for the Oil Kings, a major factor to his impressive turnaround from a minus-19 to a plus-29 rating. He's not flashy and he shouldn't be defined as an "offensive defenseman". He simply reads the play well, makes a good first pass out, and supports the play up ice in a rather fluid manner.


Much has been made of Pysyk's skating ability. His effortless stride is great to watch, as his feet allow him to jump into spots to add offense while keeping him in good position defensively. He's already showing the ability to make veteran plays at a young age which allows for long-term projection as a safe and consistent top-4 defenseman. The only areas to look at moving forward would be durability and upping his physical play. Like so many prospects at his stage, the addition of upper body strength will help him absorb the "give and take" at the next level.


The Oil Kings came up short in the first round of the playoffs, but with Pysyk's guidance look to be a serious player when the puck drops in 2011-12. After remaining as one of Canada's final cuts for the 2011 World Juniors, expect the dynamic defender to not only wear the Canadian jersey in 2012, but possibly even wear the "C" as the tournament kicks off in his hometown of Edmonton. When I think of where this kid is going to be with two more years of maturation and how important steadying defensemen are to a hockey team, it's easy to rationalize an even higher rank.

Pysyk joins recently inked LW Marcus Foligno (4th round, 2009) and D-man Brayden McNabb (3rd round, 2009) as part of the future of the Blue and Gold.

Brayden McNabb Takes To the Ice Tonight In the Memorial Cup

Recently inked Sabres d-prospect Brayden McNabb takes to the ice tonight in Day 2 of Memorial Cup action.

The 6'4", 216 lb defenseman will captain his Western Hockey League Champion Kootenay Ice in a match-up vs. OHL Champion Owen Sound Attack.

McNabb was just signed to an entry-level contract by the Buffalo Sabres. According to Fletcher Doyle of the Buffalo News' Sabres Edge, it's a three-year deal with salaries of $615K, $690K and $840K.

According to Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com, "as a 2009er drafted out of Canadian juniors, McNabb must be signed by June 1st for the Sabres to maintain control of his rights."

Here's the full press release on McNabb's signing from the Sabres web site:

Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have signed defenseman Brayden McNabb to a three-year entry level contract. McNabb was a third-round selection (66th overall) by the Sabres in the 2009 Entry Draft.

“Brayden is a big kid with great offensive abilities, and he’s continued to improve every year in Kootenay,” said Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier. “His outstanding performance in the WHL Playoffs was just another positive sign in his development, and we are thrilled to now have him under contract for the next three years.”

McNabb (6’5”, 216 lbs., 1/21/1991, shoots left) just finished his fourth full season with the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League, and is headed to the Memorial Cup Championship that begins this weekend in Mississauga. McNabb’s 27 points led all Canadian Hockey League defenseman in the postseason, and his 24 assists were more than any other CHL defenseman’s total points.

A native of Davidson, Saskatchewan, McNabb was tied for second overall in WHL Playoff scoring, and had a 12-game point streak from April 3-May 10 where he scored 21 points (2+19). He also posted a league-best plus-23 rating in the Ice’s 19 playoff games.

The 20-year-old McNabb improved his regular season point total for the third year in a row, finishing second among WHL blueliners with 72 points (21+51) in 59 games. In four full seasons with Kootenay from 2007-11, McNabb had 176 points (50+126) in 258 games, along with 419 PIMs.

***

will luke adam make it three in a row?

 

luke adam

the portland pirates and head coach kevin dineen may have themselves another dudley "red" garrett memorial trophy winner in forward, luke adam...

 

if adam does take home the outstanding ahl rookie honors, he will make it three in a row for the buffalo sabres organization, following in the footsteps of forwards nathan gerbe (2008/09) and tyler ennis (2009/10)...

the only organization to have back-to-back-to-back "red" garrett winners within the last 35 years was the providence reds (ny rangers) from 1973-76...a team who was coached by former sabres gm, john muckler, during that stretch...



a look at adam's stats as of right now gives an strong indication that he's the one to beat...amongst rookies he leads in points (54,) points/game (1.15,) goals (25) and plus/minus (+21) and he's tied for fourth in assists (29)...

all this in 47 games for the portland pirates this season (less games than any other rookie save nazem kadri's 44)...

this is a tribute to luke adam himself who has done a great job shuttling back and forth between the pirates and the sabres...it's a tribute to his willingness to take a demotion as a learning experience and continue to improve upon his game...



sabres director of amateur scouting, kevin devine (left)
with 2009 1st round pick, zack kassian (center) and
amateur scout, al mcadam (right)

having two, and possibly three, ahl outstanding rookies in a row is no small feat and is a tribute to the job the amateur scouting staff has done finding talent in the draft ...

gerbe was a 2005 fifth-round pick (#142) of jim benning's staff...benning left the organization in 2007 and kevin devine, as head of amateur scouting, is responsible for drafting both ennis (#26 overall) and adam (#44) in 2008...(in that same draft he also convinced sabres gm darcy regier to trade up to the #12 spot to draft 2009/10 nhl rookie of the year, tyler myers)...

interesting to note that before gerbe, the organization's last "red" garrett winner was mika noronen in the 1999/00 season...



portland pirates head coach, kevin dineen

it's also a tribute--and big props need to be given--to head coach kevin dineen and portland assistant coach, eric weinrich...as ahl coaches their task is molding a transient team into a cohesive unit and right now their team sits atop the atlantic division of the eastern conference...

all year long players get called up to the big club and then get sent back...they're injured and they return...a combination of call-ups to the big club and/or injuries on a large scale means plugging holes with echl players who on a tryout basis...all the while, the coach and his staff are the only real constants throughout the season...

from the draft to juniors to the ahl, there seems to be a foundational thread running through the organization all the way up to the big club...both gerbe and ennis are making solid contributions to the sabres in their first full nhl seasons...adam, who had three goals and an assist in 19 games with the sabres this season, got a good taste of life in the nhl this year and should make a strong push for the big club next season...

even if he doesn't win the award, ya gotta love what's on the horizon for the sabres organization...

portland pirates sign a defenseman

here's the press release from portlandpirates.com (my highlight):

Portland, Maine - The Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League announced today that they have signed Nick Tuzzolino to a tryout agreement.



The 25 year-old defenseman was playing for Utah in the ECHL where he had seven goals and 18 assists for 25 points in 45 games. The 6-foot-5 Buffalo, NY native, who also played with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers earlier this season (one assist in three games), has played in 179 career ECHL games collecting 22 goals and 62 assists for 84 points and 361 penalty minutes. The New York Islanders originally drafted him in the seventh round (196th overall pick) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

cool that another buffalo native is getting a shot with the sabres organization like goalie david leggio did this past summer...

just curious as to why?...

we all know that the sabres have eight defensemen up with the big club...

over in portland they have eight as well:  marc-andre gragnani, tj brennan, drew schiestel, nick crawford, alex biega and dennis persson, all sabres draft picks...they also have free agent signee, tim conboy...

the eighth is recent pto-signee brian o'hanely (02-05-2011)...

unless o'hanely is released from his pto contract, that will make nine d-men on the portland roster...

as the trade deadline nears, anyone else find this:

Third time's a charm for David Leggio

He's been the go-to goaltender for the one of the best teams in the American Hockey League. The Portland Pirates are off to a torrid start and after last night's 2-1 shootout victory over the Worcester Sharks at the Cumberland County Civic Center. They sport a very hefty 13-3-1-0 mark overall--one of the top records in the league and the Pirates also are 9-0-1-0 at home, which ties them with the 1993/4 Pirates team for best home record to start the season. That 1993/4 team, by the way, went on to win the Calder Cup....

And their goalie has an 8-1 record, a 2.48 gaa and a save percentage of .922. No, it's not 2006 2nd-round pick (#46 overall) Jhonas Enroth...

Williamsville, NY native David Leggio has been "the man" between the pipes for the red-hot Pirates as Enroth's been going back and forth between Portland and Buffalo.

It's been a good few months for Leggio this season. The undrafted free-agent signed an AHL contract with the Pirates on August 8, 2010 after a strong playoffs overseas for the league champion Turun Palloseura (TPS) in the top Finnish league, SM-Liiga. His playoff record there last season--5-2 with a stingy 1.58 gaa and a solid .948 save percentage.

Leggio's stint with the Pirates is his third try at sticking with an AHL team. After four years at Clarkson University of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC,) leading them to the ECAC title in 2006/07 (his junior year,) Leggio got his first crack at the AHL with the Binghamton Senators in the 2007/08 season. After one game (a loss,) his 4.06 gaa and .778 sv.% left much to be desired...

The following season was spent in the ECHL where Leggio played for the Florida Everblades, helping them to a league-best 103 pts. and garnering him some personal accolades with a reserve spot in the all-star game. The Everblades succumbed to the eventual ECHL champion South Carolina Stingrays in the second round. On a side-note, the Stingrays beat the Alaska Aces in the final with the Aces being anchored by Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, an undrafted free agent who played in 31 games for the Portland Pirates and did yeoman's work.

After leaving Florida, Leggio's next crack at the AHL came with the Albany River Rats and it ended the same way the first one did--one game, one loss, a 7.00 gaa and a .788 sv.%. With the ahl being a disaster, he ended up overseas with TPS Turku for the 2009/10 season...

One of his biggest barriers to success over in Finland would be the language barrier not to mention the adjustment to a different culture. Even with former Clarkson University teammate, and Finnish native, Max Kolu helping him with the language barrier (as well as with shopping,) Leggio had a very pedestrian season going 12-13-3 with a 2.93 gaa and a .901 sv.%. But the playoffs were a different story as leggio lead his team to the championship.

Once again, though, Leggio was unemployed, but he got another crack at the AHL as the Buffalo Sabres came calling. With Lamoureaux gone and no one to back-up Enroth in Portland, Sabres GM Darcy Regier signed the hometown boy to an AHL contract.

Third-time's definitely been a charm for Leggio. Regier and the Sabres could not help but take notice as Leggio paced the Pirates to a fast start going 7-1, and he rewarded the well-travelled, 6'0", 180 lb net-minder with a two-way NHL contract on November 12.

The emergence of Leggio has put the sabres organization in a very interesting and very favorable situation in goal. Presently, the #1 goalie prospect in the system is Enroth.. Goalie-prospects Brad Eidsness, Nick Eno and Connor Knapp are at least a couple of years away from entering the pros as they are all in college and that would leave a major gap in the goalie chain. But with the way leggio's been playing, he may have bought the sabres some time and given them some leeway when it comes to the future of the crease.

It's been a long road wrought with failure for Leggio, but he seems to have accepted that failure is a part of success, an aspect which seems to have kept him well-grounded. It's also an aspect that should eliminate any confusion when it comes to the great confidence/cockiness debate. And david leggio is one very confident goalie right now.

up from the ashes

a heckuva run thus-far for the buffalo sabres...five games in a row decided after regulation, four of them ending up in wins for the good guys...

some thanx need to go out...

to fate... for having drew stafford go down to injury and captain craig rivet go down to illness...in wishing no ill will towards any player (including anyone from the ottawa senators, toronto maple leafs and philadelphia flyers) the down-time for these two players seemed to help the team in two areas...

firstly, "la core" of top-six forwards was shaken up for more than just a shift, period or game...as has been mentioned before, the top-six were all of the same ilk--generally speaking, soft-but-skilled and lacking heart...stafford was the embodiment of that...you just can't have two-thirds of your top-six (stafford and tim connolly) wussing out and failing to put it on the line...in addition, thomas vanek was flustered in his attempt to bust through a wall this season, his frustration leading to bouts of coasting, and that's half of your top-six...

stafford going down allowed for young-gun tyler ennis to reclaim a spot next to derek roy on the top-line with vanek taking the other wing...ennis, who has danny gare-like qualities, had been plying his trade in the bottom-six because there was no room at the top...how did ennis respond?...by schooling jean-sebastian giguere for the game-winning/sabres winless streak ending goal:



since that line has been together, the sabres have gone 4-0-1, all games going past regulation moving the team from the bottom of the eastern conference to 10th place...ennis (3 goals, +4,) roy (2 goals, 6 assists +7) and vanek (2 goals, 4 assists +5) combined for 7 goals and 10 assists and are a whopping +16...they also came through in the clutch...ennis vs. toronto (see above,) roy got the game-winning shoot-out goal vs. new jersey and thomas vanek gave the "how-do-you-do" to the capitals in ot on the espn #1 highlight:



then followed it up by harassing vancouver canucks defenseman dan hamhuis into a giveaway that leads to tyler myers' game-winner in overtime:



on the back end, the embattled, oft-injured, recently benched and food poisoned/flu-bit craig rivet has been out of the line-up since the toronto game...kind of a good thing too...

this is nothing against him and his style of play, but with both him and shaone morrison in the line-up, that's two heavy-chevy's in an increasingly faster nhl...his abscence wouldn't be that prevalent vs. the nj devils or the ny rangers (one win and one ot loss,) but the washington capitals and vancouver canucks represented porsche's in the nhl...the defense for the sabres became much more mobile and as a result the team was able to skate with both teams...the result?...the sabres get their first home win of the season vs. the caps in overtime and follow that up with an end-to-end speed-rush-duel victory in overtime vs. the canucks...

other factors in the alignment of the stars for the sabres:

• jason pomminville getting back into game-shape after his bout with a concussion and stabalized an inept pk
• jhonas enroth holding the fort while ryan miller went down, especially vs. toronto in the shoot-out (see above)...his numbers weren't anything to speak of, but the team seemed to "find it's legs" while playing in front of the rookie net-minder and he came up big when it was necessary...
• matt ellis gets the call from portland to add some size and grit on the fourth line and plays really well

all-in-all, the sabres are out of the cellar, next stop, .500 hockey...

tradeable assets (Andrej Sekera, Drew Stafford, Jhonas Enroth, Mark Mancari)

if, by some wild stretch of the imagination, buffalo sabres gm darcy regier were to bring in a legitimate top-six forward, i.e. a #1 center, left-wing or right-wing or a #2 center or left-wing, via trade, it'll certainly come at a cost...no team in the nhl will want to trade a player like that for the likes of tim connolly, drew stafford or jochen hecht...one of these could certainly be a piece, but teams willing to trade a top-six player will be looking for a top-notch prospect in return, a young nhl'er with up-side as well as a top draft pick (or two)...

right now, the sabres best prospect-commodity in a trade for that caliber player would be:

• jhonas enroth, g--although he's on the smallish side, enroth is a position-goaltender type with quick reflexes...he's shown steady improvement since coming over the pond and, although he didn't wow the team in his only call-up, he's on the nhl-cusp right now...why would a team want him?...enroth is real close to being nhl-ready and his ahl-play makes him a potential #1 with some nhl-seasoning...unless your goaltending situation is set for the foreseeable future, allowing enroth's talents to evolve at a reasonable pace could pay big dividends in the future...why would the sabres part with him?...they really don't want to, but enroth would probably be a key piece in any trade for top-notch talent...one thing that we do know is that ryan miller is the sabres goaltender for at least the next four years (barring anything funky happening) and that the sabres will not use enroth in a back-up position when he can get everyday work in the minors...although the sabres are a bit thin in goaltending depth after enroth, four years could be enough time to develop one of brad eidsness, nick eno or hulking connor knapp all of whom are in college right now...a wild-card in the works is williamsville, ny native david leggio, who is providing quality back-up work with portland...in four games he has a 2.41 gaa and a .933 sv%...he was signed to a two-way contract this past august...
• as for other prospects, the sabres are organizationally thin up-front so teams who are interested in the likes of luke adam, zach kassian or even present sabre tyler ennis will need to be offering a premium player in return...on defense (see names below,) the sabres have plenty of puck-movers who probably won't be a part of any trade, unless there's a premium return, defensemen being the organization's strong suit...and they can probably forget about prospect brayden mcnabb, a prospect whom the sabres coveted for his size, grit, strength, skating ability and production...not any like him in the system right now...

which leads us to a couple of current roster players as "sweeteners":

• andrej sekera, d--"rej" is into his third full season with the big-club and will be a restricted fa at seasons end...his price tag is $1.2m...he's a puck-mover on the back end capable of logging secon-pairing minutes...although he doesn't hit the score sheet as much as you would like, he does contribute and has the potential to up his numbers...on the down side, although most think he's having a solid season thusfar, he's still inconsistent and it's still scary when he's defending the zone...why would a team want him?...anaheim is one of few teams who are in need of an nhl-caliber d-man right now and, as the old adage goes, you cannot have enough of them...why would the sabres part with him?...the sabres have some good puck-movers in the ahl right now lead by marc-andre gragnani who had a legitimate shot of making the team out of camp before he was injured...offensive-minded tj brennan has been working on the defensive aspect of his game and it seems to get better all of the time...drew schiestel is continuing his development in portland as a puck-mover and seems pretty solid in his own end...nick crawford was a offensive revelation last season in the juniors and is presently developing in portland...that's a succession of four puck-moving d-men that makes sekera tradeable...

• drew stafford--he's got good size, has been able to put the puck in the net and has shown that when he wants to he can really control the play in the offensive zone...problem is, he's inconsistent...he comes at a cost this season $2.3m, but will be a restricted fa afterwards...why would a team want him?...show the game tapes when he's motivated and you see a power-winger waiting to have a breakout season...why would the sabres get rid of him?...they've seen too much of his jeckyl/hyde routine over the past 3+ seasons and would part with him, putting him in a package for a legit top-six

one more possibility:

• marc mancari--a hulking presence in the ahl, mancari is earning the reputation of "the next jody gage"...he has ahl-all-star talent, but falters when he comes to the big-club...he is slow and the action seems too fast for him on an nhl level...why would a team want him?...as a throw in, it wouldn't be a bad gamble for a player like mancari who could someday have the switch turned on and take a spot on the top-six in the line-up...odds are stacked against this happening, but it could happen...why would the sabres move him?...why not? after this season zach kassian will be with portland as the #1 rw prospect, and a slew on unheralded, mid-lower-round draft-picks like cory tropp, maxime legault and gregg sutch will have the opportunity to move up the depth-chart....the depth on rw is very, very thin, but guys like undrafted fa derek whitmore and nhl-castoff mark parrish should be able to hold down the fort in portland and/or bring as much to the table with the sabres as mancari has...

just some food for thought...