It’s time
for some hockey. Today the Buffalo Sabres will start their quest for the
Stanley Cup in the First Niagara Center against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Buffalo has made some changes in the off-season like sending Derek Roy to
Dallas in exchange for Steve Ott. Adam Pardy came over as well but was waived a
couple of days ago and is now playing in Rochester. Steve Ott however will
start the season with Buffalo and will be a key player for them this year. The
Sabres added grit and strength, something they lacked over the past couple of
years. They signed John Scott, a 6’8” 270lbs monster who can fight anyone in
this league without a problem. The kid that everyone will be watching however
is Mikhail Grigorenko, Buffalo’s first Round Draft choice of the 2012 Draft. No
one knows why this kid, despite being injured last year, dropped to 12th
overall in the draft. The Sabres couldn’t care less and are happy to have him
on the team now. He will debut in the NHL against the Flyers today and for the
first time in years, Buffalo has a rookie forward who has potential to be a
franchise player.
So we have
a short season with only 48 games and every game counts this year. When you
lose 4 or 5 games in a row, you are almost out of the playoff race and the
Sabres would like to avoid that. In back to back season they had to finish
strong in order to make the playoffs. Once they were able to accomplish that
but last year they had to watch the King’s run to the Cup from the living room.
Players to
watch:
Tyler Ennis
and Cody Hodgson will get much more icetime than last year. Cody Hodgson will
play between Vanek and Pominville while Ennis will go to work with Foligno and
Stafford. Especially those 3 had an insane chemistry last year and ripped the
league into pieces. Hopefully they can play strong again even if it’s not a 1 point
per game ratio for each player on this line.
Down the
middle Buffalo is a young team. Hodgson (22), Ennis (23), and Grigorenko (18)
are the center for the first 3 lines. On line 4 we see an old face. Jochen
Hecht signed a new 1y contract and will provide leadership and experience. By
the time Hecht was drafted, Mikhail Grigorenko was 1year old. So talk about
different generations on the team.
On Defence
the Sabres hope that especially Ehrhoff and Myers remain healthy for the season
and hopefully playoffs. On march 15 last season the sabres had an incredible
record. 26-12-2 with Myers and Ehrhoff playing the entire game. 7-17-6 if they
were injured or left during the game. This shows how important both are for the
Sabres.
It was the
Blockbuster-Trade at the Trade-Deadline. Hodgson to Buffalo, Kassian to
Vancouver. Many were wondering, who wins the trade. Two more players were
involved in the trade though. Sulzer went to Buffalo and Gragnani to Vancouver.
However Gragnani only played 14 games for Vancouver and didn’t get a new
contract. He signed with Carolina in the off-season and did not make the team.
He is now playing in the AHL. Sulzer received a new contract by Buffalo after
an impressive effort last year. The 28y old german native had 8 points in 15
games with Buffalo and got his roster spot right now as a Defense partner of
Christian Ehrhoff. So at the moment, Buffalo easily wins the Trade.
In the end
Buffalo has a good chance to make the playoffs and they could battle Boston and
Ottawa for the Division title. Nevertheless exciting weeks ahead for the Sabres
and their fans.
