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Girgo= Size,Grit,Skill,Snarl

September 8, 2012, 10:08 AM ET [25 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Zemgus Girgensons is not your average, run-of-the-mill NHL hockey prospect whose looking for a cup of coffee in The Show. This cat is wired differently from that.

On Friday afternoon, Steve Ott (@otter2nine), chirped Girgo on Twitter:

@zemgus94 Don't shoot the messenger, heard your gear was in a stall. Got to earn the NHL stripes? #GetTheRightGuy pic.twitter.com/KEvnRtZe


The tweet included a picture of Girgenson's gear, piled up on the garbage can in middle of the Sabres room, with a majority of it in a locker stall. Hilarious moment, as Ott was giving the kid the gears about earning his way to the NHL.

Sabres skyscraper goalie prospect, Conner Knapp piled on Girgo with this tweet:


@otter2nine @zemgus94 that's precisely why I take mine home and lay it out in the driveway #Shmelts < #Vets


Girgensons sent two response tweet back to Ott and Knapp:

@knapper311 @otter2nine haha you know it knapper #collegebrain

@otter2nine hahahaa that's awesome #loveit



Girgo's a rink rat. When he's not skating, he's lifting weights and stretching. He's not polishing anyone's apple. This kid is truly committed to his career. Hockey is not his job. Its his life. His passion. He was born to play hockey.

He once broke his jaw on the first shift of a USHL playoff game. He played the rest of the game. If Jason Witten gets love for playing an NFL game with a lacerated spleen, Girgo deserves props for playing with a crushed jaw. Superficial flesh wound to him.

He recently tweeted: "The true worth of a man, is not measured by what he does for himself but what he does for someone else". Follow the Fighting Saint @Zemgus94.

He has taken the road less traveled to pro hockey. I spoke with him after the Sabres and Amerks played shinny in South buffalo on Thursday. He bumps to 2 Chainz, Tigah, and other various and sundry hardcore rap acts. He told me that he loves the rage, rhythm and aggression of the rap game. He rocks a badass sleeve of tats, composed of some heavy duty imagery. He's not done inking his body. 'This is only five sessions", he told me showing off his ripped right war club. Impressive.

Dude's not lacking for confidence either. He has game and he knows it. In a matter of days, the rest of the hockey world will know it too. He'll start his pro career with the Rochester Americans next week. If he has it his way, he'll be playing in Buffalo before too long.

Girgo was selected 14th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Sabres. With the selection Girgensons became the highest drafted Latvian born player in NHL history. He was picked 16 spots higher than fellow Latvian Sandis Ozoliņsh in 1991.


T
In 2011, Girgo captained the USHL champion Dubuque Fighting Saints. He also participated in the USHL All-Star game.

He participated at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships as a member of the Latvia men's national junior ice hockey team. He also represented the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships.

Girgensons was selected by the HC CSKA Moscow in the 2nd round (28th overall) of the 2011 KHL Junior Draft. He had committed to play four years of college hockey for the Vermont Catamounts however, he signed away his NCAA eligibility when he signed his first pro contract a professional contract with the Sabres on July 13.

At 6'2 190 pounds, this kid already lives inside an NHLers body. To see him in shorts, t-shirt and flip flops gives one the impression that he is a 25 year old NHL vet. He was born in 1994. The same year as my oldest daughter. Girgensons, at age 18, has flipped the script and has suddenly become a key focal point in the Sabres organization. After the June draft, he hung out in Buffalo, and got to know the city and some of his new teammates. He participated, and frankly, impressed the Hell out of the Regier and Ruff at the Sabres prospects camp. He competed so hard and played so well that Regier had no other choice than to sign the kid to a pro contract. He earned the right to play pro hockey. Nothing was handed to him. Against all odds, he let his hockey doing his talking for him.


thanks, sabres



The kid shows up to the rink everyday with one thing on his mind: to make a lasting impression.He's not flashy and sassy. He's a lean, mean, fighting machine. Central Scouting Service had rated Girgensons in their top 20 pre-draft prospects list. After watching him skate and play these past 60 days, I now understand why. He's big, tough, skilled, and extremely confident. He doesn't shy away from running smack, running goalies, and finishing his checks. He's an aggressive player. Heavy on the puck. Hard on opponents. I watched him battle with Sabres big men Marcus Foligno and Steve Ott during 3-v-3 cross-ce games at a local rink the other day. Girgensons showed zero fear, nor hesitation. There is zero hesitation in his game. As a centre, he told me that he believes that the puck is his every time he's on the ice. When he has possession of the biscuit, he protects it with his huge frame and distributes it with impressive dexterity. He's a give and go machine, who will drive opposing D crazy when he and his wingers get their down low cycle game established. Girgo is a zone-time creator. He wins faceoff, maintains possession, finds his wingers with tape to tape darts and then crashes the blue ice. If I'm an opposing AHL or NHL goalie, I'm going to get sick and tired of seeing this kid in my grill every time he's on the ice. Before I met him, I had heard that he can skate like a freight train. I'm here to tell you that this kid has NHL power forward size, strength, and skill. The Sabres recognized his NHL-level skill set and quickly signed him to his pro contract.

This kid doesn't need four years of college hockey. he's ready for the show. I spoke with a trusted NHL source the other day who has told me: "Girgensons, right now, is ahead of Grigorenko on the Sabres depth chart. He's not a perimeter player. he's a Hell raiser who loves to create chaos in the offensive zone. Grigorenko is a guy who plays on the top of the circles and sneaks into open holes below the hash marks. He's more of a finesse player while Girgensons is a freakin bulldozer that smashes everything in his way." I have to say, that I agree with this assessment. Based on what I've seen of the two new, first round draft choice centres, I slot Girgo ahead of Grigo. I would've called them even after the July prospect camp, and Blue and Gold prospect scrimmage. Whats changing my opinion is the fact that Grigorenko didn't impress me at the Canada-Russia Challenege. Playing centre for Nail Yakupov is a license to print money for a youngster. Grigorenko skated well, however, his down low game left me wanting more. He's wasn't an agitator, nor was he an effective net front presence. He showed glimpses of greatness on the Russia PP. However, his five on five play left me wanting more. All due respect to Canada and their thick D corps, Grigorenko could have fought harder to penetrate and to hunt pucks. Put Girgensons-style player with Yakupov and maybe you have a different outcome if you are Russia. I'm in no way slagging Grigorenko. I'm merely suggesting that perhaps he should spoend this season in Quebec with Patrick Roy's Remparts. Would it be such a terrible thing for Grigo to tear up "The Q" and score 100+ points? No. it just may get him ready for the pro game.

Hockey is the only thing that matter to Girgensons. Thats it. He's not looking to be famous or to be popular.

He told me the other day:

"The Navy SEALS training in camp was awesome. I loved it. Was I thrilled to be woken up at 4:30am? No. But thats life. You have to adapt to it. I loved the workouts. Thats how the NHL will be".

He's right. Things don't always go your way in pro hockey. One must adapt and overcome adversity. Its a fact of life. Girgo is ready for the challenge.

"I'm getting ready to play in the AHL and I cannot wait to get started. I havent' talked too much with Coach Rolston yet, but I will soon. Iwant to show everyone in Buffalo and Rochester what kind of player I really am'.

He's a bull in a china shop. Wouldn't surprise me if he gets a look at the top line centre job, running with Vanek and pommer in training camp. He told me he can visualize playing with 26 and 29.

'It wont be a problem for me. I always feel like if they put you with other guys, you are going to perform well, at a higher level".

Don't be surprised if Girgensons battles his way onto the Buffalo roster this season.




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Shane Doan and his agent are going to be signing off on a new contract next Saturday. Doan said Thursday on XTRA 910 in Phoenix that he has a deal is place with Don Maloney and the Phoenix Coyotes. Doan says that Yotes prospective owner, Greg Jamison has the $170 million to fork over to Gart Bettman. All that remains is the city of Glendale is to re-work its lease agreement with the Coyotes. HUGE question:

Can the lease be reworked in a week's time?

Mr. Doan, you better hope that it can be accomplished, or else you will be moving to either Vancouver or Buffalo.

Sarah McClellan from azcentral.com reports that the lease deal is no gimme putt:



"We've been in contact with (General Manager) Don (Maloney), and I think we've come up with something we can both work with," said Doan's agent, Terry Bross, confirming what Doan announced himself on a local radio station on Thursday.

Since becoming a free agent on July 1, Doan has waited to sign to give Jamison time to purchase the Coyotes.

Settling the sale hasn't been easy. The latest obstacle is the city of Glendale's desire to rework the 20-year, $324 million lease agreement previous agreed on by both sides.

While negotiations on this matter can continue, time is running out to keep Doan. He will sign a contract before the current collective bargaining agreement expires in a week. Without a new labor agreement in place, the NHL plans to lock out the players.

"You don't know what the new CBA is going to have in it," Bross said. "That's really why we want to get in before the new CBA is in place. They may restrict signing bonuses. They may restrict length of contract. There are so many wildcards that we want to deal with what we know right now."


Fact: Terry Pegula scratches huge checks for huge signing bonuses. Just ask Tyler Myers and Christian Ehrhoff. Would Vancouver of Nashville front=load fat money for Doan the way that Pegula can? I say no.

Pegula might write a $10 million signing bonus check on the four year, $30 million contract offer. Don't tell a billionaire how to spend his money. Pegula gets what he wants.



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Sounds like forward progress is being made in the on again, off again NHL labor dispute. The NHLPA, led by Donald Fehr, met with Gary Bettman and Bill Daly not once, but twice on Friday. Their two hour morning session ended at lunch time. The second session began at approximately 6pm EDT and lasted for over two hours. Three NHL vets, Buffalo's Robyn Regehr, Winnipeg's Ron Hainsey, and Minnesota's Zenon Konopka represented the players and sat in on both sessions.

Konopka told Mike Russo of startribune.com that he feels very postitive about the progress both sides made on Friday.


Wild center Zenon Konopka was one of three NHL players who attended the sessions, which he called for "educational purposes" rather than formal negotiations.

"We're getting down to the nitty gritty here, and we're trying to understand the league's proposal to the best of our ability and we're trying to explain ours to them. We're trying to find some common ground and something to build off.

"It's a good sign that we're sitting down in the same room. That can be taken as a positive, I guess. We, as players, are trying to do everything we can to get a deal done."

Last Friday, negotiations between the two sides stalled. The NHL is trying to decrease the share of hockey related revenue the players receive from 57 percent and wants players to take paycuts over a three-year period.

Revenue sharing is a big part of the union's proposal, with the NHLPA wanting teams to distribute $240 million and the league wanting to share $190 million. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told the Star Tribune on Wednesday that the sides are in the "same ballpark" and indicated that revenue sharing is not the type of thing that would hold up an agreement, that the share if the pie would.

"At the end of the days, the players want to make sure we address the root of the problem and make sure the game is healthy for years to come. We want to put mechanisms in place (to assistance the struggling markets)."

Konopka said the communication between Executive Director Donald Fehr with the 700 union members has been "sensational" throughout the negotiations and "we want to get a fair deal for everybody involved. That's easier said than done. I'm optimistic by nature, so that's the route I usually take. I think there's enough time to get a deal done by Sept. 15.
"I can tell you I just left the union office and the whole staff is still there working. We want to make a deal."



Konopka is staying over night in Manhattan in hopes that both sides will meet again on Saturday morning to resume their conversations.

Its not known of Regehr and Hainsey will stay in NYC over night.


More to come......

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The Drtroit Free Press is reporting that Sabres veteran Dman, Robyn Regehr, is front and centre in NYC today. The NHLPA and NHL are holding "informal" negotiations at the NHL headquarters in Manhattan.

We are a week away from the September 15th expiration date of teh current CBA. The PA and NHL had been in a six day "recess period" before Friday when NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, and his top assistant and brother, Steve Fehr, met with Commissioner Gary Bettman and his deputy, Bill Daly, for a "time and temperature check". The two groups met for two hours in the morning. Took a break, and will meet again Friday night to resume talks.

Smells like progress to me.


Players have often flanked the Fehrs for support in the process, and Friday was no different. Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey, Minnesota Wild forward Zenon Konopka and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Robyn Regher were on hand in New York.


The league has said it will lock the players out if a new deal isn't reached by the 15th.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Barret Jackman said he was "absolutely devastated" by the lockout that claimed the 2004-05 season, resulting in a salary cap going forward. He said this year is a different story, describing the NHL today as a "thriving business."

"We realize there are some teams at the bottom that are kind of struggling, teams like Phoenix and a couple teams in Florida," Jackman said. "It's tough to sit by and watch hockey take the beating it is, but hopefully this isn't a long-term thing and we'll get going."



Regehr is an intelligent man, and he was a part of the 2004-05 NHL lockout. His Calgary Flames lost the Stanley Cup to the Tampa Lightning. Then, the NHL shut its doors for what seemed like an eternity to the fans.

Regehr's team mates have been skating in suburban Buffalo the past few days, which would explain why he hasn't been participating in the on ice sessions with his mates.

Personally, I learned a lot from Regehr last season, his first in Buffalo. The guy is like E,F. Hutton. When he speaks, people listen. I find him to be a thoughtful guy who is candid and direct. He looks you in the eye when you speak with him, He thinks about your questions before giving an insightful answer. He doesn't panic during losing streaks and he certainly doesn't break his own arm by patting himself on his own back. He's a leader of men.

Regehr is a pro's pro. Makes sense why the NHLPA have asked him to sit in on Friday's meetings.

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We’re one week away from the expiration of the current NHL CBA, however, another large market team has signed another one of its young players to a long term contract extension.
This time around, it’s the Boston Bruins, the team with the highest payroll in the NHL for the 2012-13 season are presently at $ $68,867,976 for the coming season. Brad Marchand is now the proud owner of a four year, $18 million contract extension. He’ll be a $4.5 million cap hit per season. Marchand would have become an RFA on July 1, 2013. He’ll earn $2.5 million this season. His extension now kicks in on 7/1/13.

Marchand’s career trajectory is very similar to that of Buffalo’s RFA Tyler Ennis. Marchand has played 173 NHL games, has 49 goals and 48 assists for 97 points. He also has 21 points in 32 career playoff games.



Ennis started his Buffalo career playing wing. He was placed at his natural centre position last winter, and his production took off. Ennis has played in 140 career NHL games. He suffered two major ankle injuries last season that took him away from the Buffalo lineup for long stretches. Ennis has scored 38 goals, added 54 assists, and has scored 92 points. He also has 8 points in 21 career playoff games.



Ennis is in restricted free agency purgatory right now with Ryan O’Reilly, Evander Kane, Jamie Benn, PK Subban, Michael Del Zotto and John Carlson.

If and when these RFAs sign is anybody’s guess.

Is Ennis worth the same term and dollars as Marchand?


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What do you get when you add twenty Sabres and Amerks to a gleaming, shiny sheet of glass? You get a unified group of NHLers. Toss in a puck, and you've got the makings of a high-tempo, heavy duty workout. The boys ran themselves through a serious cross-ice, 3 on 3 battle royal on Thursday. Time and space were at a premium, so the pace was fast and furious. No body checks, however, tons of rubbin and scrubbin.



Nathan Gerbe took it easy while the following Sabres competed in the mosh fest:

Forwards: Marcus Foligno, Steve Ott, Zemgus Girgensons, Cody Hodgson, Drew Stafford, Corey Tropp, Pat Kaleta, Jason Pominville, Cody McCormick, Matt Ellis, Ville Leino, Luke Adam.

Defense: Jordan Leopold, Mike Weber, Brayden McNabb, TJ Brennan, Drew Schiestel,

Goalies: Jhonas Enroth, connor Knapp, and David Leggio

Foligno told me: "Great Summer. Im thrilled to be back with the boys".

Ott told me: "I want this season to start as soon as possible. This group of guys is great to be with"

Drew Stafford told me: "Im going to go to NY next week with all thd NHLPA members. We support Don (Fehr)"

Zemgus Girgensons is geeked to be back in Buffalo. "Im ready to play in Rochester. I havd so much energy right now. I cant wait to start my pro career"

Cody Hodgson looks ripped and ready to compete for the top line centre job. "Im in great physical shape. My Summer training was awesome. Im ready to start now"




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