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Weber To Norway; Makki On Fire!

November 16, 2012, 9:19 AM ET [7 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
According to rb.no, Sabres D, Mike Weber, has signed to play in Norway with Lorenskog.



Lørenskog signed NHL defender Mike Weber (24) late Thursday night. American has three seasons and 132 games for the Buffalo Sabres in the world's best hockey league.
Weber arrive Lørenskog Saturday and one hopes that he plays home against Rosenborg Thursday.
Talks with full-back has been going on for quite a while. Buffalo player has many games in the AHL, a league his new teammates James Sixsmith, Wacey Rabbit, Kenny Corupe and Wes Cunningham also has experience.
- Mike has in many ways been a first for us, although it also has other options. He is not very expensive for us. He wanted to wait to sign a while, but now it looks like the lockout is prolonged. Now he says sports director Atle Olsen to Rome Blad.
- Power Plug
24-year-old has a wage of $ 950,000, which is relatively modest in NHL standards. The salary he will of course get in Lørenskog. The cost will mainly be in the player's insurance.
Weber is a typical defensive back, who was both sports manager and coach David Livingston said they wanted when they last got questions about NHL players.
Olsen will not rule out that there will be more.
- Now we see the little but we are very excited to have Mike here. He is a "sheriff" in their own zone.
Fjerde NHL-spiller
Weber comparable bit with Deryk Engelland that in October signed for Rosenborg. The 24 year old is 189 centimeters tall and weighs 90 kilograms.
- I think Mike is probably crooked album. It's very funny that we can get such a profile of the club.
Weber physics even the best players got noticed. In February this year he Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf in the ice for a little scuffle.
Deryk Engelland and Jack Skille, also in Rosenborg, is currently the only NHL players in Norway. In addition to Weber Lillehammer will also be close to sign a player from the same league.
Weber is not the first with NHL experience in Lørenskog. Previous seasons have Ian MacNeil , Dan LaCouture and Andy Delmore axle LIK-shirt. This is the first time the club gets a straight from the league.
- Olsson nærmere
Lørenskog thus eight foreigners in the squad but may only use seven at a time.
- It's not up to me to decide who must be in the stands. But we have hardly played with full quota this season due to illness and injury. In addition, I expect that Jonas Olsson gets a Norwegian passport within a very short time, says Ol







_______________________________________________________________________

Sabres goalie prospect, Andrey Makarov, is turning more than a few heads by virtue of his two stellar performances at the Subway Super Series. Makarov’s decision to leave his mother Russia to play with the WHL Saskatoon Blades was a none-too-popular decision with the Russian national team hockeygencia. “Makki” has been making quite a name for himself in North America. Bear in mind, Makarov wasn't drafted at all. He ventured to the WHL to make a favorable impression and to turn doubters into believers. The kid has done that, and more in his one and a half seasons in Sasky.



On Thursday night, Makarov went the distance for the Russians, stopping 22 of 24 shots to claim the victory one night after turning in a strong performance in the 1-0 shootout loss in Vancouver.

On Tuesday night, Andrey Makarov had an excellent 35-save performance for Russia, however Laurent Brossoit stopped all 30 the shots he faced and even was unbeatable in a shootout as the Team WHL won defeated Team Russia 1-0 in the shootout. Makarov has the heart of a lion, and has the physical skills and mental toughness to stare down shooters and to make the big saves when they have to be made.

Makarov’s courtship with Buffalo was a quick and passionate one.
Darcy Regier invited Makarov to attend Buffalo Sabres their training camp. Way back before the NHL lockout, you’ll recall that camps were scheduled to begin on September. 21. When the clock struck midnight sixty one days ago on September 15, the NHL owners locked out the NHl players. Hence, Makarov had no camp to report to.

With one CBA expiring, and the league hanging in limbo right now, waiting for the new CBA to be ratified by the owners and the NHLPA, Regier and the Sabres took a calculated gamble by opting to sign the 19 year old Russian phenom before the end of the current deal. In mid-September, the Sabres signed “Makki” to his three year entry level contract.

Money well spent, Darcy!

Makarov told the Star Phoenix:
“They see me in Halifax and I play two games against Canada (the first one in Yaroslavl),”
The Sabres liked what they saw and quickly pounced on the 6’1 200 pound super-athletic goaltender.

“My agent told me Buffalo is a good deal so I sign the contract”, said Makarov back in September.

“Makki” was impressive in his first season playing hockey in North America. He finished 29-21-1-1 with the Blades last season, posting a 3.01 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and two shutouts.

Though he was properly rated as the seventh-best goalie eligible for the 2012 NHL draft in Central Scouting’s final rankings, Makarov wasn’t chosen among the 211 players chosen June 22 and 23.

Talk about a slap in the face. Regier saw the kid’s value and he swooped in to make a claim on him before all other 29 NHL GMs could stake a claim to him.
On draft weekend, 24 other goalies were selected ahead of Makarov, who was in his second year of eligibility.

Hell hath no fury like a “Makki” scorned. Embarrassed and dejected by the draft weekend snub, Makarov traveled home to Russia, where he amped up his intensity and continued to train even harder, in order to achieve and live out his dream of playing in the NHL.

The first part of his mission is accomplished. He played well enough in the U-20s in August to get the Sabres to say “yes” to him. Now, its up to him to make a bigger name for himself by expanding his body of work. Is he a show-in to be a goalie in Buffalo one day? No, nothing is a given. His competition to unseat Ryan Miller as Sabres goalie will be stiff as the Sabres have a bevy of ualified puck stoppers in their organization right now with Enroth (Buffalo), Leggio (Rochester), Knapp (Rochester), and Lieuwen (ECHL) in their system. Makarov is not unnerved by the long odds. He actually enjoys the challenge of proving people wrong. That’s what motivates him. He lets his stellar play do his talking for him.

He’s now part of the same organization as his good friend Mikhail Grigorenko, who was drafted by the Sabres 12th overall in June and agreed to a contract in July.

“It doesn’t matter what (happened), I was just working hard,” Makarov said. “I feel like I’m working hard more because my goal is to make NHL one day.”

If he keeps playing at this same consistently high level, it won’t be long until Makarov is playing in the NHL for Buffalo.

Ryan Miller’s present contract will expire after next season. Miller will have options. He’s a top five goalie and there will be big offers for his services from other teams besides Buffalo. He will become a UFA on July 1, 2014. Will he be re-signing in Buffalo, or, will be stabbing westward to get closer to his wife? Noureen DeWulf, Miller’s significant other, recently signed a long term extension to continue to play “Lacy”, (who is an angry, crazy girl that shot her ex-boyfriend) to Charlie Sheen in their FX comedy, “Anger Management”.

Should Miler make a move out of Buffalo after his contract expires, it’s settling to know that the Sabres have Makarov and other noteworthy, young goaltenders in their pipeline who can step into the four-by-six office.
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