I chatted briefly with NHL draft prospect Adam Erne on Tuesday.
Erne, the former Quebec Rempart scoring star, had just completed his two-day stint at the Buffalo Sabres combine.
The Sabres invited some 70 players to Buffalo, where they immediately jumped them onto the ice so that they could see the player compete, up-close and personal, in 2 on 1 drills. There were no scrimmages, just skating drills. Darcy Regier, Kevin Devine, and the Sabres scouts were able to observe Erne's VO2 and Wingate tests at the NHL Combine in Toronto last weekend. However, there was no on-ice drills for teams to evaluate the footwork and hand-eye skills.
Erne told me that he Buffalo combine was different.
"I'd like to say they (the Sabres) seemed interested.. it seemed like the meeting went really well. I was happy with my on ice performance in front of them"
Erne's overall impressions of the Buffalo combine:
"It was a blast!"
Erne has a very close personal friend, and former line mate named Mikhail Grigorenko, who you may have read about in this space before.
"Honestly I loved every second of being in Buffalo it was so much fun. It would be awesome to play with Grigo again he is a great friend"
Erne told me that he has spoken with Grigo "a lot" lately.
"He (Grigorenko) wants me to get drafted to Buffalo so that I can be with him again. I think that would be awesome!"
Like Mick and Keith, Daltrey and Townsend, David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Erne and Grigo are rock stars. They create melodic heavy metal together.
Erne scored 127 points (56 goals) in 132 regular season games for Patrick Roy's Remparts the past two seasons. Erne was a point a game producer in QCity ( 0.96 points per game). In 22 playoff games, he scored 7 goals and added 9 assists (0.73 points per game).
In that same time span, Grigorenko scored 70 goals and added 69 assists ( a 1.51 points per game avg. in 92 games). In 22 playoff games, Grigo added 8 goals and 16 assists (a 1.09 points per game avg).
I'll draw the conclusion:
Grigo fuels Erne's production, and vice versa.
Point production. Passion. Punches. Power forward.
Yes, please.
Regier, Devine and the Sabres scouts have seen a lot of Erne the past couple of years. The Sabres when they would routinely watch Grigorenko live and in person while he competed in The Q. It was hard for the Sabres brass to miss Big Erne's heavy hockey style and his soft hands.
Erne's a versatile winger, who can play on the right and left sides. He's exactly the player that the Sabres are looking to add to their already impressive organizational forward ranks that includes studs Joel Armia, Zemgus Girgensons, Johann Larsson, Dan Catenacci, Christian Isackson, Corey Tropp, Phil Varone, Justin Kea, Colin Jacobs, and Riley Boychuk, .
Erne hits, skates, creates, and scores with regularity. He's a high-motor player and will add size and strength in the years to come, which will only benefit his power game.
I'd love to see Buffalo select him with their 16th overall pick.
Buffalo made quite a profound impression on Erne during his short visit earlier this week. Having Grigorenko already on board is a great deal closer. Now, the Sabres have to fight off the other teams who want to get a look-see of Erne before the June 30 NHL Entry Draft in Newark.
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