Remember when Sam Bennett shocked the hockey world when he couldn't do one pull-up at the NHL Combine in May? Had the Sabres selected Bennett rather than Samson Reinhart with the second overall pick in the entry draft, he would have had a difficult time during this week's Sabres rookie camp. For the record, Samson Reinhart was able to crank out 11 pull-ups during his fitness testing session.
This crop of premium young Sabres can not only do pull-ups, but they are big. strong, fast and relentless.
The numbers are in, and you'll be pleased to know the fitness testing results put the Sabres kids in the same class as the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
Zemgus Girgensons is your rookie camp pull-up champ with a robust 18. Bennett would have felt inadequate next to the Latvian Locomotive.
Jordan Samuels-Thomas earned high marks for being the leader in three of the four top fitness testing categories. Tim Murray must be laughing maniacally that he was able to steal Samuels-Thomas from the Winnipeg Jets for a seventh round pick. JST is becoming the role model and prototype power player that Murray and Ted Nolan want to build their team with.
JST is your bench press boss. JST pumped out five reps at 270 pounds. The power forward also finished first over in the vertical jump with a height of 27.2".
JST, Mikahail Grigorenko and Rasmus Ristolainen tied for first overall in the back squat test. Each player delivered five squats at 350 pounds per squat.
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I love the Tyler Ennis contract.
The term and dollars are bang on. His offensive ceiling is still very high. He scored 21 goals in 2013-14. I see Ennis scoring 25 goals this upcoming season. Is 30 goals a season out of the realm if possibility for Ennis? Not at all.
John Wawrow of the Associated Press has the breakdown on the dollars of the Ennis 5-year, $23 million contract. Its a front-loaded deal that will pay Ennis $7.3 million this season and $4.65 million in 2015-16.
Ennis can be traded in the final three years of the deal if Murray so chooses.
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