I had to peel out of First Niagara Center early, Which caused me to miss some of the players in their scrums on exit day.Thanks to sabres.com for use of their video.
Thomas Vanek suffered through injuries and some moments of crisis in confidence this season. Today, he spoke about the season, and what happened to him physically and mentally.
**** Drew Stafford
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Christian Ehrhoff's sprained knee that he suffered at the knee of Washington's Troy Brouwer would have kept the German D in the press box with Tyler Myers in round one, were the Sabres to have qualified for the playoffs. Playing the Rangers without their top two D would have been a ball buster of a challenge.
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Captain Pominville is still disappointed and frustrated at the notion of having to watch another NHL playoff season with his team sitting on the couch.
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9:10am
Tyler Myers did in fact break his foot while blocking the shot from Paul Martin in the recent Pittsburgh game in Buffalo. Myers said that after that game, his foot was too swollen to play.
"We didn't know right away, but a couple days after, on the x-ray, it was pretty clear".
Myers agreed that the news of the broken foot was devastating.
"Yeah, in the (playoff) hunt like that, it wasn't a very good feeling at all to know that you couldn't be out there to help the team and to try and push for that last (playoff) position".
thanks, sabres.com
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One of the few bright, shining stars of this forgettable season was the stellar play of centre man, Tyler Ennis. You better believe that Ennis will be busting his tail all Summer long so that he will be ready to take his game to the next level next Fall. I see no reason why Ennis cannot be relied upon to be the team's #1 centre next season and beyond. He, Foligno and Stafford played a gargantuan role in the run to the playoffs. Ennis is not a winger. He's a bonafide #1 or #2 centre. Ditto Cody Hodgson. Ennis said that his high ankle sprain injury taught him a new perspective on how to play the game. Sitting and watching from the crow's nest taught him that he has to play the game at a fater pace. More touches of the puck allowed Ennis more confidence that he's ever played with before.
A disappointed Ennis faced the media before departing the building for the last time this season.
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If you were like me, checking your Twitter news feed on Easter Sunday, right around 5pm, you saw an epic picture that Nathan Gerbe had tweeted. The picture looked like a scene out of a youth travel hockey settung, with Cody Hodgson and Tyler Ennis battling it out in an intense game of mini-stick. Two grown NHLs, on their knees, smashing shots off one another with mini hockey sticks. I laughed out loud when I saw it. My first thought was, "Did Henrik and Daniel Sedin ever asked Cody Hodgson to play mini sticks at their house on Eatser Sunday".
I asked Hodgson the same question on locker clean out day.
Laughing he said, "No, it was a different situation there (in Vancouver). Here I'm one of the guys. You saw the picture, Enzo and Gerbs are hilarious. I remember when I was first traded here, and Gerbe asked me over immediately to play mini sticks, it was great. he made me feel welcome from the minute I got here. Thats what so great about this team. There are a lot of guys who care about one another".
Hodgson is a 22 year old NHLer, who sees more guys his age in the Buffalo room. He told me that the Vancouver room was made up of more established, older guys who have families away from the rink. Here in Buffalo, there's a nice blend of young guys who are starting out just like him, as well as older guys who he views as role models.
Speaking of established NHLers to pattern your life and career after, Hodgson told me that he's getting pumped to begin his second full off season training with "Scary Gary". Stanley cup winner, and future Hall Of Famer, Gary Roberts has his own NHL player training company located just north of the Greater Toronto Area. Roberts also works out of the world famous Bio Steel Gym in Toronto.
"Its an awesome experience because its not just on-ice coaching. Its more of a lifestyle coaching experience. They teach young players like me, James, Neal, Jeff Skinner, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Wojtek Wolski, and others about the importance of vitamins and minerals, and our daily diets. There's chiropractic, soft tissue work, and a lot of things that are essential for me and other to helps us through the dog days of the winter grind in the NHL. Its hockey, but its more than just pushing the weights around, you know? Its really helping me now. I went there for rehab a couple of Summers ago, then I spent the Summer there after my first NHL season. I'll take time off now, and then start there in May and go through until training camp. I really look forward to it because we work out off the ice, then we scrimmage with some of the best players in the world. They let us bring some friends along too, which is cool".
Hodgson told me that he plans on driving back and forth down the QEW from his off season home in Markham to Buffalo.
"I have a lot of friends here and I'm definitely going to be in touch with them and I'll come here to work out as well. Buffalo is a great town with excellent people. I really love it here".
The feeling's mutually, CoHo.
Thanks, sabres.com
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Jhonas Enroth played 22 games this season.
"I was hoping to play 30. I only played three games in three months, and I'd like to play more."
Enroth noted that while Ryan Miller was red hot in February, March and April, that he agreed with riding the hot goalie.
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Derek Roy just said that he pulled in hamstring "working out last July". He said that he couldn't work out for a month.
He then hurt himself in training camp (shoulder) and noted "I'm still battling both injuries today".
Roy ,made several candid, honest comments on the following subjects: "the core", leadership", coach Ruff, and his own health.
"Its obviously tough coming in today. Obviously, the boys are all disappointed by what has happened. We had a chance... and we didn't pull through".
Roy, Buffalo Bills cap turned backwards, lamented all that could have been on this most frustrating of Monday mornings.
What went wrong, in your opinion, Derek?
"We had a tough stretch where we had injuries and we had the twelve game losing streak on the road. We didn't stop the bleeding on the road, we kept losing. Obviously, our home record wasn't great at the beginning of the season".
When asked if that infamous road losing streak was a function or leadership in the room or of coaching, Roy said:
" Um... we did did have a lot of injuries, I think at one point we had nine guys out of the lineup. That was a tough stretch, but I feel like we were getting guys back and we started to play more consistent night in, night out... its a tough day today. We're just gonna try to get better in the off season".
When asked about his own health, and lack thereof, Roy confided that he was not in good health when training camp started in September. He came into camp injured, and injured himself again when camp began. Thats a recipe for disaster for an NHLer. Roy's season ended last season with a surgery. He came back in time to join his teammates for game 7 in the Philly series last spring, however, it was too little too late. Roy was not 100% healthy. With his leg injury, Roy said he still isn't 100%.
"The doctors said its going to be, I just talked to him today, it will be two years for it (the leg) to get back to 100%. It was a tough stretch there in camp when I missed a bunch of exhibition games. I got injured working out in July as well".
Roy injured his hamstring working out last Summer and was not in great shape when he reported for training camp because he hadn't worked out in a solid month, due to his hammy injury.
"It was a tough stretch, the training camp came around and I got injured again. I'm not injury prone at all, but it was tough to start the season off with those two injuries".
The injuries are still bothering Roy to this day.
"I'm going to take a good month off and do absolutely nothing. Try to rest. Get back into shape. get ready for the season", Roy said.
There you have it. You wonder why Roy's production took a dramatic nose-dive this season? When you are trying to gut-it out and play your way through a nasty hamstring pull and a jacked up shoulder, its hard to perform the duties that are required to be an elite NHL first line centre.
Given the expectations that were cast upon himself and the entire team, Roy says that it hurts to be heading to the lake home so early when his peers and friends around the NHL are competing for Lord Stanley's Cup.
"Its very disappointing. I think, all the hype at the start of the season, everybody was putting us in as "contenders..... we waited too long to get started. We waited until our backs were against the wall to get started".
Roy said that the "top guys, the leaders" have to do a better job of getting the team's attitude corrected in games after they are scored against of if there is a sloppy streak of play.
"The older guys have to go out first period and score a goal, or hit, or do something to spark the team up. I think everyone else will follow from that. The leaders definitely have to step up in situations like that".
Isn't Roy "that guy"? Core player, who's been with the team for 5+ seasons. Since Roy, Vanek, Pominville have become the "core players on the team", they have failed to win a playoff series. Whats up with that? Do trades need to be made out of the "core" group?
"I don't think so. I know know so. We don't. We've got a group of good players... its tough...we like each other. Everyone gets along well and we've just got to play well together, I think. In the playoff years, against Boston, we didn't prevail in that series, and last year, the guys did a good job in the playoffs, Philadelphia is a tough team and they took them to seven games, we could have won that series easily, so, we just have to keep working on things and get better".
Might be too late for that.
thanks, sabres.com
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Jochen Hecht would like to come back and play in Buffalo. He still hasn't done his neuropsych test, and hopes to do so this week. His three concussions in the past twelve months is a huge concern, not only for the Sabres but other NHL teams as well.
Hecht heads home feeling unfulfilled.
thanks, sabres.com
I don't see the Sabres bringing Hecht back next season. With Foligno, Tropp, Adam, Turnbull, and Whitmore in Rochester, the organization is getting younger. The production that Hecht could have provided as a healthy player can be duplicated or improved upon immediately by Foligno or Tropp.
We'll wait and see what tomorrow brings for Hecht.
Its a depressing morning in Buffalo. I'm at First Niagara Center for locker clean out day.
The players will speak today. Coaches and management will speak later in the week.
Some players are here now. Others are trickling in. Each player will have his meeting with coaches, and will take his season-ending physical exam.
I'll try to get a sense of what happened to this team this season. Such lofty expectations as training camp broke and the team headed to Europe. Then, so many thing went wrong: Injuries to key players and depth guys; "system" failures; little or no offense from incumbent scorers; growing pains for new imports. Not all things were bad, as the organizational depth was put to the test and it passed with flying colours. The kids are better than alright!
There will be roster moves made in the off season. UFAs-to-be will be allowed to leave. Trad.es will be pursued. The draft will be an exciting place for the Sabres to do business as the team will have four picks out of the top 60. Darcy Regier and his scouts will have his own first rounder, plus Nashville's first rounder (from Gaustad trade); they'll have their own second rounder plaus another. Will they hold all the premium draft picks, or, will they trade them for established NHLers who can help the team now? Or, will they use their picks to trade up to improve their drafting position?
There are more questions right now than answers.
I'll speak with the players and share the comments here later this morning.
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