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By Gorges, London Calling |
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Thanks, Bill Wippert
I was at beautiful Wanakah Country Club in lovely Lakeview, NY, the site of the Buffalo Sabres’ annual golf outing. I didn’t play in the event, however, it was there that I had a “Holy Crap” moment or two. I arrived there early, ahead of the shotgun start so that I could chat up some of the players, coaches and front office personnel. Mr. and Mrs. Pegula were not in attendance. That’s okay, as they have been a bit busy lately.
The gorgeous track is nestled along the banks of majestic Lake Erie, not too far from Pat Kaleta’s neighborhood. The players arrived a bit late because they skated on their own in Buffalo.They had to get their work in before their round of 18 holes. It’s a 25 minute drive from the rink to the golf course. The players arrived in groups of twos and threes. First Drew Stafford and Cody McCormick ventured in and were greeted by team officials and media. My personal eureka moment came when a trio of Sabres made their way through the parking lot to the registration table. Before I could intercept the group to say hello and ask for a chat, it brought a huge smile to my face to see legendary broadcaster and story teller Harry Neale happen upon the group to offer his greetings and salutations. Harry is hockey royalty in my household so I waited while Harry and the three Sabres laughed and enjoyed their moment. At the end of their chat, Harry welcomed future captain Brian Gionta, stabilizing D-man Josh Gorges and second tour of duty marksman Matt Moulson to the event. He wished them a great round of golf and a successful season. The players got a kick out of Neale’s charming, heartfelt welcome and off they went.
Moments later, Gorges was all smiles when I asked him about his first impressions of the Sabres organization now that he’s had a few weeks to get to know his new teammates and organizational leaders.
“Like I’ve said, I’m real excited to be here. We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us and we’ve got a good group of young guys that are excited and willing. What better team to be part of than something like that? We know we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us but that’s a good thing, you know? It gives us something to strive for and something to push for”
Josh saw firsthand the worst-to-first turnabout of the Montreal Canadiens a couple of years ago. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals last season just two years removed from being trapped in the Eastern Conference gulags. He noted many similarities between that Montreal club and this currently reconstructed Sabres club. Gorges says that he can lead by example having seen a dramatic escalator ride up the standings in Montreal. It takes all guys, young and old, to believe in the mission and to stay focused on the mission every minute of every day.
“Absolutely it does, and whatever happened here last year you turn the page and you move forward. I think as long as you have guys that are willing and committed to what you need to do, we can surprise teams. It’s a long season and there’s gonna be a lot of ups and a lot of downs. It’s a matter of staying in that zone each day, moving forward and keep getting better. As long as we have that commitment from everybody, we’ll be just fine”.
I couldn’t resist asking Gorges about his now legendary decision to play in Buffalo rather than to accept a trade to place in Toronto for the Maple Leafs. I told him for that reason alone, his Sabres sweater will be sold out for years to cone at the Sabres Store because of his decision to move his wife and newborn baby to Buffalo rather than play in The Big Smoke.
“There’s a lot to goes into that (his final decision to play in Buffalo over Toronto).First and foremost you always think of family first, and how’s that going to go. I just thought at that time (in July) that it (Toronto) wasn’t the right fit for me and that I really like the opportunity to come here (Buffalo) to play for a team like this”.
Having spent the past eight years of his life in Montreal, Gorges admitted that being traded came as a bit of a shock at first, however, he has been blown away by the way that he and his family have been embraced by the Buffalo community, Sabres fans, Sabres alumni and current Sabres players.
“Yeah, I have been pleasantly surprised. Me and my wife are amazed at how friendly everyone has been here. Everywhere we go in town, everyone is genuinely nice to us. They treat us well. We’ve been treated like first class from everyone in the organization from the top down. Its been a great first couple of weeks to start out here, that’s for sure."
Training camp opens for Gorges, Gionta, Moulson and their Sabres on Thursday.
For the first time in tens seasons of covering the modern era Sabres, I wasn’t camped out waiting for Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek to make their grand entrance into the event as I had so many times in the past. This event was different. Fresh faces and a new energy permeated from premises. It looked and felt very different than past events had appeared and felt. The page has ben turned. The paradigm has shifted.
There's a new hockey buzz in the air in Buffalo and I like it.
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The baby Sabres will return home to Buffalo feeling empty and unfulfilled. They finished the Traverse City Tournament with a disappointing and embarrassing 0-3-1 record. They were one of the odds on favorites to play in the championship game. That will have to wait until next September. Columbus and Dallas will battle for the gold medal.
Chadd Cassidy’s squad lost 2-1 to St. Louis on Tuesday afternoon. Andrey Makarov took the loss for Buffalo.
Guelph Storm sniper Robby Fabbri torched Makarov for two PPGs and that was all of the scoring that the Blues would need to cement their first win of the tourney. Justin Bailey was rewarded for his four games of grinding and shooting at will when he scored on his own rebound for Buffalo’s only goal in the loss.
**
What's eating Nikita Zadorov?
You’ll recall that Cassidy benched the big Russian midway through the second period of Monday’s blowout loss to Dallas. Zadorov’s play to that point had been less than satisfactory. Cassidy didn’t like Zadorov’s effort so he gave him a period and a half off to think about his contributions, or lack thereof. Zadorov could not have picked a worse time to get himself called by his head coach. Sabres training camp opens on Thursday and for the first time in a longtime, there will be roster spots available to be earned by young forwards and D. Top prospects like Zadorov are usually foaming at the mouth for the opportunity to pull on their NHL club’s sweater and to lead the charge to a championship. The Traverse City tournament is an A-List destination for NHL GMs and scouts. Prospects have multiple opportunities to prove that they belong in the show. Having a great showing at Traverse City gives the player added oomph, confidence, and enthusiasm that they can use as fuel for their NHL training camp experience or their NCAA and junior hockey training camp experience.
Whats so shocking about Zadorov is that his game has been trending downward for the past four months. In four games at Traverse City, He took four penalties (4 PIMs vs. St. Louis), had 12 shots, was held scoreless, and was -2. In May, his London Knights club hosted the 2014 Memorial Cup Tournament ( 3 games played, no points, 4 PIMs, -2). He played okay. Not great or outstanding, just okay. He also had a so-so showing at Sabres Rookie Development Camp in July. The hulking Russian has added weight to his 6’5” frame this summer and one wonders if he’s having trouble maintaining the NHL tempo with his extra weight. He isn’t injured, otherwise he would have told the Sabres about it long ago, right?
Based on their performances at Traverse City, it appears to me that Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe are serious contenders to join the Buffalo D corps after training camp ends. Ristolainen and McCabe were towers of power for the Sabres at Traverse City. Coach Cassidy played the duo 25+ minutes per game. They each played 35-ish minutes in the Dallas blowout after Zadorov got nailed to the bench. So, what’s going on with Zadorov? He entered the summer as a serious contender to earn a Buffalo roster spot, however, his chances are looking bleak to me right now. He hasn’t earned an NHL roster spot yet. In fact, he’s taken a step backwards in his development with his recent sluggish play and T-City benching.
It begs the question:
Where will Zadorov play this season?
Buffalo appears to be out of the question right now.
Rochester doesn’t appear to be an option for him right now due to his age.
His only option now is heading back to the Hunter Bros. in London, Ontario. Zadorov can play his third season in the OHL and work on cleaning up his poor approach and preparation, and, the parts of his game that have been plaguing him.
Do the Hunters want him back for this season or were they counting on him earning a Buffalo roster spot?
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