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Grigorenko, Makarov sent down, Hackett recalled, plus more on goalies |
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Before anyone loses their minds upon hearing that the Sabres have sent F, Mikhail Grigorenko to Rochester, note that he was called up on an emergency basis because F, Zac Dalpe was tending to family matters. With Dalpe back, Grigorenko jumps back on I-90 and heads east to Rochester (hopefully not flat as a pancake.)
The Amerks, surprisingly, have more than held their own since the NHL's March 2nd trade deadline when Buffalo GM Tim Murray moved three forwards from the roster. Forwards Chris Stewart, Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn were replaced in the lineup by call-ups Tim Schaller and Jerry D'Amigo who joined recent Amerks call-ups Johan Larsson and Zac Dalpe. Rochester is 1-0-0-1 with their leading scorers Varone, Schaller and Larsson spending one or more games in Buffalo. Also of note, when Dalpe was out, he was leading the Amerks in scoring with 16 goals.
Grigorenko was called up with Schaller and D'Amigo but was more of a security blanket if F, Tyler Ennis wasn't able to go at Tampa Bay on Tuesday. He was in the press box with Ennis ready to go, then was sent back down. But with Dalpe out at Ottawa last night, Grigorenko was able to say that the trip did more than just put another stamp on his passport.
More changes are coming for tonight and you can add that Chad Johnson, who was acquired in a trade deadline deal from the Islanders in the Michal Neuvirth trade, to the list. He is in a walking boot and possibly out for the season after taking a puck to his foot. In his stead, Andrey Makarov was recalled for the Ottawa game to back up Anders Lindack who was acquired from Dallas in the Jhonas Enroth trade back on February 11th.
Now Makarov was sent down and goalie Matt Hackett recalled (more on him in a bit) for tonight's game at Washington.
If all of this recall, sent-down, emergency stuff is confusing, get used to it. This will probably be the Sabres/Amerks for the rest of the season.
Grigroenko acquitted himself well last night, despite not hitting the score-sheet, in 13:42 of ice-time. There is a marked difference from when he last put on a Sabres uniform and a world of difference from when he hit the ice as a 19yr. old in January, 2013. His confidence-level has increased two or three-fold which showed throughout much of the game, especially when he displayed some nifty stickwork while fending off an Ottawa player along the boards last night. He also has a much better feel for what's going on around him when he's on the ice.
He still has a ways to go though, but his time in Rochester has helped him immensely. It's something that the NHL and CHL should take note of as their agreement kept Grigorenko in no-man's land for way too long. And Grigorenko's development should also be carefully looked at by his fellow countryman, defenseman Nikita Zadorov.
Zadorov has size and raw skills that are unmistakable. He can skate, shoot, hit and score. But there's a huge learning curve that centers around getting a feel for the game and it's individual players, something mentioned by the Ottawa broadcast team when he got pick-pocketed last night. For Zadorov, it's all about the mental aspects and having a more professional approach to catch up to the speed with which NHL players think and play the game. A little seasoning in Rochester would work wonders for him, especially if he was to learn the game from a veteran and true professional like Drew Bagnall (should they re-sign him for next season.)
You can ask Rasmus Ristolainen, Mark Pysyk and Jake McCabe just how much working with Bagnall has helped their game.
It's not to take away from Zadorov, but his rookie mistakes can be glaring. Sure, he prefers to play in the NHL, and he could hold his own fairly well. But there's much more to the game, like timing and professionalism, that can only be learned through proper development and paying one's dues. The best way to do that is to do it in an environment like the AHL where there's far less pressure to produce and where's mistakes are an expected part of the learning process.
As for Hackett, this is his second call-up of the season. He spotted Enroth in Vancouver with Neuvirth sidelined allowing four goals on 37 shots in a 5-2 Sabres loss. His games played and playing time are worth noting over the course of the last 17 games and it's something that management needs to keep an eye on.
Hackett will become an unrestricted free agent this off season if he does not appear in at least seven more games playing a minimum of 30 minutes in each. If those conditions are met, he will be a restricted free agent.
The upcoming games will be a tough balancing act for Murray as he keeps one eye on the 2015 draft and the other on players in Rochester, his Buffalo goaltending and the college ranks where Boston University Matt O'Connor will have plenty of NHL suitors once he brings his college career to an end this season.
The goaltending situation is in serious state of flux right now as evidenced by the number of crease-patrollers since mainstay Ryan Miller was traded last February. Buffalo has dressed 11 different goaltenders in just over a year: Enroth, Jaroslav Halak (dressed one game, did not play,) Neuvirth, Ryan Vinz (HARBORCENTER employee dressed on an emergency basis,) Makarov, Nathan Lieuwen, Connor Knapp and Hackett (all AHL goalies who came through Rochester,) goalie coach Arturs Irbe (November 18, emergency) plus the recently traded for Lindback and Johnson.
First on the docket of things to do between the pipes for Murray and Co. is to figure out just what they have in Hackett.
Last season he won the starting job over Lieuwen in Rochester before things fell apart. The Miller trade as well as injuries got him more starts with the Amerks, but he was unable to show significant progress in his game. As injuries really took their toll on the big club he was summoned to Buffalo and played surprisingly well before being felled by a knee injury which kept him off the ice until December. As of today he's sporting a 7-4-2-1 record with a 2.72gaa and a .907 sv% which is a pretty far cry from last year when he went 19-20-0-3; 3.07; .889.
No matter who the Sabres starting goalie for 2015-16, they need to find out if Hackett could fit into the Sabres' plans. He won't be headed back to Rochester next season as Makarov is the front-runner to land the starting job while prospect Linus Ullmark will be coming to North America for his rookie season.
Those three plus a goalie "to be determined" will allow the Sabres organization to keep prospect Calvin Peterson in Notre Dame for at least one more season. Peterson just broke the NCAA record in a game when he stopped 87 shots in a Hockey East first-round matchup against UMASS. The five-OT thriller was the longest game in NCAA hockey history (151:42.) Peterson's 87-save performance came on the heels of him being named Hockey East's Goaltender of the Month for February. The freshman posted a 1.48gaa and a .962 sv%.
The Sabres are in the nation's capital tonight to take on the Washington Capitals and here's their projected line up:
Matt Moulson, Phil Varone, Tyler Ennis
Marcus Foligno, Zac Dalpe, Brian Gionta
Nicolas Deslauriers, Johan Larsson, Cody Hodgson
Jerry D'Amigo, Tim Schaller, Matt Ellis
Zach Bogosian, Andre Benoit
Nikita Zadorov, Andrej Meszaros
Mike Weber, Rasmus Ristolainen
Anders Lindback
Matt Hackett
Scratched: Tyson Strachan
Edit: Zadorov scratched, Strachan in
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