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The Buffalo Sabres' rebuild took a huge step forward on Saturday when GM Tim Murray signed forward Nicholas Baptiste to his three year entry level contract.
Baptiste (6'1", 196 lbs., 8/4/95), the Sabres’ third-round (69th overall) selection in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for the Sudbury Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) since 2011.
In 2013-14, Baptiste registered career highs in goals (45), points (89) and assists (44) in 65 games played. His goal and point totals led the Wolves and his 45 goals tied him for fourth-best among all OHL skaters. Through three seasons with the Wolves, Baptiste has played in 195 games and recorded 164 points (74+90). The Ottawa native also earned a gold medal while playing with Team Canada at the 2013 U18 World Junior Championship in Sochi, Russia.
Baptiste found instant chemistry skating on a line with Zemgus Girgensons and Logan Nelson last summer during the Sabres' prospects camp.
I'm a huge fan of Baptiste's complete game. He hits, scores, back checks, fights and moves the puck with authority. He does all of the fundamental things very well.
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Its locker clean out day for the Montreal Canadiens. Certainly the Habs players were disappointed in the outcome of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the NY Rangers.
In the final analysis, Henrik Lundqvist was just too big an obstacle for the Habs to overcome.
There future is bright.
The Habs will be moving forward in their organizational pursuit of the Stanley Cup without the services of Thomas Vanek, who became the dart board for criticism of the boisterous Montreal media during the 2014 playoffs. Vanek will become UFA on July1 and will most likely be skating home to The State Of Hockey and the Twin Cities for the next 6-7 seasons. Wild GM Chuck Fletcher will finally land his man Vanek in July, and reunite him with his best friend Jason Pominville.
Vanek now has five weeks to decompress and to get reacquainted with his family after this up-and-down season that began in Buffalo, then shifted to Long Island and finally came to a disappointing conclusion in Montreal.
Perhaps all of the trades, travel, and time away from his wife and three young kids caught up to Vanek.
As he has done in the past after playoff failures in Buffalo, Vanek cleared his throat and stepped to the middle of the room to answer questions about his inconsistent play in the Rangers series. Vanek scored four goals against the Bruins. There were high expectations on the sniper to duplicate his scoring prowess against Lundqvist. He just couldn't get it done, especially since Mike Therrien opted to skate Vanek on the fourth line alongside Danny Briere and Brandon Prust. He also played alongside Rene Bourque. He played with Lars Eller. Vanek tried, however, couldn't find chemistry with line mates other than Desharnais and Pacioretty.
The power trio were one of the most productive lines in March and April. Only Therrien can answer for why he stubbornly refused to reunite Vanek with Desharnais and Pacioretty.
Vanek manned up and admitted that he lost his confidence after he was taken off the Desharnais-Pacioretty duo.
I admire Vanek for not making excuses for his inconsistent play. Vanek always owns his mistakes and always points the finger of blame at himself first. He did so in Buffalo. He puts a ton of pressure on himself to achieve goals and when he doesn't succeed he beats himself up. Sometimes he gets stick in the moment and he can't get out of it.
#Habs Vanek says wasn't injured, only had "bumps & bruises." Performance "wasn't great", struggled w/ chemistry after taken off 67-51 line.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) May 31, 2014
Thanks, Habs TV
"Montreal is a place where you want to be, especially in the playoffs." -Vanek #gohabsgo #nhl15subban pic.twitter.com/8nUwQMyGBJ
— #NHL15Subban (@CanadiensMTL) May 31, 2014
Thomas Vanek is his own worst enemy. Mike Therrien could have helped his team by keeping Vanek-Desharnais-Pacioretty together.
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Welcome to the Summer of Sam.
Last month, the Buffalo Bills selected speedy wide out Sammy Watkins in the first round of the NFL Draft. Watkins can take it to the house on command.
Next month, the Buffalo Sabres will likely select a difference-making Sam of their own. The Sabres have two Sams to choose from in Bennett and Reinhart. Either way they cannot lose.
Sabres GM Tim Murray and his scouts have joined the other 29 NHL teams who have made the annual trek to Toronto to do their pre-draft homework on the top prospects at the NHL Scouting Combine.
The format at the NHL Scouting Combine is unique in that the players are not being evaluated on their on-ice performance. In fact, there is no ice at all at this cattle call. The top prospects a are being graded on their VO2 bike test, their endurance, and their ability to lift weights.
NHL scouts that I talk to love the NHL Scouting Combine because the teams get to sit down and have meaningful conversations with each prospect in order to get a better understanding of the type of human being and competitor that the player is.
NHL GMs, coaches, and scouts have built their scouting binder on each player based on the in-person observations that have been witnessed live and in person during the past two seasons. The live interview process gives the NHL teams a glimpse into the psyche and soul of each player just to see what makes them tick.
Observe Reinhart's cool-as-the-other-side-of-the-pillow personality as Sabres.com's Dan Dunleavy spoke with him about his NHL aspirations.
Its been said that Kootenay star center/winger Sam Reinhart (6'1 185) is one of, if not the most cerebral player in the 2014 draft class. Scouts and GMs rave about his even-keeled demeanor both on and off the ice. Of note is Reinhart's mature-beyond-his-years approach to the game. Some NHL talent evaluators compare him favorably to Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathon Toews because of his ability to read players and to anticipate where to be on the ice and where to distribute the puck two or three steps ahead of his opponent.
The Sabres cannot go wrong if the select Reinhart with the second overall pick in the June Entry Draft.