After recently signing a three year contract, Patrick Kaleta is working to stay healthy during this upcoming season. Kaleta said that he has taken measures to try and avoid missing so many games like he has done for the past five seasons.
"Maybe injuries have happened and maybe I haven’t had the best choices in the world in me getting hurt, but I’m working on that and I’m trying to make myself better and I’m trying to put it into my head that it’s always not the right decision to throw your hand in front of a shot. That’s a learning process and I’m still working at it.” -WGR550.com
Darcy Regier had positive things to say about Kaleta:
"He’s a very good penalty killer, he’s a fearless player, he’s a tough player to play against and I think he’s going to be a player where you’ll see his game grow.” -WGR550.com
Whether he is injured or a healthy scratch, Kaleta has to find a way to earn ice time on a regular basis. He's played over 60 games just once in his career.
Kaleta's not a guy that is going to put up much on offense. Whatever he scores, I like to consider a bonus.
What he needs to do is make himself noticed in every game he plays. There have been plenty of games where I never heard his name or he was not a factor at all.
I understand that he may not get much ice time, but at least find a way to aggravate the opponent. Now, with John Scott, Cody McCormick and Steve Ott, Kaleta may not be the main when opponents come in to play. This could allow him to fly under the radar a bit more often, and hopefully, use that as an advantage. Whether it means a little more offensive production or a big hit, he needs to be useful.
What can we expect from Kaleta this season? He set a career high in penalty minutes last season with 116. I believe we will see his penalty minutes drop a bit, while his ice time and offensive production slightly rise.
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Based on the polls from yesterday's post, readers have predicted Gerbe's offensive totals for this season.
Buffalo Sabres Blogger • 
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