Connor McDavid scores 100th OHL goal as Erie Otters gear up for postseason

                                                                           Photo by David F. Sherman

As seen on AlongtheBoards.com

The endless string of accomplishments continued for Connor McDavid Sunday night.
The native of Richmond Hill, Ontario scored his 100th OHL goal in what was his 178th game in the league between the regular season and playoffs. The top prospect in this year’s NHL Entry Draft reached that feat when he tallied in the Erie Otters’ 5-1 win over the Kitchener Rangers in Erie, Pa.
The captain of the loaded Otters squad has been on a tear since coming back from a broken hand suffered in a fight before the World Junior Championships this season.

With just three regular season games remaining, McDavid is having no trouble getting on the score sheet. “Dave-o”, as he is known by his teammates and the Otters’ staff, has scored an astounding 43 goals, 72 assists and 115 points in just 45 games in 2014-15.

The Otters are so stacked, that McDavid is second on the team in points. He is right behind Dylan Strome, who is likely to go in the top 10 in this year’s draft as well. Strome — the younger brother of New York Islanders forward Ryan — has 39 goals, 78 assists and 117 points for Erie. Strome has appeared in 20 more games than McDavid this season.

Thanks to their high-powered offense and improved play in the net, the Otters are poised to make a long playoff run. Erie’s only question mark this season has been goaltending. Devin Williams, a 19-year-old native of Saginaw, Mich., has put to rest any questions about his play.

“We always believed in him. We always knew he was much better than what he was showing [earlier in the season],” McDavid said about their No. 1 goaltender. “Devin has always played well for this organization. For whatever reason, he was going on a slide. But it’s nice to see him put together his game.

“We have a certain swagger. Knowing he’s back there that if we miss a play or miss a check, we have a pretty good idea of what he’s going to do and that he’s going to stop it. That’s huge for this team, and it’s a big help.”

McDavid sees the Otters as a team hitting their stride at the right time.
“We’ve had our growing pains, but it’s good to see our chemistry come together,” he said. “Remi [Elie] and Alex [DeBrincat] have been playing some great hockey, especially Rem. He’s been playing great hockey all weekend. They’re definitely some fun guys to play with.”
When asked if the Otters are playoff ready, McDavid seemed confident, but knew they still had to refine a few things.

“We have some stuff to work on,” he said. “It’s certainly better than it was a few weeks ago. We’re feeling pretty good and confident.”

Injuries have also hampered the Otters of late.
“We’re going to miss [Kyle Pettit],” McDavid said. “He’s our best faceoff guy, blocks a lot of shots and chips in offensively as well. He’s the total package; he’s the glue that keeps this team together. We’re going to need some guys to step up.”

Pettit, the sixth-round draft pick by the Vancouver Canucks in 2014, suffered a broken knuckle blocking a shot last week against Windsor. His hand does not need surgery, but according to the team, he will be out for the foreseeable future. In his third year in the OHL, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound center has totaled 16 goals and 27 points in 60 games for the Otters this year.

The Otters will finish the regular season on the road in stops in Windsor, Plymouth and in St. Catherine’s against the Niagara IceDogs. Dates for the first round of the OHL playoffs have yet to be released, but it seems Erie will open up playing the Sarnia Sting Thursday and Friday next week at home. Erie took the season series, 3-1, outscoring the Sting 22-10. The Otters’ explosive offense, paired with strong goaltending should help them advance to the second round without much difficulty.

Buffalo continues to deal at the deadline

As seen on AlongtheBoards.com

Tim Murray made it very clear after trading Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers and Jhonas Enroth almost three weeks ago, that more players would have a similar fate. On Monday, Murray continued the trend by trading away unrestricted free agents Chris Stewart, Torrey Mitchell and Michal Neuvirth, as well as third-year pro Brian Flynn.

Everyone knew Stewart and Mitchell were likely to be moved by Monday’s 3pm trade deadline and also knew there could be a possibility of Neuvirth being traded, but what was the real surprise to most was seeing Brian Flynn leaving town.

With Murray’s first move of the day, he sent the versatile forward in Flynn to Montreal for a 2016 fifth-round draft pick. The move came to the surprise to most fans as Flynn had not been mentioned in trade rumors and had seemed to have found a nice niche in Buffalo. 

The 26 year old Lynnfield, Massachusetts native tallied five goals and 17 assists this year in 54 games. Flynn was an undrafted free agent signee in March of 2012. The University of Maine product can play a strong two-way game and possesses a great deal of hockey IQ. In 159 total National Hockey League games, Flynn finishes his time in Buffalo with 17 goals and 41 points.

In Buffalo’s second deal of the day, Murray sent starting goaltender Michal Neuvirth to the New York Islanders for Isles backup goalie Chad Johnson and a third-round draft pick in 2016. With Neuvirth’s improved play of late, it’s no surprise to see Murray capitalizing on his rising stock. The Sabres pick up a decent draft pick, but also receive another big goaltender to their growing stockpile. Johnson is a 28 year old, 6’3, 205 pound goaltender who is signed through the end of next season. His numbers with New York were less than average with a goals against average of 3.08 and a save percentage of .889, and they are likely to get worse in the remainder of the year in Buffalo.

As for Neuvirth, he will be Jaroslav Halak’s backup on the island as New York looks to make a long playoff run. What is ironic about this goaltending tandem is that at last year’s deadline, Halak was traded from Buffalo to Washington for Neuvirth. Now they will be sharing the same locker room.

The third deal, and second forward traded by Buffalo today was Torrey Mitchell being dealt to his hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens. In a separate deal with the bleu, blanc et rouge, Mitchell was swapped for Montreal prospect Jack Nevins and a 2016 seventh-round draft pick. This deal is certainly a little bit of a head scratcher. Yes, I know Murray is looking to get top value for his pending UFA’s but a seventh-round pick and an undrafted prospect that has one assist in 35 professional games?

Mitchell, who only has 13 points in 51 games so far this year obviously wasn’t going to fetch Buffalo a first or second round pick, but it looks like Murray just gave him away. Nevins is 21 years old and is playing in his first full season in professional hockey. Standing in at 6’2 and weighing 205, Nevins enjoys throwing the fists and will help toughen up the Rochester Americans.

The last trade for Buffalo was Chris Stewart being sent to the Minnesota Wild for a 2017 second-round draft pick. One of the most sought after forwards at this deadline was traded in the waning moments before 3pm. Arguably Buffalo’s biggest haul for the 27 year old power forward. In 61 games this season, Stewart has come on strong as of late scoring 11 goals and 25 points. Stewart joins former Sabres’ Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek and Jordan Leopold with the Wild. Stewart will add great third-line depth to a Minnesota team looking to make a long playoff run as well. 

All in all, Tim Murray was able to pull of exactly what he wanted to do. He was able to trade half of Buffalo’s UFA’s for draft picks and lesser players to help Buffalo cruise at their horrid pace to the end of the year. Look for Anders Lindback, Johnson and Rochester Americans’ goaltender Matt Hackett to get the duty in the crease. Another goalie to keep an on eye on is Boston University goalie Matt O’Connor, who Murray has been rumored to being interested in signing after the NCAA season is complete. O’Connor is a 23 year old goalie who is in his junior year. It is rumored that O’Connor is seeking a contract with a team that will promise him playing time in the NHL this season.

Schneider strong part of Senators’ system

                                          Photo by David Sherman

 Story featured in the Amherst Bee and Ken-Town Bee Newspapers published Nov. 12, 2014.


From the Northtown Center in Amherst to the American Hockey League, Cole Schneider is one step away from joining the best hockey league in the world.

Playing for the Binghamton Senators is quite different than playing for the Amherst Knights, but that is where the former St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute standout has found himself at the young age of 24.
 
Now in his third professional year, Schneider is continuing his legacy of producing at every level. Through 12 games this season, Schneider has three goals, four assists for seven points, for fourth best on the team.

After graduating from St. Joe’s, Schneider left Buffalo to play junior hockey in Ohio for the Mahoning Valley Phantoms of the North American Hockey League, a Junior A Tier ll league in the United States. With the Phantoms, Schneider would end up playing with Chicago Blackhawks rising star Brandon Saad.

 After piling up 17 goals and 33 points in 42 games in the 2008-09 season, Schneider went to another NAHL team in Kansas, the Topeka Roadrunners. In just 29 games with the Roadrunners, Schneider was still able to put up the seventh highest point total by scoring 25 goals and 39 points.

The next step for the Amherst native was to either go to college or jump to a higher junior league such as the United States Hockey League or the Ontario Hockey League. Schneider chose college when he attended the University of Connecticut.

Schneider wasted no time, as he lead the Huskies in every offensive category there is; goals, assists and points. In his freshman year, Schneider was able to become almost a point-per-game player, notching 13 goals, 20 assists for 33 points in 37 games. Those totals were good enough for him to be named to the All-Atlantic Hockey Association Rookie Team in the 2010-11 season.

In his sophomore year at UConn, Schneider went for the sweep again as he led the Huskies in goals, assists and points for the second straight year. In the 2011-12 campaign, he scored 23 goals, 22 assists for 45 points in 38 games. His marks for goals and points are both school records at UConn. Another award Schneider took home that year was being named to the All-Atlantic Hockey Association First Team.

After just two seasons in college, Schneider decided he was ready to make the jump to the professional ranks as he inked a two-year entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators in March 2012.

He is currently a winger for Ottawa’s farm team in the American Hockey League, the Binghamton Senators.

Regardless of Ottawa being a rival of the hometown Sabres, the local product is just happy to be playing professional hockey, but he will admit, playing against former Sabre Matt Ellis is pretty cool.
“Ellis is a little bit older now than when he was around [here], but he still isn’t that old,” he said.
Schneider also mentioned how nice it is to play for Binghamton and to play close to home every once in awhile.

“It’s real nice; a bunch of my family and friends are here, so I wish I would have scored there at the end for them, but it’s nice coming home.”
Speaking of family, it wouldn’t be complete if Cole’s father wasn’t there. Pete Schneider has been the athletic director at St. Joe’s since 2008 and has been the longtime coach of the high school’s varsity hockey team.

Pete helps Cole when he can, but there is an understanding between the two on when help is needed. “He knows his role. He keeps to himself, but if I have a bad game, he’ll tell me to keep my head up and help in those ways,” said Cole.

Pete Schneider takes over more as a father than a coach.
“I travel to as many games as possible or I’m at home watching online,” he said.

However, he can’t help to be a coach at times.

“I feel like a father of a goalie; I’m always switching ends to where Cole will shoot, to watch.”
No matter where Schneider is playing, he doesn’t seem to have a problem finding the net. In 152 professional games, he has racked up 40 goals and 98 total points with Binghamton. He is coming off his best year of his career where he totaled 20 goals, 34 assists for 54 points in 69 games.
His 54 points last year were good for third on the team, only to fall short of two players who have had more than a cup of coffee in the National Hockey League.

Schneider knows nothing in either the AHL or NHL is given. Everything is earned, and he knows what it will take to finally make his dream come true.
“You have to earn everything (along with) playing time. We’ve been off to a slow start but it was nice to get a win here tonight,” he said.

The Senators were able to skate to a 3-1 victory Friday, Nov. 7th in Rochester at the Blue Cross Arena. Schneider picked up an assist on a goal by another local player, Shane Prince of Spencerport.
Schneider will have every opportunity to make the jump to Ottawa and knows it’s in his hands.
“I need to just get back to what I was doing at the start of last year, scoring goals and playing good defense,” he said.

This former Amherst Knight and St. Joe’s Marauder is just one phone call away from living his dream and playing in “The Show.”

Lack of scoring sinking Sabres

                                          Photo by David Sherman

Story seen on alongtheboards.com

Currently, the Buffalo Sabres are on pace to score less goals this year than last year’s 30^th overall finish. That is hard to do.

Through 17 games this year, the Sabres are off to a horrid record of three wins, 15 losses and two overtime losses. Yes, three wins in 17 games. 

That gives Buffalo eight points, good for last place in the Atlantic Division, Eastern Conference and the National Hockey League. What is even uglier is their goal differential at -39 goals. That is dead last in the NHL and the next lowest team is Columbus at -17. That is a total difference of 22 goals.

Now let’s be honest, everyone figured Buffalo was going to be bad, but this bad? A -39 goal differential bad? Buffalo has scored a whopping 21 goals and allowed 60 goals. 

At the end of the season last year, Buffalo finished with a -91 goal differential. The Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings were +32 and the President’s Trophy winning Boston Bruins were a +84. How low is Buffalo’s goal differential going to be this year?

You wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at the stats, but Buffalo’s strongest asset has still been goaltending. First year Sabre Michal Neuvirth is quietly moving his way to become Buffalo’s number one goaltender. In eight games with year, Neuvirth has a record of two wins, five losses and one overtime loss. In those eight games, Neuvirth has a save percentage of .915 and a goals against average of 3.07. Sadly, those are good numbers for goalies who end up faces close to 50 shots on a nightly basis. 

As for Buffalo’s offense, 21 goals in 17 games is pretty bad. That is on average, 1.2 goals a game. How does that happen in the NHL?

Buffalo only has three players who have over five points. Five points in 17 games.

The always streaky Drew Stafford leads the way with three goals, six assists for nine points. Next up is Tyler Ennis who has five goals, three assists for eight points. The third and final player who has at least five points is Zemgus Girgensons in only his second season in the NHL. Girgensons has three goals and three assists for six points this year.

Guys like Matt Moulson, Brian Gionta and Cody Hodgson have been about as noticeable as Casper the friendly ghost.

Moulson, a three-time 30 goal scorer has one goal and three assists for four points. Gionta, the team’s new captain has zero goals and three assists. The biggest disappoint could be Hodgson. Last year’s leader scorer and former 10^th overall pick by the Vancouver Canucks. He only has a goal and an assist this year. Hodgson has been in head coach Ted Nolan’s doghouse this year and could find himself as a healthy scratch soon to make room for the return of Patrick Kaleta.

Diamond in the rough, Justin Bailey a bright spot for Kitchener

                                Photo by David Sherman

Story seen on alongtheboards.com

When people look at the Buffalo’s Sabres plethora of prospects, Justin Bailey may not be at the top of the list, but he should be. As one of the assistant captain for the Kitchener Rangers, he was their second leading scorer last year and is their leader scorer this year through 12 games. 

In the 2013-14 season, Bailey compiled 25 goals, 18 assists for 43 points on a Kitchener team that saw them finish with only 22 wins and 46 losses, five of them coming in either overtime or shootouts. So far this year, Bailey has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points. The best part about his nine goals is that many of them have been highlight reel worthy. The 6’3, 202 pound power forward has added much more offensive skill to his game and it is showing.

The 2013 second round, 52^nd overall pick will soon become a fan favorite in Buffalo being a local guy, hailing from Williamsville, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. Bailey was one of Buffalo’s five draft picks in the first two round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Also drafted in the second round for Buffalo was J.T. Compher at 35^th and Connor Hurley at 38^th. 

When first drafted, many scouts felt Bailey was a very raw prospect, saying his skating needed work. After lots of work over this past summer, Bailey’s stock has risen greatly. According to Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com, Bailey boasts a good set of hands down low, a heavy, accurate shot, becoming more aggressive and his improved skating. Now in his third season in the Ontario Hockey League, Bailey’s game has improved drastically. According to former Sabre Matthew Barnaby, Bailey’s most praised attributes are his “already NHL shot” and that he is very coachable.

Before playing for the Kitchener Rangers, Bailey committed to Michigan State for hockey but decided to play for Kitchener who selected him in the seventh round of the OHL Priority Selection Draft. 

This season will likely be Bailey’s last in the OHL. He turns 20 in July and will join Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. There should be room for him on the top three lines if all goes well in the progression of Buffalo draft picks Mikhail Grigorenko, Joel Armia and Johan Larrson, who will all likely get a crack with the Sabres. 

Look for Bailey to help carry Kitchener this year, who are off to a decent start at seven wins and six losses. 

Patrick Kaleta may have to make room for a new homegrown fan favorite, as Justin Bailey looks to make a name for himself. Being the second highest player drafted from Buffalo behind Patrick Kane, Bailey may have some added pressure, but nobody should be worried, Bailey will likely be a very good NHL player for years to come.

Conacher Plays Buffalo

And the Calder Memorial Trophy for the 2013 NHL season goes to…

Photo Credit: sportinglife.aol.co.uk

If you say anyone but Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cory Conacher, then you have sniffed way too many smelling salts at your last bar league game.

The undrafted and undersized 23 year old forward has been turning heads all over pro hockey for the past year and a half.

The 5’7 176 pound sniper is the most decorated player in Canisius College Hockey history. In four years with the program, Conacher racked up 62 goals and 85 assists for a total of 147 points in only 129 games for the Golden Griffins.

Likely due to his size and playing at a small D1 hockey program, Conacher was skipped over in many NHL Entry Drafts, boy what a mistake.

After his senior season, Conacher split time between the AHL and ECHL. In seven games with the Rochester Americans and Milwaukee Admirals, Conacher scored four goals and six points, almost a point per game. In three games with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL, he had no problem scoring seven points.

The Burlington, Ontario native found much greater success the year after. In the 2011-2012 season, Conacher signed a one-year, one-way contract with Tampa Bay’s farm team, the Norfolk Admirals. In 75 games, Conacher scored 35 goals and a total of 80 points, once again becoming a point per game player, this time, in the AHL.

In Conacher’s first season of pro hockey, he collected some major hardware. While with Norfolk, Conacher was named to the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic, the Les Cunningham Award as the league's MVP, the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as AHL Rookie of the Year and also led the Norfolk Admirals to win the Calder Cup, the AHL’s version of the Stanley Cup.

Conacher’s college and AHL success have translated to the NHL. After signing a two-year, two-way contract with the Lightning, in 18 games this year, Conacher has collected seven goals, 10 assists and 17 points, and again, remaining a point per game player.

Conacher gives a lot of credit to his line mates this year, playing alongside the likes of Steven Stamkos, Teddy Purcell, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

Tonight (Feb. 26) is the first time Conacher will be playing against his home away from home, Buffalo.

As Conacher tweeted earlier; “Seems like it was just yesterday I was watching the Sabres live at the HSBC and now it’s time to play them. #canisiusbackyard #gobolts”.

.

 

Determined Minor Leaguers Set Sights on NHL

My story from the Amherst Bee, published Jan. 4, 2012.

From house league hockey to the pros.

Two Amherst natives are one step away from making their dreams by playing in the National Hockey League. Phil DeSimone of the Hamilton Bulldogs and David Leggio of the Rochester Americans are both playing in the American Hockey League this year.

DeSimone is in his first professional season and plays center for Hamilton. He is a recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire where he played hockey all four years. Before college, DeSimone played three years for the Sioux City Musketeers in the United States Hockey League. In 2007, he was USHL Player of the Year.

DeSimone was drafted in the third round, 84th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2007 NHL entry draft. Although the Capitals did not resign him, it was not long until DeSimone found a new home. During the summer he signed a contract with Hamilton, the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate. Through 32 games, DeSimone has six goals and 14 points, good for fourth best on the team.
It was a big transition for him after starting out in the Amherst house league at age five, and playing for an Amherst travel team at age eight. He attended the Nichols School where he played on the prep team his freshman and sophomore years. He split his junior year in Thorold, Ontario and at Williamsville South High School. His senior year was spent in Sioux City.

The biggest surprise for DeSimone this year is his hot start. He is outscoring many veterans and is also playing on the team’s first power-play unit.
“They assigned me to Hamilton and I’ve started out pretty well. I don’t think people had very high expectations for me here. I got a tryout and I think it was just one of those filler spots,” he said following Friday’s game in Rochester.
He admits he was a little bit worried about where he would play this year but knew he could make a team if he was given a shot.

“It was a tough summer; I didn’t really know what I was going to do. I got a tryout with Montreal and went to their rookie camp. I made it through and then went to main camp and got to play some preseason games with the Canadiens,” he said.


Leggio, a graduate of St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute, is in his fourth professional season and second in the Buffalo Sabres organization. As a goaltender, his road to professional hockey has been a little bit tougher than DeSimone’s.

In four years at Clarkson University, Leggio led the Golden Knights to an Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament championship in 2007 and a regular season title in 2008.
Leggio was never drafted but did get a professional tryout with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators at the end of the 2007-2008 season. His tryout did not last long as he only played one game. The next season Leggio signed a professional contract with a team in a league one step down from the AHL, the Florida Everblades of the East Coast Hockey League. The next year, he decided to try his luck in Finland playing in the top Finnish hockey league. There he helped lead his team to another championship.

Next, the Sabres signed him to an AHL level contract with the Portland Pirates. After winning 22 games and losing just 12, the Sabres resigned him to a deal to play with the Amerks where he has a record of nine wins and eight loses.
He also has one of the most unique masks in the league. One detail that fans may not have noticed is an illustration of long-time announcer Rick Jeanneret.

Leggio was always a big Sabres fan and when he had to design a new mask for the Amerks, he wanted to include something related to the team’s parent club.
“At first I didn’t really know what to put on the Sabres side. The painter and I thought of putting Rick in there,” he said.

Leggio is not only a player in the Buffalo Sabres organization but he’s also a fan.
“From the time I was younger until now, he’s really the only person to have been there the entire time. I’m sure my family is not the only family that would turn on the radio and listen to Rick while watching Versus.”

In front of 9,771 fans, the largest crowd of the season in Rochester, Hamilton was able to hold onto a 5-4 lead Friday to win the game. Regardless of the final score, Rochester still outshot Hamilton 39-30.

As Hamilton was making sure to secure the lead, they shortened their bench which in turn limited DeSimone’s ice time. On the other side of the rink, Leggio was sent in to play the third period in place of the starting goaltender, Drew MacIntyre.