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.