'“ His preparation last summer led to his opportunity,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “ He came to camp and made a real big statement with the commitment he made to conditioning and skating. His numbers in testing were numbers forwards have. Then he came in and played so well (after his recall). If he had come up and played poorly, he’d be in the same boat that he’d been in. But now he looks at it, and we look at it, as he can be a regular on this team.”'