Archives for October 30, 2009

‘“I think that as the games moved along, Tyler continued to make the statement that he needed the opportunity to play more than the allotted nine games. I think the thing that stands out with him is that he has a great disposition. He can get on the plane or the bus and you have no indication to how well he played. He is a very even keeled individual.”’

‘In short, Myers still faces a difficult path to stardom. But the Sabres believe Myers, who’s been arguably their best defenseman this season, can handle a full big-league season.’

‘"It goes hand in hand — I have to perform for the Sabres and I have to perform for my own expectations and I expect my game to be at a certain level anyways," Miller told NHL.com. "That level should be good enough to make the U.S. Olympic team because I consider myself the kind of goalie who can challenge to be tops in the League. If that’s not what they’re looking for, then OK."’

‘"The first time he was called up, he lived with me when he was 15 and I was 16," Schenn said. "He was probably 6-foot-6 at the time, but he had troubles with the overall speed of the game. To see how far he has come, it’s pretty amazing how he has put it all together."’

‘"It’s a lot more fun winning than losing, but you recognize there’s a lot of road ahead of us yet," General Manager Darcy Regier said Thursday. "We’ve all learned from good starts and good finishes, and we recognize that it’s a long haul and you have to do it over a course of 82 games."’

‘”He made it pretty easy,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “He played real well for us.”‘

‘Myers, the No. 13 pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft, has played very well for the 7-1-1 Sabres (two goals and three assists for five points in nine games; +8 plus-minus rating, second only to Henrik Tallinder’s +9 on the team) to earn a spot on the roster.’

‘”But we told him that aside from our ability to return him to junior, he’s like the other guys. He just really needs to continue his work, continue a process of continuous improvement. That’s what we’re looking for. I think we emphasized the expectation is that there will be ups and downs, adversity. But we expect him to continue to improve, not just this year, but in the future.”‘

Game day for Leafs (Toronto Star)

Toronto (1-7-2) at Buffalo (7-1-1) (AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs (1-7-2) at Buffalo Sabres (7-1-1) (The Sports Network)

Hot Sabres look to make it six over Leafs (NHL.com)

Dineen wants Pirates to grow up soon (Portland Press Herald)

Portland Pirates’ Weekend (Portland Press Herald)

Injuries force Dineen to mix up Pirates’ lines (Maine Hockey Journal)

Pirates Announce 2009-10 Television Schedule (Portland Pirates.com)