Archives for June 29, 2014

‘Had you had any sense prior to Buffalo was interested? No, nothing. When I was over and did the tests at the NHL Draft Combinen in Toronto I talked to very many teams, but I got no sense that any team was more hungry than anything else.’

‘Cornel said there is lots to like about Buffalo. “It’s a pretty good hockey town. I think of good fans and it’s pretty close to the Canadian border which is comforting,” he said. “It’s a young team that is rebuilding which is kind of exciting as a young guy trying to fit into the franchise.”’

‘“I definitely want to follow in his footsteps and want to be that guy that can step up in the playoffs and really be that playoff performer. To me, that’s what’s most important is the postseason. I want to come up big when it counts.”’

‘“I put an emphasis on not hearing my scouts say his upside is third line,” Murray said Saturday in Wells Fargo Center. “We do that all the time. I did it as a scout. We love players like that, and they’re good players. We have players like that, guys in our organization that have the potential to be third- and fourth-line guys.’

‘“He’s definitely a special player,” said Martin, who opposed Reinhart in both the Western Hockey League and the CHL Top Prospects Game. “I saw the clip up there of the first round when they were showing all his highlights and I remember him putting me down a minus in the prospects game. So I’m happy I’m a part of this organization and I don’t have to play against him.”’

‘“It just happens we’re seeing a generation of ex-players’ sons who maybe the father paid more attention to and hockey was more important,” Murray said after Saturday’s session at Wells Fargo Center. “These parents are hands-on, taking their kids to the dressing room. The NHL has changed, become more of a family atmosphere.”’

‘Pedigree seemed to be very important. Three picks are sons of former NHLers: first-rounder Sam Reinhart (father is Paul), Lemieux and Brown (father Doug was on the Red Wings’ Cup-winning teams in 1997 and 1998, and uncle Greg was an Amerks defenseman in the early 1990s). Murray, however, said it was more coincidence with regard to hockey heredity. They simply liked the players.’

‘“We thought he responded very well to some tough questions,” Murray said.’

‘“We have a potential top-two center that can play for us next year,” he said about Reinhart inside the Wells Fargo Center. “The other thing it did for the organization is we added a lot of assets. The way I’ve spoken with that in the past, they’re either going to be Buffalo Sabres or they’re going to be or they’re going to allow us to get other Buffalo Sabres.”’

‘Make no mistake, though, despite the lack of warm fuzzy pronouncements, Murray was plenty happy he got his man. After the selection, Murray revealed the Sabres had Reinhart rated as the best player in the draft, ahead of stud defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who was selected first overall by the Florida Panthers. That’s a bit surprising. Ekblad was widely thought of as a worthy No. 1 draft pick. He’s NHL ready and at 18 looks more like he’s 25. Reinhart looks like a kid standing next to Ekblad. But what he may lack in immediate impact he’ll make up for down the road when he hopefully turns into a franchise centerman.’