Archives for July 8, 2015

‘Petersen and Kasdorf, two Sabres prospects vying for the title of “goalie of the future,” arrived in Buffalo for development camp with life-altering experiences in their rearview mirrors. Petersen became a college celebrity after making 87 saves during a playoff game. Kasdorf came to the Sabres in one of the biggest trades in team history.’

‘“Going to St. John’s was a real eye-opener and helped me to have a good edge at the start of the season,” Dupuy said in First Niagara Center. “I trained really hard that summer to make it happen. It carried into the season, and I was very fortunate that Buffalo came knocking.”’

‘“It’s challenging,” Reinhart said Monday following a development camp session inside the First Niagara Center. “I wanted to be 100 percent every day when I went on the ice. But to be able to get in the gym and to be where I was at the end of the year, both on and off the ice, I think was essential for me.”’

‘“Growing up, I was always the youngest kid on the team,” he said. “I kind of fit into that role. I never really grew to understand leadership and how to really fulfill that. So I think that for me this year’s kind of about growing not only as a player, but also as kind of a person and as a leader.”‘

‘You could say that O’Reilly’s outstanding Corsi rating is made up of a bunch little things that he does right. In our first highlight, we see what appears to be a routine play. The 24-year-old forward fields a rebound and starts the breakout. At a closer look, however, you notice that he makes a snap decision to pass the puck to Gabriel Landeskog, floats it perfectly in stride to the Avs’ captain, then starts digging hard toward the other end of the ice. The result is a zone entry by Landeskog on the right side while O’Reilly heads in deep to recover a dump or swing to the front of the net.’

‘Many thought it would be a drag for Reinhart to come back to town and play just three games with Rochester before heading into the off season. Reinhart said it’s just the opposite, “I was excited for that opportunity, it allowed me to go into the off season knowing what the pro game is like.”’

‘“And after the first day [general manager] Tim [Murray] and Jason came up and said they really liked what I did so they asked me back. I worked with Rochester a few times this past season and now with Coach [Dan] Bylsma, it’s a great staff and I can see that things are going in the right direction with the synergy and chemistry among everyone.”’

‘“Just learning. Learning what I have to do better, what I need to do best, what I need to do,” he said. “Also work on being a better leader because this being my third camp, guys coming in – the new draft picks or free agents that are at camp – I need to just do my best to help them out both on and off the ice. Then come Friday, just play my game.”’

‘The days here are not easy. You really have to push yourself and the expectation level and the bar is raised when you come out here from what we’ve all seen before. It’s all about learning. We go through off-ice workouts, we go through seminars. It’s a great opportunity for young guys like me to absorb everything and try to learn new things.’