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NHL is so close yet so far for Sabres prospects Bailey, Baptiste, and Rodrigues

30 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Buffalo Sabres, Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste

The Buffalo Sabres expect forwards Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste and Evan Rodrigues to be pillars in the team’s rebuilding process to respectability and Stanley Cup contention.

But for now, they can be found behind pillars inside the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial, home of the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League.

After tearing up the OHL, Justin Bailey is learning the pro game at AHL Rochester.

After tearing up the OHL, Justin Bailey is learning the pro game at AHL Rochester.

“In the locker room, there’s a corner of the room where there’s a couple of pillars and it’s kind of tough to see in that corner,” Bailey told me recently. “That’s where they stuck me, Evan and Nick. I think it’s kind of a rookie thing.”

It’s about 75 miles from Blue Cross Arena to First Niagara Center, the Sabres home barn. Only a one-hour, 15-minute drive from Rochester to Buffalo via Interstate 90, Bailey, Baptiste and Rodrigues are so close to their National Hockey League dreams. Yet they’re so far.

As rookies, even highly-touted ones, they have dues to pay in the AHL: getting obstructed-view lockers, staying on the ice after practice to collect all the pucks, cleaning the inside of the team bus after road games.

And there are lessons to learn on the ice. The three are finding their way with the Amerks after posting gaudy numbers in the Ontario Hockey League and the NCAA.

“I think it’s just the size and speed and making quick decisions, making sure you’re in the right places defensively,” Baptiste, a Sabres 2013 third-round draft pick, said of the adjustment from Canadian major junior hockey to the pro ranks. “Obviously, goal-scoring and points are tougher in this league. I don’t think my numbers are exactly where I want them to be. But if I keep playing the right way, it will all fall into place.”

Rochester Americans forward Nick Baptiste is adjusting to bigger, stronger, faster AHL (Photo/Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans).

Rochester Americans forward Nick Baptiste is adjusting to bigger, stronger, faster AHL (Photo/Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans).

Baptiste is currently fifth on the Amerks in scoring with 3 goals and 6 assists in 19 games. Bailey is tied for sixth on the team with 2 goals and 6 assists in 20 games. Rodrigues has 2 goals and 4 assists in 19 games.

In the OHL, Baptiste had 32 goals and 32 assists in 53 games in 2014-15 with the Sudbury Wolves and Erie Otters. He scored 12 goals and 11 assists for the Otters in 19 playoff games last season.

He played with Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid,

Rochester's Nick Baptiste is 5th on the team in scoring.

Rochester’s Nick Baptiste is 5th on the team in scoring.

the first player chosen in the 2015 NHL Draft, in Erie last season and with Sabres forward Jack Eichel, the  2015 draft’s Number Two pick from Boston University, during Buffalo’s training camp.

“They’re similar in their speed and the way they see the game,” Baptiste said. “I think Eichel is a bit more of a power guy. He takes wide net a lot with a lot more power, drives hard to the net. I think McDavid is a little more finesse, makes more moves, has a little more stick skill with the puck going to the net. But they’re equally talented. They’re both very good.”

Bailey notched 34 goals and 35 assists in 57 games last season for the OHL’s  Kitchener Rangers and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He tallied 7 goals and 7 assists for the Greyhounds in 14 playoff games.

“The first couple of months, there’s been a lot of ups and downs, but I’m definitely starting to settle in now and getting more comfortable,” Bailey, Buffalo’s 2013 second-round draft pick, said of his time in Rochester thus far. “But it’s definitely a huge adjustment.”

Rodrigues and Eichel were teammates at Boston University. Rodrigues scored 21 goals and 40 assists in 41 games for the NCAA Division I Terriers. He keeps up with Eichel, who is seventh among NHL rookies in scoring with 8 goals and 4 assists in 24 games.

“We’ve been in touch a little bit here and there, kind of seeing how each other is doing,” said Rodrigues, who signed with the Sabres as a free agent in April.

Evan Rodrigues joined the Americans after a stellar career at Boston University (Photo/Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans).

Evan Rodrigues joined the Americans after a stellar career at Boston University (Photo/Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans).

And the three Rochester rookies keep close tabs on each other – at the rink and away from it. They commiserate and encourage each other in their obstructed-view portion of the Americans’ locker room.

Bailey and Baptiste are roomies in Rochester. “We kind of became close friends in training camp and playing against each other in the OHL, so it was a no-brainer,” Baptiste said.

Evan Rodrigues has a business degree from Boston University but says "right now I'm kind of focused on being a hockey player."

Evan Rodrigues has a business degree from Boston University but says “right now I’m kind of focused on being a hockey player.”

Playing for the Americans is a bit of a homecoming for Bailey. He grew up in Williamsville, N.Y., about 65 miles from Rochester. Whenever he’s tired of doing his own cooking  – or Baptiste’s – or needs help with laundry, he hits I-90 and heads to his mother’s home.

Karen Buscaglia says it’s a blessing, not a burden, when her son arrives hungry with a pile of dirty clothes. “Having him close means yay!!” she told me recently.

It also means less wear and tear on the family car. Bailey’s mother and his grandparents attend almost every Amerks home game, just as they attended nearly all of Bailey’s games in Kitchener, Ontario – about a two-hour drive from Williamsville. They even made it to some playoff games in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, a 10-hour trek.

“I think it’s so important to support his journey and have his back,” Buscaglia said in a email. “There are many ups and downs on this hockey ride and knowing no matter what happens on the ice you still have a support system that loves you and believes in you makes the journey more fun for him and us. Watching the joy it brings to his grandparents has been worth every road trip.”

Justin Bailey can look into the crowd at Amerks home games and see his mother and grandparents (Photo/Micheline Veluvolu).

Justin Bailey can look into the crowd at Amerks home games and see his mother and grandparents (Photo/Micheline Veluvolu).

It seems almost pre-ordained that Bailey will someday wear Buffalo blue in the NHL. His mother has always been a big fan of the team. Bailey was raised in a condo community where Sabres legends like Michael Peca, Rob Ray and Matthew Barnaby lived.

He left Western New York at 15 to play for former Sabres great Pat LaFontaine and his Long Island Royals Tier 1 AAA Elite hockey team.

Bailey remembers going to a Sabres game when he was five or six years old and Barnaby flipping him a puck after the team’s pre-game warm up.

“Being a huge, huge Sabres fan, that was a huge thing getting a puck like that,” Bailey recalled. “I think that’s what started the dream.”

Now Bailey can almost see Buffalo from his view-challenged locker in Rochester.

“You never know who’s in the building,” he said of Blue Cross Arena. “The (Buffalo) GM could be here today or a scout could be here today watching you. It gives you that added incentive to play at the top of your game every night.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Heroics and highlight reel performaces by players of color in playoff games

03 Sunday May 2015

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Alec Martinez, Buffalo Sabres, Connor McDavid, Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, Erie Otters, Joel Ward, Justin Bailey, Nick Baptiste, Washington Capitals

Hockey playoffs are in full swing and players of color are at the center of the action.

From the National Hockey League to Canada’s major junior leagues to the alphabet jumble of various minor leagues, players of color are providing heroics and highlights in the early rounds.

Washington Capitals' Joel Ward getting it done in playoffs - again.

Washington Capitals’ Joel Ward getting it done in playoffs – again.

Washington Capitals right wing Joel Ward further enhanced his reputation as a clutch playoff performer with his game-winning goal against the New York Rangers with 1.3 seconds left in the third period in the first game of a second-round series opener at Madison Square Garden.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ward’s buzzer-beater against Rangers all-world netminder Henrik Lundqvist marked only the third time that a winning goal had been scrored in an NHL playoff game with less than two seconds remaining.

Game-ending heroics are becoming old hat for Ward. He’s got three playoff walk-off (or skate-offs) goals, the most dramatic being a Game 7 overtime winner that vanquished the Boston Bruins from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2012.

Anaheim Ducks left wing Emerson Etem is yet to score an NHL playoff game-ending goal. But he did recently notched a highlight reel goal in the Ducks’ opening round series against the Winnipeg Jets that melted the “White Out” of Jets fans inside the MTS Centre and drew oohs and aahs from amazed teammates.

Emerson Etem eats up Jets defenders on goal.

Emerson Etem eats up Jets defenders on goal.

Born in Long Beach, California, Etem wasn’t much of a scorer during the 2014-15 regular season, tallying only 5 goals and 5 assists in 45 games for the Ducks. But he has 2 goals in five games in the still-young playoff season – and loads of confidence after undressing the Winnipeg Jets.

A few rungs below the NHL, forward Connor McDavid is getting his share of snazzy playoff goals for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The likely Number One pick in June’s 2015 NHL Draft is the Main Man in Erie, the straw that stirs the Pennsylvania-based franchise.

But folks lucky enough to catch the Otters’ playoff series against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds on the NHL Network couldn’t help but notice Erie forward Nick Baptiste. He potted 4 goals in a crucial Game 4 against the Greyhounds, a team that featured defensemen Darnell Nurse, the Edmonton Oilers’ 2013 first-round draft pick, and Anthony DeAngelo, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2014 first-round draft selection.

“It was one of those nights where you just try to shoot as much as you can, and they go in,” Baptiste said after the game. “Fortunate enough to get the goals, but more importantly, the win.”

Erie won the game 7-5 and eliminated the Soo from the playoffs four games to two. The series was a high-scoring affair that offered a glimpse of the future for the downtrodden Buffalo Sabres.

Sure, a bad Ping-Pong ball bounce or two in the NHL Draft Lottery cost the Sabres –  the league’s worst team in the 2014-15 season – the first-overall pick and a shot at McDavid in June’s draft.

But with the Number Two pick in the upcoming draft, Buffalo is poised to get a great player in Boston University forward Jack Eichel. And more help is on the way talent-wise to Buffalo in the near future in the form of players like Baptiste.

Nick Baptiste's performance in the OHL playoffs brought Erie Otters fans to their feet (Matt Mead/Matt Mead Photography).

Nick Baptiste’s performance in the OHL playoffs brought Erie Otters fans to their feet (Matt Mead/Matt Mead Photography).

The Sabres chose him in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft. In the 2014-15 regular season, Baptiste tallied 32 goals and 32 assists in 53 games with the Otters and the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves. He has 11 goals and 9 assists in 15 OHL playoff games thus far.

Baptiste was one of the last players cut in tryouts for the Canadian team that went on to win the Gold Medal in the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship.

The Greyhounds also featured a future Sabre in right wing Justin Bailey. A Buffalo second-round pick in 2013, Bailey scored 34 goals and 35 assists in 57 games with the Greyhounds and the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. The Western New York native tallied 7 goals and 7 assists in 14 playoff games for the Greyhounds.

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Team Canada poised to be heavy on talent and diversity at IIHF world junior tourney

13 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by William Douglas in Uncategorized

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Anthony Duclair, Buffalo Sabres, Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, Madison Bowey, New York Rangers, Nick Baptiste, Washington Capitals

When Team Canada takes to the ice at Montreal’s Bell Centre for the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship Dec. 26, the squad will be heavy on talent. It also may be heavy on diversity.

The Rangers are loaning Anthony Duclair to Team Canada (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

The Rangers are loaning Anthony Duclair to Team Canada (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Four players of color are vying for spots on Team Canada at the team’s selection camp in Toronto – New York Rangers forward Anthony Duclair, Erie Otters forward Nick Baptiste, Kelowna Rockets defenseman Madison Bowey and Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenseman Darnell Nurse.

Thirty players – two goaltenders, 10 defensemen, and 18 forwards – were invited to the camp for 22 spots on the Canadian team that will compete in the 10-nation tournament with games in Montreal and Toronto.

The tournament is a showcase for talented players from around the world who may find their way to a National Hockey League arena near you in the near future. The four players in Team Canada’s camp share a bond: All were chosen by teams in the 2013 NHL Draft at Newark’s Prudential Center.

The Rangers are loaning Duclair, their 2013 third-round draft pick, to Team Canada. The speedy rookie left wing has 1 goal and 6 assists for the Blue Shirts in 18 games. He scored he scored 50 goals and 49 assists in 59 games in 2013-14 for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

“We expect that the team will benefit greatly from the addition of Anthony for both his skill and leadership, and we believe this will be a great experience for Anthony, as he embarks on what we expect will be a long and successful professional and international playing career,” said Scott Salmond, vice president of hockey operations/national teams for Hockey Canada.

Duclair, who averages about 12 minutes a game but has been a healthy scratch in the last three Rangers games, said he was thrilled to be loaned to the Canadian team.

“Very happy, honored to be here,” Duclair told The Toronto Sun. “(Rangers Head Coach Alain Vigneault) asked me a couple days after the roster came out what my thoughts were and I told him I wanted to be part of this tournament. Being in Canada, being in my hometown of Montreal, I wanted to be part of this.”

Edmonton draftee Darnell Nurse hopes to anchor Canada's defense (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Edmonton draftee Darnell Nurse hopes to anchor Canada’s defense (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Nurse, the Edmonton Oilers’ 2013 first-round draft pick, is on a mission to make Team Canada after being snubbed last season. Captain of the Greyhounds, Nurse has 6 goals and 13 assists in 19 games for his OHL team. He played two games for the Oilers this season without collecting a point.

Nurse told reporters in Toronto that he’s improving his game by keeping it simple.

Capitals draftee Madison Bowey (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Capitals draftee Madison Bowey (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

“I’m not putting myself in those situations where I get myself in trouble on the ice and not really helping out my teammates,” he told The Edmonton Sun. “It’s just maintaining that simple-game mindset and going out there and being someone who is hard to play against…I have always had the tools. It’s just finding the way to use them.”

Bowey, a Washington Capitals 2013 second-round draft pick, arrived at the Team Canada camp with a distinct advantage – he’s the only right-handed shot among the 10 blueliners invited to Toronto. He’s also second in scoring among defensemen in the Western Hockey League with 8 goals and 25 assists in 28 games for the Rockets.

He showed off his offensive skills earlier this season when he scored two goals and six assists in three games.

Nick Baptiste, a Buffalo Sabres 2013 draft pick (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

Nick Baptiste, a Buffalo Sabres 2013 draft pick (Matthew Murnaghan/Hockey Canada Images).

If right wing Nick Baptiste makes Team Canada, it will be his third team this season. Baptiste, a Buffalo Sabres third-round pick in 2013, began the 2014-15 season with the OHL Sudbury Wolves and was traded to the Otters in November. He notched 8 goals and 8 assists in 19 games with the two teams.

 

 

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