Regier, Sabres' coaches turn focus toward AHL and Amerks
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“I’m hopeful that they look for the opportunity inside of this,” Regier said. “They’re going to be able to continue learning and playing, and the bulk of the players won’t have that same opportunity. It should give them a leg up, and it should allow them to continue developing and learning and working."
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was a regular in Rochester during the 2004-05 lockout, attending practices and games to get a feel for the players who’d eventually be on his team. Amerks coach Ron Rolston can expect similar visits.
“Lindy and his staff will be helping Ron and his staff,” Regier said. “They’ve already had some meetings."
I remember Cunneyworth raving about the help it gave the Amerks-on-verge-of-becoming-Sabres in 2004-05 to have the Sabres always present in Rochester - and we saw how many Amerks made the Sabres' camp as rookies after the lockout.
Whether or not Ruff is the best influence for the prospects is open for debate....I'm curious to read how the Rolston-Ruff relationship goes and when the Amerks fill the spot vacated when they fired McKee.
Related note: My friend is a chef at Dinosaur in Rochester and said that a full contingent of Sabres management were eating lunch there today. Apparently they had just come from Blue Cross Arena.
Related note: My friend is a chef at Dinosaur in Rochester and said that a full contingent of Sabres management were eating lunch there today. Apparently they had just come from Blue Cross Arena.
I do not believe they intend to replace McKee. Such "vacancies" are not always automatically refilled unless there is a perceived need to do so.
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Originally Posted by LegomyLeggio
I'm guessing that they might promote from within and put Chris Taylor on the bench.
IIRC, one of McKee's roles when he was hired was to work with the defensemen group, based on personal experience. Based on the long-time theory that many NHL coaches/execs acknowledge that it takes goalies and defensemen the longest to develop, I would think that specific tutelage is important to replace.
IIRC, one of McKee's roles when he was hired was to work with the defensemen group, based on personal experience. Based on the long-time theory that many NHL coaches/execs acknowledge that it takes goalies and defensemen the longest to develop, I would think that specific tutelage is important to replace.
IIRC, McKee ran the forwards on the bench during games.
Perhaps they promote Tails to an Asst Coach and add a new "Defenseman Development Coach" that is basically the replacement for McKee at practice.
Some more tidbits on Ruff's and his staff's involvement in Rochester:
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Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff and his assistants — James Patrick, Kevyn Adams and Teppo Numminen — don’t have their own team to coach so, starting Friday, they periodically will be helping out with the Amerks.
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“Marcus (Foligno), Luke (Adam), Cody Hodgson, you want to spend time with them,” Ruff said, “and we want to evaluate the young guys, too; guys like (Jerome) Gauthier-Leduc and (Mark) Pysyk.” At the same time, Ruff said he doesn’t want to be intruding on what Amerks coach Ron Rolston and assistants Chadd Cassidy and Chris Taylor are doing.
“There’s a fine line, there is,” Ruff admitted. “As I told Ron yesterday, ‘It’s your camp, it’s your team. You set it up the way you want.’ ”
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“Being around the team gave me a real appreciation for what those players can do,” Ruff said. “There’s nothing like getting on the ice and being able to evaluate guys. For me, it was invaluable.”
He may spend less time here during the current lockout and allow his assistants to do skill-development work in practice.
“Every player has a gift and they also have areas to improve,” Ruff said. “You like to concentrate on the gift but you also like to bump up the areas that need work.”
Seems Taylor will take over McKee's duties in some way.....
“Being around the team gave me a real appreciation for what those players can do,” Ruff said. “There’s nothing like getting on the ice and being able to evaluate guys. For me, it was invaluable.”
I posted about this advantage in another thread but Lindy and co spending time in Rochester is invaluable. Many other teams are much further away and this sort of thing is much less practical. On the east coast many teams are close, but on the west coast that is not the case nearly as much. For example, the Avs farm team is Erie.
I posted about this advantage in another thread but Lindy and co spending time in Rochester is invaluable. Many other teams are much further away and this sort of thing is much less practical. On the east coast many teams are close, but on the west coast that is not the case nearly as much. For example, the Avs farm team is Erie.
As long as Ruff doesn't ruin them all before they even become rookies.
For real though, this will be a great year for Rolston to really wow us with what he can do with the kids. He'll have plenty on his plate between hopefully getting Adam back on track, helping Girgs, Pysyk, JGL, and Sundher adjust to the pro game, and polishing up guys like McNabb, Hodgson, Tropp, and Foligno. If he, his coaching staff, and Ruff do their job well, it could pay huge dividends for Buffalo in the future.
That's my plan but I haven't yet and will have to check out Genesee Brewhouse.
Speaking of the brewhouse, I went this weekend and it's a really cool spot. The outdoor patio and rooftop offers a great view of high falls and the city. Beer is reasonably priced and the downstairs museum is cool to browse.
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