The Sabres' season may be done, but their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, are still alive. They lost game one of their second round series to the Binghamton Senators, the Ottawa Senators' affiliate. They're a team full of young talent, with a lot of potential. In today's article, I will discuss some of the players that played most of the season down there, as some of the players played some time up here as well.
We start off with Luke Adam, the 20 year old Canadian Center.Adam tied for the most points (62) and goals (29) in the entire league, as well as won the award for AHL rookie of the year. It is actually the third year in a row where a Portland Pirate won AHL rookie of the year. It was won last year by Tyler Ennis and the year before by Nathan Gerbe. Adam is 6'2'' 215 lbs, so he's a big guy. I think his biggest problem that he has to face before making it as an NHL regular is using his size. In his time up here there were points where it looked to me like he was adjusted to his body yet, he was still trying to work things out. Although he was a tad inconsistent for the Sabres, he was far from it for the Pirates. He actually had an 11 game point streak at one point this season. Adam will be on the Sabres soon, don't worry.
Next we look at a guy whom most Sabres fans have come to know recently. Marc-Andre Gragnani, the young offensive minded defensemen from Montreal. Gragnani finished the year as the AHL leader in points (60) and assists (48) for a defensemen. He, like Adam, was rewarded for his efforts. Gragnani was named the AHL defensemen of the year, the Eddie Shore Award. Although the list of players who have one this award aren't the most exceptional, the most notable recent names are Johnny Boychuck of the Bruins and Andy Delmore of Edmonton, its expected when some veterans are in the league. What many people forget is that Gragnani is not that young, he's actually 24 now. He's gotten alot of experience in the AHL in the four seasons that he has played, and don't be suprised if he is on the team at the beginning of the season next year.
The third name is one that has been mentioned for years when you talk about the Sabres prospects. Mark Mancari has now played 6 AHL seasons for the Sabres farm teams, starting with Rochester and now with Portland. He led the Pirates in points this season, with 32 goals and 32 assists. Those 32 goals placed him fourth in the league in goal scoring. Mancari has gotten his greatest opportunity to make it in the NHL this season, and hasn't really impressed. Mancari is a free agent this off-season, just like he was last year. Even though he is one of their top AHL players, I don't think its a certainty that he will be back next season. The Sabres may be ready to move on with some of these new young prospects.
Paul Byron was a player who impressed in a short stint in Buffalo, scoring his first goal in his first NHL game. This season was Byron's second AHL season, finishing with 26 goals and 27 assists. Those 53 points where 20 points more than he had recorded the season before. He's another player in a long line of short speedy players that has been drafted by the Sabres. I don't expect him to be on the team at the start of next season, but expect him to be up here in the near future.
The final player in today's review of the Pirates is a guy I've had my eye on since he started in the CHL. T.J. Brennan was the second highest scoring defenseman for the Pirates in his second AHL season. Brennan excells on the powerplay, and may be the future anchor of the Sabres'. The former first round pick, Brennan excelled in the QMJHL, now has moved on the the AHL. How much longer until he brings his game to the NHL?
Once again, thanks for checking out today's article and the blog. There will be at least one new video on the Youtube channel this weekend. Either I'll do one tomorrow for the draft tonight and one Sunday for the Bandits or I will just combine them together into one big video on Sunday. Remember to subscribe and follow me on Twitter.
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