Training Camp Thoughts

I was down at the Arena today to watch the Sabres scrimmage. For the most part, I thought that the team looked pretty good. Maxim Afinogenov and Derek Roy played very well together. Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht played very well together, especially when they were paired with Paul Gaustad ( who leveled Ben Breault). I thought that Marek Zagrapan played well, scoring two goals in the scrimmage, but he still seemed kind of sluggish and lazy. Ryan Miller made some good saves. Nathan Paetsch really surprised me with how fast he really is, skating stride for stride with Afinogenov on one rush and drawing a penalty. I think Lindy Ruff might have to talk with Pat Kaleta again as he was hitting everything that moved. One surprising player that stood out was 2007 second round pick Drew Scheistel. He really moved the puck well and seems to have a bullet of a slapshot. TJ Brennan was cut in the face but skated off on his own power.

Several players including Tim Connolly, Thomas Vanek, Daniel Paille, Dimitri Kalinin, Drew Stafford, Toni Lydman, and Henrik Tallinder did not scrimmage, as they were on the practice squad.