2/14 Recap: Shooting Efficiency

Today, Jhonas Enroth made 37 saves in SSK's 4-3 OT loss to Farjestad. SSK currently owns a tiebreaker with Skelleftea for the eighth and final SEL playoff spot, and can ill afford any late season losses. Enroth has kept a 2.11 GAA this season, stopping 572 of 615 shots along the way for a league-best .930 save percentage. He'll need to maintain his sparkling play down the stretch for SSK to hold that spot. In Germany, Felix Schutz did not connect with any of his three shots on goal as Ingolstadt defeated Augsburger, 4-2. The center is shooting at an 11.3% clip on the season, with nine goals on 80 total shots. To some, shooting efficiency is the ugly step child of statistics. It's just "there", right at the end of the stat line. To others, it's a good indication of a player's "hands". Regardless, it's only viewed properly when taking into consideration how many shots on goal the player actually has. Prospect tweener Patrick Kaleta is hitting on 11.9% of his tries while on recall, good for sixth on the Sabres, but he's only taken nine shots all year long. His time in Rochester reveals a better sampling, where he's a 4% shooter (25 shots). In combined time for 2007-08, he is scoring on 5.9% of his shots (2/34). The Sabres have some prospects who really like to shoot the puck. Nathan Gerbe has fired 149 times this season in just 27 games, with most of them coming from close range. That's an impressive 5.5 shots per game for a 5'5 left wing. Gerbe is shifty, using that smallish frame to get down low and convert quality chances. He leads the nation in points per game (1.59) while carrying a 14.8 shooting percentage. Simply put, Gerbe produces. Another player known for getting to the net, Tim Kennedy leads Michigan State with 13 goals on 84 shots. He takes about half the number of shots Gerbe has (2.7 shots per game), but connects at a better clip with a 15.5 shooting percentage. Other top shooting percentanges amongst Sabres forward prospects with at least forty shots on goal include: Dylan Hunter - 15.9% (63 shots) Marek Zagrapan - 14.9% (101 shots) Benjamin Breault - 13.9% (180 shots) J.S. Allard - 12.8% (117 shots) Corey Tropp - 12.8% (47 shots) Cologne's Philip Gogulla, who is having his finest season as a professional with 36 points, currently connects just 9.9% of the time. However, Gogulla's 27 assists are tied for second on the Sharks, rendering him rather effective in a broader offensive sense. Who is the most efficient shooting forward in the Sabres prospects ranks? Gatineau center Paul Byron has scored 26 goals on 125 shots this season. That computes to 20.8% success, a total that is ninth-best among Q players with a minimum of 100 shots. Shooting percentage isn't indicative of a player's overall value. It's just another shade used to paint a picture of a player's game.

2/5: Tuesday Slap Shots

- With Maxim Afinogenov re-tweaking his groin in yesterday's practice, and Clarke MacArthur coming down with a bad flu this morning, the Sabres re-called punishing forward Patrick Kaleta from Rochester just 24 hours after sending him down. Kaleta is in the Buffalo lineup tonight, making his presence felt early as the Sabres battle the Bruins. - It appears that an injury to Ducks prospect Logan MacMillan isn't as severe as originally thought after a Saturday collision with Sabres defensive prospect, T.J. Brennan. With no apparent MCL or ACL damage, the Mooseheads forward instead looks to have a charley horse. The two players collided knee-on-knee at center ice after Brennan stepped up to meet the rush. MacMillan had to be helped off the ice and did not return. Brennan, the Sabres first of two 2nd round picks in 2007, was called for kneeing on the play and received an extra fighting major after Guillaume Monast came to the defense of his injured Halifax teammate. - After injuring his shoulder in a January 25th game against Lake Erie, Amerks defenseman Michael Funk is slated to return to action this weekend. - Speaking of Funk, the Buffalo Sabres Foundation is currently accepting bids for vintage style, game-issued jerseys of the former Portland Winter Hawk, as well as fellow prospects Marek Zagrapan and Marc-Andre Gragnani. Bidding opens at $250 each. The auctions will close on Valentines Day. - In the only game on tonight's Sabres prospect docket, Brad Eidsness and the Okotoks Oilers (39-9-0-4) host top-ranked Camrose (41-6-0-5). Backed by a strong outing from Eidsness, the Oilers handed the Kodiaks a 2-1 loss in their last meeting one week ago. As always, an update will follow the game.

Kaleta sent back down

The Sabres have returned agitating forward Patrick Kaleta to Rochester of the AHL. In 11 games with Buffalo, the Western New York native picked up 4 PIM and was -2 without registering a point. Kaleta goes back to the Amerks, where he has one goal, three assists, and 104 PIM in 28 games. He'll be in uniform Wednesday at the BCA when the Amerks face upstate rival Syracuse.

1/26 Recap: Allard sets mark; "Genny" gets tossed

News and notes on a busy Saturday for Sabres prospects... NCAA LW Nathan Gerbe scored the game winning goal late in the second period as Boston College defeated Maine, 4-2. The energetic Eagle wore a target for most of the contest, carrying play to produce a game-high five shots on goal. "Big" Ben Bishop owned the match-up until the shifty junior broke in alone to clank home his 19th of the year. A night after exchanging swipes with the 6'7 Maine goaltender, Gerbe and freshman D Mike Banwell picked up coincidental slashing minors in the second. BC teammate Andrew Orpik collected four penalty minutes in the win, including a minor for a blow to the head. Gerbe's 1.61 points-per-game is still tops in the country as the Eagles head into Friday's game with Providence before kicking off the Beanpot the following Monday. A night after aiding a shutout of #1 Michigan, Michigan State's Tim Kennedy and Corey Tropp were again unable to combine for a goal as the Spartans and Wolverines played to a 2-2 tie. Kennedy had a chance at an open net to start the third, but shot the puck into the sprawling Billy Sauer. MSU looked to be on their way to the sweep until Spartan forward Matt Schepke knocked the puck into his own net with 1:38 to play. It was a strange twist to the weekend after Wolverine Mark Mitera own-goaled the night before. Hobey Baker favorite Kevin Porter was again quieted by the green and white defense, mustering just four shots on goal all weekend for the maize and blue. As expected, Nick Eno got a rest while Bowling Green was swept by Notre Dame, 5-1. In the ECAC, St. Lawrence D Matt Generous was throw out of his game with Rensselaer after a check from behind on Jonathan Ornelas. The Saints defender had just gotten out of the box from a previous scrum before uncharacteristically earning the misconduct. The Engineers beat the Saints, 6-3. Sophomore rearguard Alex Biega could not get any of his three shots past summer prospects camp invitee Mike Devine as Harvard beat Dartmouth, 3-1. CHL In a sad day for St.John's, Jean-Simon Allard scored a goal and two assists as the Fog Devils defeated the Sea Dogs, 5-4. With three more points, the 2007 5th rounder now has a career-best 52 with 19 games remaining. The 6'2 pivot is developing on schedule, on pace for a 72 point finish after going 12+38=50 in 69 games in 2006-07. Foggies D T.J. Brennan was active with the puck, assisting on Allard's tally and using his wheels to jump into the rush. Brennan made a few longs looks up ice, creating an aggressive tempo from the back end. Earlier in the day, it was announced that this would be the Fog Devils last season in the Newfoundland outpost, as new ownership has struck a deal with Verdun. Just outside of Montreal, Verdun receives another QMJHL franchise fourteen years after their last entry folded and five years after the Montreal Rocket bolted for PEI. Elsewhere in the "Q", center Paul Byron was -1 with five shots for Gatineau in an exciting 6-5 OT loss to Rouyn-Noranda. R-N came from St. Hyacinthe via Verdun originally... USHL Future Catamount Drew MacKenzie was -2 in Waterloo's 4-3 win over Lincoln. The rookie has 12 points, leads his team in PIM, and his +4 has been among the team's best all season (compared to UNH bound, NYI draft pick Blake Kessel's -15). The Black Hawks are off until Friday while the league heads to Green Bay for the USHL All-Star Game on Tuesday. AJHL In Grand Prairie, Brad Eidsness manned the South Division net for the first period of the AJHL 2008 All-Star Game. In a game featuring 96 shots on net, the Sioux recruit limited the North to three goals. Northern Michigan recruit Tyler Gron had four goals and two assists to earn MVP as the North defeated the South by a touchdown, 14-7. Rochester (AHL) Finally, Rochester went into the first intermission against Lake Erie holding a 1-0 lead, only to give up five second period goals en route to a 7-2 loss. Adam Dennis faced just two shots in the first, but Lake Erie chased him after scoring four goals in the first 8:38 of the second. Dylan Hunter notched a goal for the Amerks, while Mark Mancari and Mike Weber added assists. With Anthony Stewart and Patrick Kaleta back with the Amerks, Marc-Andre Gragnani played defense for the second straight game. The Montreal native, perviously flourishing as a forward, finished the game a -4. For now, trying to coach the talented AHL rookie into a defenseman is understandable. However, it's not like the Sabres pipeline is rife with left wings, or lacking in puck moving defensemen. Perhaps Grags' playmaking vision gets a permanent look next fall when the Sabres have to ice a full AHL roster.