I wish you all could see how his being in the Sabres room makes it a better place. The guy has "it". He has the intangible qualities that the most successful human beings possess.
Its uncanny how the room is uplifted when Gerbe is front and centre in it.
He's skilled, yet humble. He's a ferocious competitor, yet he's compassionate. He's fierce on the ice, yet he's empathetic off it. He sees the big picture, yet he has one singular focus:
To inspire his teammates to be better than they have ever been.
Ask him, and he'll tell you that winning is the by-product of doing the right things, like preparing and nourishing one's mind, body, and soul each and every day.
Gerbe is a winner in athletics, and, more importantly, in life.
He told me after the Oilers win, that he uses social media and his Twitter account to inspire friends, family, teammates and strangers to do the right thing and to be all that they can be.
He's really and truly an amazing guy. He's a role model fo people of all ages.
Gerbe's Twitter hashtag is:
#begreat
You should follow him @NathanGerbe42
On New Years Day morning at 9:55am, while most of the world was still in bed, recovering from a hard night of celebration, Gerbe tweeted:
Church to pray for everyone. #staygreat
Later that day, he sent the message:
Happy New Years! #begreat
Gerbs tweeted Monday night:
"You are what you tolerate, if you tolerate excellence then you are more apt to achieve it" #staygreat
Its not just lip service, a dime store cliche or a novelty item for Gerbe.
#begreat is Gerbe's lifestyle. He practices his faith, both on and off the ice.
Its been that way since he was a kid, before he became a hockey star at Boston College. He carried his faith with him to Portland, and its alive inside him here in Buffalo.
On Tuesday night, the mighty Gerbe scored a huge insurance goal to give his team a two game cushion late in the third period against Edmonton.
The Sabres have been a better team since Gerbe returned to the starting lineup on New Year's Eve. Gerbe missed eight games after suffering a concussion when Philly's Bourdon back-stabbed him back on 12/7.
I spoke with Gerbe about his philosophy after the 4-3 win over Edmonton.
"I'm a real believer. I try to go to church every Sunday. I usually go to the rink, then come here to the rink. Thats been my ritual on Sundays and I kinda did that through college, a little bit, as much as I could. That "#begreat" message, if a lot of people think about it, means its not just hockey. I'm not even talking about hockey when i say that, you know? I'm just talking about everyday living. Like, what can you do to help someone out? Or, its a friend or family member. It doesn't matter if its a stranger in the street. I like when people do whatever they can do to help out".
I joked with Gerbe, like helping your linemates Roy and Stafford to snap out of their pronounced funk? He laughed and nodded his head.
Talk about #begreat, check out Gerbe's silky mitts here to help his team seal the 4-3 win.
Gerbe is a special kid. He lives his life, on and off the ice, to put others before himself.
He's selfless and he'll sacrifice his body for the betterment of the team.
He's a winner in hockey, and a champion in life.
His focus is always on improvement and striving for greatness.
"Its something I always try to live by. I think about it a lot throughout the day. Its easy to be good in life. You just have to do the right things", he told me.
There's no denying that the Sabres have had a noticeably different energy level with Gerbe back in the lineup. He told me that he knew that if he kept his faith and did not question the healing process, that he would recover from his most recent concussion.
" The first concussion that I had in Portland, I struggled moreso with it. It was more of a tough time for me because I let myself slip, under pity. i was feel bad for myself. Thats what you don't want to do. This time around, with the latest concussion, I made sure that there was not one ounce of self pity, or doubt, or anything negative. I kept my confidence high, and I tried to keep the team going, by doing whatever I could. I tried to keep bringing the right attitude. So I really think that helped me get through the adversity".
I complimented Gerbe for his maturity beyond his years and his inspirational actions.
To me, his positive message permeates the room and helps to foster a healthy team-first attitude in the Buffalo room.
" I try to be an example. Be great at something. Just work hard. Try to be good to anyone and everyone. It doesn't matter who you are in here, whether you are a call-up or a ten year vet. We're a team, and we need every single guy. We rely on these guys from Rochester to play big minutes for us. Its what we need. It will help us down the road".
It was at this exact point last season that Nathan Gerbe's game soared to a new level. He was scoring at will. He was winning physical battles. He was winning games for his team. He was refusing to lose.
Nathan Gerbe is the spiritual leader of this Sabres team. His great attitude and superior habits are contagious.
Continue to #begreat, Nate.
thanks, oilers.com
Gerbe told me that he "tries so hjard" because thats the way he was taught to paly the game of life.
"One of the best quotes I've heard, was from a famous baseball player (Mickey Mantle).. who was asked why he was making great plays in a 12-1 ballgame. The first thing he said afterwards was "this could be the first game that the fans have ever seen me play". Thats why I want to go hard the whole game. Its something I try to live by and I try to play hard every shift".
Gerbe is Vitamin G. He rights the wrongs with his hard work, positive attitude, and stick-to-it-iveness.
many NHL cities claim to be the top of the hockey food chain. Not you Buffalo. You live it, breathe it, and prove it year after year!
You've done it again!
You, the loyal citizens of Pegulaville, and Buffalo's NBC affiliate, my friends at WGRZ-TV, have collaborated on yet another hockey heaven success story.
You guys love hockey. You love watching it on TV.
Doesn't matter if the Sabres are playing or not. If puck is on TV, you make it a point to sit down with your buds and drink it all in.
You did so in a big way for th NHLWinter Classic on Monay afternoon!
In terms of TV ratings, the Buffalo market was number two in the nation for Monday's NHL Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers that was shown nationwide on NBC.
Way to go Buffalo!
Philadelphia was the only market with higher ratings than Buffalo.
Buffalo beat out cities like Boston, Washington, Minneapolis, and even New York City, which had the hometown Rangers playing in the game.
Here's a look at the top 10 rated markets for the 2012 NHL Winter Classic:
Market/Rating from 3:00 p.m.-6:15 p.m.
1.) Philadelphia: 11.9
2.) Buffalo: 7.8
3.) Boston (Manchester): 5.1
4.) Pittsburgh: 4.4
5.) New York: 4.3
6.) Washington, D.C.-Hagerstown: 4.3
7.) St. Louis: 4.0
8.) Providence-New Bedford: 3.8
9.) Richmond-Petersburg: 3.1
10.) Baltimore: 2.9
Conspicuous by their absence from this list are Detroit and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Rumour has it that Detroit will host next season's Winter Classic. I say we launch an offensive TODAY, and, we demand that Gary Bettman and the NHL owners agree to deliver the Winter Classic back to where it belongs. To Hockey Heaven!
Don't sit on your hands, Buffalo. Make some noise!
You've earned the right to be called the NHL's best fans. Congratulations!
In the days to come, I'll be contacting my friends at WGRZ and the Sabres to rally support for Buffalo to host another Winter Classic.
Wayne Gretzky said: 'You'll miss 100% of the shots you don't put on net". Fire away! Lets pepper the NHL with "shots"! Good things happen when you throw the puck at the net!
You Time Warner Cable subscribers misssedlast night's game. For that, I am sorry.
You missed Fu Man Drew!
The NY Rangers pass around the "Broadway Fedora" to ther player of each game. Mike Rupp eaned the honours for the Rags after scoring twice in the Rags' Winter Classic win in Philly on Monday.
Stafford was awarded the Sabres' "Golden Bucket" for his one goal, two assist performance vs. Edmonton.
thanks, oilers.com
Stafford has to bringthat same effot every single shift from here on out.
I asked him afer the game if he prefers the visor on, or off the "Golden Bucket".
"On. Definitiely. I have to protect my eyes at all time. Helps me see the puck better".
The Sabres have a a lot to be excited about with the emergence of their 2011 1st round draft choice, Joel Armia, tearing it up at the World Junior Championships in Calgary.
Armia is largely the reason why his team will play Canada for the bronze medal.
Amia has five goals in the short tourney, and has been the best players for the Finns.
On Tuesday, Armia played a huge hand in the Finn's offense. In the second period, he stripped a Swede D, then roofed a puck to make the score 2-0 Finland. The Swedes would knot the score in the third period to force OT. Both teams battled hard in OT, however, none scored.
In the shootout, Armia scored.
However, Sebastian Collberg and Max Friberg scored for Sweden in the shootout to rally their team from a two-goal deficit to beat archrival Finland 3-2.
a heart breaker to be sure for Armia and Finland.
His post-goal celebration is getting a lot of attention in the aftermath of the Finland loss because he shifted the focus to himself. Something that Armia felt pretty dumb about in his post game presser.
Watch Armia'sbeauty of a regulation goal in the second period. Then, forward to the 1:10 mark to watch his homage to Mike Foligno.
Sheepishly, Armia described his shootout goal celebration:
"That was the dumbest thing I've ever done in my hockey career," Armia, the Finnish Sniper said. "I don't know what happened there".
Too bad Armia's teammates could not make his goal stand up.
I love this kid's heart, soul, and sick skills. I'm not going to slag him for his celebration. He's young and he'll learn from it.
Russia beat Canada and will play the Swedes for WJC gold. The winner of Finland and Canada will win the bronze.
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