While I was in church on this glorious Sunday morning, The Buffalo Sabres sent defenseman Brendan Guhle and winger Hudson Fasching to the Rochester Amerks this.
Buffalo also assigned forwards Kyle Criscuolo and C.J. Smith to Rochester.
These roster moves do not surprise me in the least.
Sabres GM Jason Botterill is an ardent believer in the AHL development model. Guhle and Fasching have been steady performers in main camp after delivering excellent performances at the recently concluded Prospects Challenge tourney.
Guhle and Fasching provided needed internal pressure in the veterans at Sabres camp. Guhle and Fasching will be at the top of the call up list when injuries inevitably hit the Sabres roster.
Guhle and Fasching will likely each be ear marked to receive heavy time on ice from Amerks head coach Chris Taylor.
Guhle, 20, is the top D prospect and has NHL speed, size and strength. It won't surprise me at all when Phil Housley summons Guhle back to Buffalo after he plays 20-25 games in The A. After his AHL stint is complete, I endorse a trade of veteran left D Josh Gorges, a lefty, to make a Buffalo roster spot available for Guhle to slide into.
Fasching, 22, made the Sabres out of training camp last September, however, a groin injury sgave him fits during his his rookie season. He scored Buffalo's only goal in Saturday night's 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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Gone are the days when Buffalo defensemen are stationary. Phil Housley is preaching movement and constant motion.
Since training camp opened two weeks ago, Housley has been demanding that his D join the rush. Housley is demanding it of his D corps. During drills, Housley can be heard yelling for Rasmus Ristolainen, Marco Scandella, Jake McCabe, Zach Bogosian, Nathan Beaulieu, Viktor Antipin, Brendan Guhle, Josh Gorges, Taylor Fedun, Matt Tennyson and other D to push the pace and to join the three forwards in the attack.
The shackles have been unfastened from the ankles of all Buffalo defensemen.
Houlsey is demanding that his defensemen to hold themselves and the forwards accountable.
Housley’s system is predicated on the D making the first tape to tape pass to the forward, then jumping-joining the forwards on the attack. If the first pass is not available then the D are given the green light to lug the mail. In this scenario, the high forward has to cover the point vacated by the galloping D. Communication and trust are imperative.
Housley wants his team to own the puck. Not rent the puck. Not lease the puck. But OWN the biscuit. Puck possession is Housley’s end game. His Sabres can’t play offense for sustained periods of time in the attack zone unless the forwards and D have the puck on their sticks. Housley will be demanding that his D slam all walls in order to win battles and create turnovers that will result in more scoring chances for his team.
Housley has described his system as follows:
“It's a five man attack”.
It can be as simple as three forwards and two defensemen in the rush, holding one another accountable at every moment inside the game. Housley used the back-to-back Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins as an example of his philosophy. Housley cited the efficiency and awareness of Ron Hainsey and Olli Maattaa as role models for his Buffalo D-men to learn from. Hainsey, now a Toronto Maple Leaf and Maattaa, are not the most offensively gifted defenders, however, both D are versatile and intuitive. Each defensemen propels the puck north to the open man on the move and then fill in behind them to support the puck through the neutral zone and offensive end of the rink. Hainsey and Maattaa then flush the walls and win puck battles to sustain zone time and increase pressure on the opponent in their end of the rink.
If ever the Sabres had a defenseman who was forged from the same mold as Housley during his NHL playing days, it is Guhle. The former second round draft choice reminds me of LA Kings D Drew Doughty in so many ways. Like Doughty and Erik Karlsson of the Sens, Guhle plays like a fourth skilled forward on the ice every shift. His speed, vision, hands, defensive zone acumen and shot are par excellence. The kid is cooler than the other side of the pillow. Nothing seems to phase him.
"Our system is going to be that we're going to play fast, we're going to play with speed," he said. "I know those are old clichés, but we really need to have a five-man attack because in today's game, your D have to be mobile. We're going to try and implement that in training camp and I think guys are going to really like when they grasp it."
In three games played against the Devils, Bruins and Penguins at the Prospects Challenge, Guhle skated heavy minutes and contributed two goals and four assists. Guhle's hands, feet and brain worked in unison and yielded tremendous results. Gihle was my choice for Sabres MVP at the Prospects challenge. Guhle manufactured back-to-back three point games against Boston and Pittsburgh.
Guhle has “it”. Housley loves Guhle’s “it” factor.
"Brendan Guhle's a terrific skater. His mobility is really incredible," Housley said. "His skating, and you talk about offensively, that can be used defensively as well: closing gaps, getting the stick on the puck and being aggressive in that area."
Check out his crazy vertical leap!
In July, Guhle tweeted out this impressive video of him scaling a 5 foot tower of gym equipment. Dude has wings on his skates! Guhle stands 6'3" and has added serious muscle mass to his body this summer. Guhle played at 185 lbs. last season. He weighed in at nearly 195 lbs. at July's development camp on Buffalo. He will enter training camp at 195 lbs.
Last December, Guhle showed me he was ready for prime time when he was an emergency recall to the Sabres from juniors. Guhle averaged 16:21 TOI against three outstanding opponents in Washington, Edmonton and Boston. He was +1 and landed 4 shots on goal in his first three NHL games. Albeit a small sample size, Guhle acquitted himself well against offensive game breakers Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom, TJ Oshie, David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron.
In six games with the Rochester Amerks in April, Guhle skated north of 18 minutes TOI per game. He scored a goal and an assist and made a positive impression with his mature-beyond-his-years efforts.
Phil Houlsey must be drooling at the prospect of coaching Guhle in the NHL.
Guhle is the poster child for Housley's aggressive, 5-man attacking offensive style that we've seen in Nashville the past couple of seasons.
Guhle skates like the wind, loves joining the rush, can back check like a Lamborghini, has a bomb for a shot, loves to play a physical style and is smart beyond words.
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The Fasching re-assignment means Justin Bailey will likely be the forward prospect who makes the Sabres roster after camp breaks next week.
"What we've been really happy with over the past couple of weeks since Day 1 of prospects camp is they came and competed. The only way we are going to get stronger as an organization is if we have that internal push of competition from our own players pushing our veterans here in Buffalo and also down in Rochester making sure there is a lot of competition for the call up spots. I would say especially Justin Bailey has come in and really gotten in on the fore check. Trading (Marcus) Foligno earlier this year, its a situation where we are looking for a little size up front and he certainly has that ability. I think with our young players we are continuing. They are trying to learn the system to make a good impression on Phil and myself. I know Phil as a coach really gravitates to that youthful enthusiasm and they are certainly bringing it to camp so far".
Bailey has performed admirably in training camp. He was Buffalo's best forward earlier this month at the Prospects Challenge against Boston, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey. the attention of his new head coach and new general manager.
Botterill said this week that he and Housley appreciate Bailey for his size, speed, strength and skill. What's more, Bailey is not new to the Sabres organization. He has been toiling for four years trying to get his game to a consistent NHL level. He has the right positive attitude and belief in himself.
It appears as though a Buffalo roster spot is his if he can continue to slam bodies, win loose pucks, protect the biscuit and create offense with his high end speed. Perhaps Botterill made the Foligno trade because he knew Bailey could play the Moose role while adding more consistent needed offense to it.
Bailey, 22, has scored 43 goals and 81 points in his 122 games with the Rochester Amerks. In 32 games with the Sabres last season, the Williamsville, NY native scored 2 goals and 2 assists.
Bailey has 10-15 goals in his stick this season if he plays full time in Buffalo. He'll score 30 if he plays entirely in Rochester. I've said it before and will say it agin. Justin Bailey has proven he is than ready to play in the NHL today.
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