For Rochester Americans forward Tim Schaller, making the Buffalo Sabres roster out of training camp just could be the "easiest" part of his hockey journey thus far. The undrafted free agent who signed with Buffalo out of Providence College last year only has his game to think about as he stands on the precipice of the NHL.
"It's there for me to take if I want it," he said in an interview with me yesterday. "From the coaches comments during [development] camp, if you work hard and play hard in camp then it's there for you. If I want it, it's there."
Schaller had a good showing at the Sabres development camp in July. He said he felt real strong after a full off season workouts, something he wasn't able to do last year as he was coming off shoulder surgery. The surgery, and subsequent six month recovery time was staring him in the face after sustaining an injury only six games into his senior season.
It occurred in a November, 2012 game vs. Boston College. After a big check he felt his arm go limp. The doctor said that he needed surgery, but Schaller decided to put it off until the end of the season.
In an interview with Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle last October Schaller commented on his decision to gut it out, "It was so early in the season I couldn't call it quits. Your senior year is the most important." Schaller fought it off and ended up playing the entire season with a torn labrum.
"That was pretty painful," he said, "but it was something I had to do."
One of the reasons he "had to do it" was to get noticed by an NHL team in the hopes of landing a contract. Something that's tough for any college player to begin with. Throughout his senior season, Schaller had been talking to a few NHL clubs, but with surgery and a six-month recovery time on the horizon teams were balking.
"It was tough," he said. "I wasn't playing the strongest hockey I could play with my [injured] shoulder, which turned some teams off a little bit. Luckily I had a couple of teams who threw offers at me. I sat down with my agent and we felt that one of them, Buffalo, was the best fit for me."
Toby O'Brien, an USA/NCAA amateur scout for the Sabres was at the fore of the signing. Being based out of Providence, he had plenty of interaction with Schaller throughout the season and he got the organization looking past the near-term injury obstacle.
Schaller fits the mold of what the Buffalo Sabres are looking for in a bottom-six forward. He's big (6'2" 216,) skates very well, drives to the net, loves to hit, is defensively sound, and can contribute offensively. But even with those attributes, it's hard to get noticed as a bottom-six forward, whether your looking for that first pro contract or looking to make and/or stay on an NHL roster. There are a ton of players with similar strengths all vying for that opportunity. Nothing comes easy for any of them.
The difficulties Schaller and players like him may endure on their road to the NHL is nothing like dealing with external circumstances that can have a lasting effect.
In 2007, Schaller's older brother Dave was diagnosed with a very rare blood disease that affected his immune system--Aplastic anemia. It's a disease in which the bone marrow does not produce enough blood cells and a bone marrow transplant is necessary for survival.
The closest match for Dave in the process was his younger brother who didn't even have the same blood-type and there was a only a 25% chance of a match. Fortunately it worked and Dave's system took to Tim's transplanted marrow.
The anemia was actually the second blow to Dave and his family. The year before he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He was going through chemotherapy and while it was in remission, that's when the family found out about the disease.
Back in 2009, Mike Scandura wrote a wonderful piece about Tim's
Selfless Act for U.S. College Hockey Online, "What Schaller did two years ago (in 2007) transcended anything he could ever accomplish on the ice. Period."
Tim laid it all out for Scandura, 'It was very scary at first…I didn’t get too much information up front,' he said at the time. 'I didn’t know about the procedure and how difficult it was. But when I learned what I could be doing if there was a blood match, there was no way I could have backed out. This was my brother. My life was in his hands. When they found out it was a match, in a couple of days they had me on the operating table and had me ready to go.'
"It was a life-changing event," recalled the younger Schaller.
Dave recovered and almost immediately returned to his rambunctious self. "We actually had to slow him down," said Tim. "His immune system was working, and everything was fine, but he still had to be careful for a few months."
That rambunctiousness seems to be Schaller trait as Tim is noted for his all-in style of play. He's the type of player that would rather go through you than around you. Even if that means taking out a goalie.
In a game against Utica earlier in the calendar year, Schaller took a feed and barreled towards the net heading straight for the goalie. He slipped the puck five-hole just as a poke check sent him flying through the air. It was similar to Bobby Orr's famous Cup-clinching goal against St. Louis only Schaller added in a somersault for good measure.
"The goalie came out and he didn't move," he said about the goal, "so I just figured I'd run right over him." He has no qualms about skating hard to the net, "That's where I have my most fun."
There's a lightheartedness to Schaller's voice as he speaks about where he is at this point in his career and the opportunities that lie before him. The family difficulties and delaying shoulder surgery--the choices and results--couldn't help but add more depth to his character. And it would seem as if that depth of character was what helped him overcome that initial transition to the pro ranks. Getting through that and tacking on a strong finish to last season has the Sabres looking at him as a legitimate NHL prospect.
Schaller went into last season in Rochester without the benefit of training camp and had a very difficult period of adjustment, but he came out of it thanks in part to the Amerks coaching staff. Throughout a 68-game span where he scored only four goals for Rochester, Schaller was learning about himself and his role as a bottom-six defensive specialist.
In particular, Amerks assistant coach Chris Taylor was defining it and, according to Schaller, he laid it out for him. "This is your role, deal with it," Taylor told the young forward, "It's going to be your role for the rest of your career. Get used to it and be the best at your role."
Schaller's acceptance of that role eventually paid off as he scored seven goals in the last seven regular season games as he kicked off that stretch with a natural hat trick at Toronto. With the Amerks down 3-0 in the third period Schaller found himself in the right places at the right times to help Rochester win and keep their playoff hopes alive.
"All growing up I've heard that a lot of the game is what you do without the puck," he said. "I found myself in the right spot three times and the puck just came right to me. It's one of the things I've learned about my game over the last years. It's not so much what you do with [the puck] it's what you do without it. Put yourself in the right spots and good things will happen."
That philosophy is exactly what the new regime in Buffalo is looking for.
Where that takes him this season is yet to be determined, but after going through some pretty rough times, good things are starting to happen. Life hasn't exactly put him in those "good spots" off the ice, but he's muscled his way out of them and into the confident on-ice position he's in now.
Something tells me that the confidence Schaller built up last season and his being 100% healthy will bring about good things for him.
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