Thanks, Wild TV
Marcus Foligno was born and raised in Buffalo, NY.
He cut his teeth in junior hockey with the Sudbury Wolves.
However, he found his way back home.
Foligno achieved a boyhood dream of playing hockey for his hometown team, which his father Mike was captain of back in the day.
The Sabres drafted Foligno in the 4th round (104 overall ) 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
It was in AHL Rochester where Foligno learned to play the heavy, in your face style that he has become synonymous for. He played 93 games Gor the Amerks and scored 26 goals and 40 assists.
In five full seasons in Buffalo, Foligno learned how to play the pro game. He's earned a heavyweight belt by fighting the biggest, toughest guys. "Moose" earned 334 PIMs by bouncing the faces of opponents off of his knuckles.
Foligno played for four different head coaches in Lindy Ruff, Ron Rolston, Ted Nolan, and Dan Bylsma.
347 games into his NHL, Foligno was traded along with Tyler a Ennis to the Minnesota Wild on June 30. The Sabres received their former captain Jason a Pominville and defenseman Marco Scandella.
Foligno had himself a nice start to his NHL career in Buffalo by scoring 49 goals and 67 helpers for 116 points. Foligno would tell you that he believes that he still has more offense to give his team. I believe him.
I've seen firsthand Foligno's skill development and progression. He was a goal scorer in juniors and it took him a few seasons to adapt to the AHL and NHL in terms Of physicality. Foligno has invested his 10,000 hours in perfecting his craft. During his summer training, he and his brother Nick ( Columbus Blue Jackets captain) work on their skills and explosiveness at the lake house in Sudbury. Foligno has developed his body into a high speed battering ram and he manages it appropriately. "Moose" has finally out all elements of his game together. In other words, he is now consistently using his full suite of tools on a shift in, shift out basis. And, it makes life miserable for his opponents. He flushes walls, wins pucks, holds the biscuit while his line mates get into scoring positions. Foligno sets up in the blue ice and agitates enemy D and goalies. He's moose on skates and it takes 2-3 Opposing players to remove him from their grease. He's earned the reputation as a real sh*t disturber. When Foligno is on the ice, his skilled line mates get a lot more room to create and operate in than otherwise. Ask Jack Eichel what he thinks of Foligno. He will tell you that he loved playing with Foligno because he held opponents accountable from a truculence standpoint. Foligno could also play the give and go game that Eichel love to play below the face off circles. Foligno's greatest gift is his inate ability to plaster enemy D and forwards with ferocious body checks. Foligno landed 279 hits last season, which ranked him fifth overall in the NHL. Prior to last season, Foligno's hit counts were 193 (2015-16) 193(2014-15) and 206 (2013-14). Foligno is like a heavyweight boxer. He will beat your body from round one on until you just can't take the pain and suffering. So, you quit competing for pucks and you stop offering resistance because your brain is in shock from the pain.
There is no doubt that the Sabres are going to miss Marcus Foligno. However, Phil Housley will be relying on two prospects to fill the void created bun Foligno's departure from Buffalo. Justin Bailey (6'4" and 220 lbs.) to replace Foligno's size, snarl and skill. Hudson Fasching is 6'2" and 215 lbs. Bailey and Fasching are big, string kids who play the puck possession game with speed, skill and precision. Bailey is a power house and a sniper. He has scored 43 goals in Rochester the past two seasons and is more than adequately suited to play a role in Buffalo this season. Bailey scored 78 goals in three seasons in junior hockey split between the Litchener Rangers and Soo Greyhounds. Fasching scored 8 goals in 37 games in Rochester last season. Were it not for a serious injury, Fasching would have potted 20 goals in his first season of pro hockey after three standout seasons at the University of Minnesota, where he scored 46 goals.
Replacing Foligno's toughness won't be easy. Botterill wants more of his players to fight one another's battles this season. Toughness by committee.
"I think it's a scenario where we have had some discussions with that. That's probably why we didn't want to lose Marcus because he does bring that "element". I'm a big believer in having more of a scenario of a team toughness mentality up there. We have players such as Evander Kane, Ristolainen, Bogosian, Scandella who have size to them and certainly can finish their checks and play a very physical game. We do think we have some team toughness but that's one of the aspects that we will look at in the organization."
Chuck Fletcher was wise to wait and not abandon his recruitment plan for Foligno. Adding Foligno is just what the doctor ordered for the Wild. Their team has so much skill and passion in the regular season. However, they get run out of the barn in the playoffs by more pugnacious teams.
The soon-to-be 26 year old is looking to take his game to the next level. Foligno wants to score 20 goals in Minnesota.
''Definitely, 20 goals is something I envision myself to reach, and I hope to do that in a Wild jersey,'' Foligno said. ''Playing with some big centermen, playing on a well-rounded team, I think I can do that. I felt last year that my offensive side was getting there, and I'm looking to improve on that this season.''
Foligno has fast hands and fast feet. He's versatile and can play on lines one through four.
Last season, Foligno played alongside Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart in many occasions. He also made quit an impression while playing with Brian Gionta and Johan Larsson on the third line. Foligno can play at LW on all four lines. He's become a coach's favorite because of his high compete level and his reliable and dependable work ethic.
''It's great for the confidence. I think that's the biggest thing,'' Foligno said on Friday.
''You've got to realize that Buffalo traded you, but you're going to a team that really, really wants you and wants you to succeed. I'm put in a great position now.''
Wild GM Chuck Fletcher made an admission on the day that he made the Foligno-Ennis-Pominville-Scandella trade. Fletcher said he has been actively trying to trade for Foligno for the previous two seasons. Former Sabres GM must have placed such high trade value on Foligno that Fletcher could nor would never meet the demand. The dynamics changed when Jason Botterill became the GM in Buffalo. Credit to Fletcher for firing the puck in net. Like Murray, Botterill has a strong personal relationship with Fletcher. Having a friendship outside of work with a GM peer can certainly grease the skids for a hockey trade. That it did. Fletcher wanted another burly, skilled winger to add fearlessness and power to his forward ranks. Foligno will be reunited with former Sabres line mate Chris Stewart in the Twin Cities. Talk about a one-two punch. Foligno and Stewart one terrorized their Atlantic Division foes with fists and forecheck fury.
Foligno was a perfect 9-0 in his fights last season. You touch his skilled players, bad things will happen to you.
Central division opponents may want to be proactive and go ahead and reinforce with steel their boards in their home barns.
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