Buffalo Sabres: Derek Grant Is Making The Preseason Very Interesting, Indeed
With only one forward spot up for grabs on the Buffalo Sabres roster, the competition is getting fierce in the 716.
Last week, I wrote about how prospect Nicholas Baptiste was making a serious push to earn the last remaining forward spot on the Buffalo Sabres’ 2016-17 roster.
Baptiste was clearly the best Sabres prospect on the ice during the Second Annual Prospect Challenge, and appeared to have the inside track on a roster spot.
Then the Buffalo Sabres began playing preseason games.
And then Derek Grant happened.
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Not to take away anything from Baptiste, who scored Buffalo’s first goal of the game against Ottawa and added another assist, but Grant is the one generating the most buzz in the Sabres’ training camp this month. He wracked up 3 points against the Senators, and had coach Dan Bylsma singing his praises (and putting him the lineup tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs):
He’s building trust in his game with the way he’s playing. You have to earn the trust in your coach. You have to earn the trust in your teammates with your game. I’m pretty sure he’s been doing that.
He’s had four days, and he’s had four good days. He’s going to get another opportunity because of that. (Source: The Buffalo News)
It’s not that Grant is coming out of nowhere: he did score 21 goals playing for the Binghamton Senators in the NHL in 2014-15, and he absolutely went off last season, amassing 27 goals and 45 points in just 36 games with Calgary’s minor-league team.
Still, most people felt it would be a two-way race between Baptiste and Justin Bailey, and now we’re being treated to a three-way fight to the death.
Gotta love the preseason!
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