Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) – Dennis Gilbert has been playing professional hockey since the 2018-19 season, but it was mostly in the American Hockey League. He has played in a handful of NHL games (82 to be exact) with the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames, where he's scored three goals and added 11 assists for 14 points.
Now the 27-year-old is back in his hometown, joining the Buffalo Sabres after signing a one-year contract with the team on Monday.
"It’s been something in the back of my mind. You always kind of hope for it at some point to happen, and I think at this point in my career, it’s a good time for it," said Gilbert on Wednesday when formally introduced to the media.
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When Gilbert was growing up here, Lindy Ruff was the head coach of the Sabres. Those were some fond memories for the defenseman.
"It’s definitely pretty cool," Gilbert said. "It’s similar to 'Tuchy' [Alex Tuch] a few years ago. I grew up watching all those teams, and I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a lot of those guys, and a lot of them helped train me. From Brian Campbell to 'Ellie' [Matt Ellis] to Kevyn [Adams], but with Lindy, I mean the city was just amazing. Getting days off of school for playoff games was a special time with this super passionate fan base here, and when you think of those times, you think of Lindy a lot. It makes signing here a little more special."
When Gilbert was here and growing up, it wasn’t like it is now during a 13-year playoff drought. He saw the exact opposite.
"Just as someone who grew up and saw it, it’s such a great hockey town," Gilbert said. "You can see it in two ways, the support the team gets when things have been going well, and so many people that have played here, stayed here and it’s a great place to raise a family. It’s definitely an amazing hockey town, and it would be super special to help turn that around."
Gilbert has spent a lot of time trying to find his way to the NHL. In 57 of his 82 games played at this level, they were with the Flames. He says there’s one person that has helped him a lot on his journey.
"Starting two years ago around November playing for Darryl Sutter, I really figured out what I was, and a big part of that is to his credit," Gilbert noted. "I figured out what it was going to take for me to be in the NHL every day. Last year, I was just trying to be consistent, and I thought I did a pretty good job of that. Took a lot of steps, like making sure practice days were treated like game days, and bringing it every day is a big part of consistency."
Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has done a lot this offseason to make this team harder to play against. Gilbert is certainly part of that going into this year.
"I’m definitely a defensive-first player. I try to be extremely hard to play against," he said. "I’ve been willing to fight in my career, and that’s not something that’s going to change. But also it’s being physical, it’s after the whistle, it's boxing guys out, it’s giving a cross-check. If somebody takes a run at somebody on your team and they don’t even connect, you get in their face. It’s all part of it."
Gilbert knows he’s not going to be a top-four defensemen in the NHL, but he knows he can contribute in limited minutes.
Winning a high school championship at the arena downtown, and scoring a goal for the Flames last season when he was home in front of his family are local highlights for him.
As for his favorite Sabres player growing up, he says that was Brian Campbell.
Some prospect news from Sabres Development Camp: 2021 third-round pick Stiven Sardarian is still looking for a college team to play for after entering the transfer portal from the University of New Hampshire. The Russian winger committed to Northern Michigan University, but after all their coaches left the program, he de-committed.
Sardarian hopes to find a new team to play for this upcoming season in another week or two.
