Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) - There's been a lot of criticism of Jason Botterill this season because he believes in developing most players in the AHL. Tage Thompson was the exception to that, but many wanted Victor Olofsson up here in November when he wasn't even close to ready.
Randy Sexton is the general manager in Rochester and Botterill's right hand man. He spoke with Andrew Peters and Craig Rivet on The Instigators on Monday and talked about what they're doing with Thompson now that he's in Rochester, "Playing in the AHL he's able to do things that work at that level, but don't work in the National Hockey League level.
"He's working on simplifying things, go more north/south instead of east/west, you don't have to toe-drag everybody, try to get your shot away quicker and working on the nuances of the offensive side of his game that will help him translate success into the NHL level."
Many teams that are good playoff teams developed their players and didn't rush them up. Sexton said, "I can't think of any player that has negatively affected his career by playing in the American Hockey League. It's not about how fast you get to the NHL, it's about being mentally and physically prepared for the rigors of the National Hockey League, so when you get there you can make a meaningful contribution, not just take up a roster spot."
I've heard people who know nothing about hockey or player development say the Sabres should just have all their prospects up here and see what happens, which is the road to disaster. Sexton agrees, "We can put anybody in a jersey and put him on the bench, so what! We want guys who can contribute consistently and in order to do that, it takes time. Development is a process."
Tampa Bay has great players on their team, but they also have role players that have come through the ranks, "Look at the rosters in the American Hockey League, it's littered with high picks who were rushed into the NHL too soon, they lost their confidence or they suffered serious injury and they lost development time and all of a sudden it's two or three years in and they get traded they bounce around and everybody says, 'What happened to that kid?' The kid didn't just wake up and become a poor player."
Sexton used to be a general manager in the NHL and no matter how much criticism he and Botterill get, they know they're doing the right things with most of their young players, "We're doing this here in Buffalo, we are not going to rush players into the lineup. In my opinion we have the best development coaches in the American League, I mean just look at the way these younger players' games have matured.
"Patience is the hardest thing to have in our business. Look at Tampa Bay, they've retained their draft picks, they've drafted well, they've put those kids in Syracuse and they developed them, so when they have a salary cap issue where they can't afford somebody they flip the expensive guy out and they backfill with players like [Anthony] Cirelli or [Mathieu] Joseph or these other young players who fit right in, but those guys have spent time in the American Hockey League and they finished their junior careers."
Before some of the players came over for the season from Sweden, Sexton has a chance to speak with them and they knew unprompted how they had to grow, "I met with Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Asplund and they both said to me, 'Randy, our goal is to play in the National Hockey League, but we know the road to Buffalo goes through Rochester.'
"We're here, we're going to work, it's a big adjustment to the North American game the smaller ice surface, more games, midweek games, three-in-three and those kids have a great attitude and they know they have to put it the work and that's why they're both blossoming now."
Rasmus Dahlin is a young player who, of course, didn't go to Rochester. Tuesday's game is a great example of the good and the bad. On Buffalo's first goal, Dahlin calmly walked the puck down the blue line to find Rasmus Ristolainen who got the puck to the net. In the second period, he tried to force a rush and turned the puck over to P.K. Subban, who came down and blasted one by Carter Hutton.
Botterill and Sexton firmly believe that to be successful at the National Hockey League level you, need winning and success in Rochester. It's been a consistent message since Day 1 and one that should never change.
