The Sabres have just confirmed that Mark Mancari and Nathan Gerbe have been called up on emergency recall from the Portland Pirates and will be with the team for Monday night’s game in Boston. Thomas Vanek, Tim Connolly, Patrick Kaleta and Raffi Torres are all injured and the team dressed seven defenseman for Saturday’s win over Tampa Bay. They can go back to six for Monday. (The Buffalo News)
Mind of Joe
There is a lot of buzz on the Sabres’ blogosphere about being able to see Gerbe and Mancari on the roster, which already consists of Tyler Ennis. I’ve always said that the fixation with the Sabres prospects has more to do with the civil unrest with the Sabres top 6 forwards than the prospects themselves. It’s kind of like the buzz you get when you get the new hot girl (who really isn’t that hot) that enters your high school class. You’re noticing the girl a hell of a lot more, because you’re bored with the same girls that have been in your class for the last four years.
As for Tyler Ennis, I was kind of drooling like some of those guys checking out the new hot girl in class. Ennis looked awesome and was always looking to get his teammates involved on scoring chances. However, he played against the Lightning, which happens to be the worst NHL team I’ve ever seen. Mancari, on the other hand, has had so many opportunities to make it on the parent club, but always finds a way to get sent back down to the minors. I like Nathan Gerbe, but the dude may be too small to play in the NHL. Every time Gerbe comes to Buffalo, he plays fine, but always has a tendency to get hurt.
Look, I’m not going to sit here and go gaga over any of these guys. For every Tyler Myers that Darcy Regier finds, there’s an Ales Kotalik on his resume. Lets not forget that fans were ready to throw guys like JP Dumont off the ship when Derrek Roy and Drew Stafford came up from the minors. Of course, 4 years later, those guys are hanging by a thread with the Buffalo fan base.
Even after Tyler Ennis’ nice game this weekend, fans and myself included, need to put the anointing oil away when it comes to these young pirates. Yes, there are some guys on this team that I’d love to get off the Sabres ship and put them on a life raft (Or the door from the movie Titanic) and ship them out to sea. More than likely, we aren’t going to know anything about these kids until next year or at least when they can play over the long haul.
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