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Friday, January 18, 2013 n THE STANDARD Off
sports
BILL
POTRECZ
Forget anger, I’m glad
the NHL is back
bill potrecz
Standard Staff
And when a deal was finally wee
k, I could care less about
rea che d, his rea ctio n was the
NB A, and spr ing trai npriceless.
ing is but a distant dream at
It’s bec om e fash “Yes!” he screamed.
this point. Looking back, it’s
ion abl e to bas h the
Leave it to a kid to give an a won
der the sports networks
N a t i o n a l H o c k e y adult a
fresh perspective.
wer
e
abl
e to fill 60 or eve n
League, and with goo d
Rya n cou ldn ’t hav e cared 30
min ute s of the ir hig hreason.
less why the game was back ligh
t shows. And with all due
Any tim e bill ion aire s or how
poo rly Bet tma n and resp ect to
the OH L or AH L,
figh t wit h mil lion aire s Feh r
cam e off. He was just it’s har
d to wat ch high lights
over money, it’s bound to thri
lled to be able to see his of the
Kel own a Roc ket s or
dre dge up a goo d dea l of Buff
alo Sabres in action once Abbotsf
ord Heat.
resentment.
again.
Spe aki ng of T V, the re’s
It was sick eni ng to see
The mo re I thought about not
hin g on tha t ’s w or th
NH L com mis sio ner Gar y it,
the more I have to admit I wat
chi ng oth er tha n spo rts.
Bettman and National Hockey did
miss the NHL.
The only thing I could stomLea gue Pla yer s Ass ocia tion
Life went on, the world kept ach
was old Seinfeld or King
p re s i d e n t D o n a l d Fe h r spin
ning and no one fell off, of Que
ens
before the cameras day after but
weekends just weren’t the else held reruns. Not much
day as the lockout dragged sam
my interest.
e with out Hoc key Nig ht
No w, at lea st, the re is
on. It got to the point where in Can
ada.
som eth ing to loo k forw ard
I honestly thought I didn’t
The re’s not hin g bet ter on to
wat ch on the tub e. I love
care if the sport ever came a cold
Satu rday nig ht in the che erin
g aga inst the Ma ple
back.
dead of winter than ordering Lea
fs and it’s always fun to sit
But whe n an agr ee- som e piz
za and win gs and down with
my son and cheer
m e n t w a s f i n a l l y settling dow
n to a good NHL together for his
team.
re a c h e d a n d t h e contest.
A nig ht out in Buf falo to
NHL season saved,
Ear ly on in the lock out , I see
the Sabres play is always
I hav e to adm it I did n’t rea lly
mis s the NH L a trea t. I did the
sam e wit h
qui ckl y bec am e all tha t mu ch.
The wea the r my fath er and I
che rish the
excited.
was still decent and there was opp
ortunity to continue to do
Pa r t o f t hat always something
to do.
it with Ryan. It’s quality time
was bec aus e of
But after a time, I did notice toge
ther that we look forward
my 10- yea r-ol d an ent erta inm
ent voi d tha t to and will rememb
er forever.
son Ryan’s love couldn’t be fille
d with movies At least I know I
will.
of the gam e. or other TV pro
grams.
Wel com e bac k, NH L. You
He was con I missed the skill, the speed, are
far from per fect, but it’s
sta ntly ask ing the hig hlig hts
on late nig ht great to have you
back.
for upd ates on and early mo rnin
g TV. Afte r
t h e l o c k o u t . all, foo tba ll is
onl y onc e a bill.potrecz@sunmed
ia.ca
n HOCKEY: Enforcer role
vital signs
Scott’s the Sabres’
new sheriff in town
bill potrecz
Standard Staff
BUFFALO — When the Buffalo
Sabres need an enforcer, they
look to St. Catharines.
First it was Andrew Peters, a
Garden City native who was the
Sabres’ tough guy for five seasons
before he moved on to the New
Jersey Devils.
Now, it’s John Scott’s turn at
the job.
Scott was born in Edmonton
but grew up in St. Catharines, and
is anxious to walk the beat at the
First Niagara Centre as the Sabres
new policeman.
“I am (looking forward to it),”
Scott said after a two-hour practice in preparation for Buffalo’s
season opener Sunday at home
versus the Philadelphia Flyers.
“The last few years, I think that
was something they lacked. They
have all the talent in the world
here, so hopefully I can come in
here and do that for them and be
a bodyguard for the little guys.”
Never was it more evident
that the Sabres lacked a physical
presence than early last season
when Boston forward Milan
Lucic ran over Ryan Miller and
no one immediately stepped up
to defend the Sabres’ franchise
goaltender.
Now, anyone who bothers
Miller or any of the other skilled
Sabres will have to answer to the
intimidating Scott, who stands
6-foot-8 and tips the scales at 270
pounds.
“It took a little bit of time
getting used to me being an
enforcer,” said Scott, who played
his junior hockey for the Thorold
Blackhawks before moving on to
Michigan Tech for four years. “I
wanted to be an actual defenceman or forward and chip in
with some goal scoring, but I’ve
embraced it the last few years.
“My job is to protect the team
and I enjoy doing that. I enjoy
going out there fighting and protecting my teammates.”
Scott, who has a goal and
four assists to go along with 236
penalty minutes in his 146 NHL
appearances, appears to have
a big fan in Sabres coach Lindy
Ruff.
“When you have a player of
his magnitude when it comes to
the physical sense, if somebody
does do something really stupid
against your team they know
they’re going to have to deal with
somebody that’s really tough,”
Ruff told the Olean Times Herald.
Scott, who signed a one-year
deal with the Sabres for $600,000,
was thrilled to finally get a chance
to play close to home after NHL
stops in Minnesota, Chicago and
New York with the Rangers.
“It was something new. I’ve
been far away for so long, so I
kind of jumped at the chance to
come to Buffalo,” Scott said.
“I was really excited to be close
to my friends and family. They’ll
be at the games and asking for
tickets, so that will be fun.”
Scott, whose parents and
brother still live in St. Catharines,
has many fond memories of
going to Sabres games at the old
Memorial Auditorium.
BORN: Sept. 26, 1982
Height: 6-foot-8
Weight: 270 pounds
Career stats: 146 ga
mes.
One goal, five points,
236
penalty minutes.
Former Hawk: Began
his junior career with
the
Thorold Blackhawks.
Current Team:
Buffalo Sabres
JOHN SCOTT
“I hated the Leafs,” he smiled.
“I grew up watching the Sabres all
the time. My dad’s boss is the longest-holding season-ticket holder
for the Sabres, so he used to get
tickets all the time. It was great.”
Scott has a soft spot in his
heart for the Blackhawks — they
gave him a chance after the St.
Catharines Falcons and Fort Erie
Meteors cut him.
“I have to get back to Thorold
and catch a game as soon as we
get some time off,” he said. “I want
to get back to a game. That would
be a lot of fun. I’ll be back.”
Scott, who lives with his wife
in Michgan in the off-season, has
been impressed with his new
teammates, even though the
smallest Sabre, Nathan Gerbe,
accidently clipped him in the
mouth with his stick during a oneon-one drill.
“I’ve played on some offensive teams and some talented
teams, and this team stacks up
just as well as anyone in the whole
league,” Scott said. “There is a lot
of potential here to go a long way.”
Scott split his time between
Michigan and Minnesota and
worked out as much as he could
in hopes the NHL season could
be saved. He was thrilled when a
collective agreement was finally
reached.
“It was a little frustrating,” he
said. “I signed here and my family
was excited for me to come home,
and all of a sudden the season was
in jeopardy. It was nice to get it all
resolved and get back to work.”
bill.potrecz@sunmedia.ca
TO NHL rosters
Dougie Hamilton
Boston Bruins
n From Niagara
Ice Dogs
Andrew Shaw
Chicago Blackhawks
n From Niagara
Ice Dogs
Kevin Bieksa
Dan Paille
Boston Bruins
n From Welland
Nathan Horton
Boston Bruins
n From Dunnville
Vancouver Canucks
n From Grimsby
Alex Pietrangelo
St. Louis Blues
n From Niagara
Ice Dogs