The Apologist
The 2009 Draft has come and gone for the Buffalo Sabres and Regier & Co. made one thing abundantly clear ... they want to get bigger and they want to get tougher. The Sabres didn't pick a single player under 6 ft. tall and many of them are known to tough, physical players who aren't afraid to lose their gloves when need be. Darcy Regier and head of amateur scouting Kevin Devine both said that they had been looking to follow last year's first round trend of picking the best player with size and strength.
It was with that in mind that the Sabres selected winger Zack Kassian with their first overall pick. The scouting report on Kassian said that he was the toughest man in the draft this year. He has spent the last two seasons playing with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. Last year, he had 63 points in 61 games (plus 2 points in 4 playoff games) and was also in the top 20 in penalty minutes.
According to NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards, "Kassian is one of the toughest guys in the OHL and probably the entire draft. Last season as an under-ager there were overage guys in the league who would not take him on. He has not fought much this season (because) he has not had to. He is at his best when he is playing physical and tough along the boards. He protects the puck very well and fights through checks. He has very good play-making and puck-handling abilities."
According to NHL Central Scouting's Chris Edwards, "Kassian is one of the toughest guys in the OHL and probably the entire draft. Last season as an under-ager there were overage guys in the league who would not take him on. He has not fought much this season (because) he has not had to. He is at his best when he is playing physical and tough along the boards. He protects the puck very well and fights through checks. He has very good play-making and puck-handling abilities."
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