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CriminallyVu1gar
PostPosted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 2:00 pm 
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http://www.msg.com/blogs/bill-hoppe/loc ... es-1.48356


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By: Bill Hoppe

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Back in the 1990s, as the Sabres mesmerized him inside the old Memorial Auditorium, David Leggio dreamed of becoming a high-scoring center, not a goalie.

“If it wasn’t for the Buffalo Sabres, I don’t know if I would’ve been playing hockey,” Leggio, the Sabres’ new backup goalie for AHL Portland, said. “Watching them with my dad sitting in the oranges back in the old Aud, I used to actually want to be Pat LaFontaine growing up, not really a goalie.”

The native of nearby Williamsville eventually chose goaltending, one of the hardest positions in professional sports. The decision could pay off handsomely someday, though. After signing an AHL deal with the Sabres earlier this month, the undrafted Leggio, fresh off a big season in Finland, is a step closer to his dream.

“I certainly feel closer (to the NHL) than when I was in Finland,” Leggio said. “Just to get a chance to play in the American league with this team … you’re surrounded by guys that are working toward the NHL. I think it’s going to be a great environment to keep moving forward.”

The Sabres have known about Leggio, who calls himself a “hybrid, butterfly-style goalie,” for years. He participated in two of the team’s summer development camps while he attended Clarkson last decade. But a splendid campaign in Finland in which he backstopped TPS to the SM-liiga championship caught Buffalo’s eye.

Leggio feels he blossomed last season under the tutelage of goalie coach Urpo Ylonen, who’s worked with NHL netminders Miikka Kiprusoff and Antero Niittymaki.

“I’ve never had a goalie coach over the course of a full season,” Leggio said. “That was a really big selling point for me, to be able to learn from somebody that’s obviously shown how great of a goalie coach he is.”

Leggio posted a 1.57 goals-against average and .952 save percentage in seven postseason tilts in Finland. He had a 2.93 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage in 30 regular-season games.

“It’s a very good league for goalies,” Leggio said. “You see a guy like (Boston’s) Tim Thomas go there. But a lot of NHL guys have spent time in that league.”

Leggio, 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, went 59-12-13 with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage in four years at NCAA Clarkson. In 2006-07, he went 24-7-5 with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. His monster junior season earned him team MVP, ECAC Goaltender of the Year and First-Team ECAC honors as the Knights won their conference.

“At that point, I think I realized I could try to make a career out of it,” Leggio said.

He spent 2008-09, his first professional season, with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades, going 27-7-3 with a 2.26 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. He has two games of AHL experience. In Portland, Leggio likely won’t see a ton of action behind top prospect Jhonas Enroth.

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