So, you give this quote here



To the second hardest working Sabre in the Playoffs and possibly the season? I realize you want him to keep this good behavior, but there are people who actually NEED that warning, like Stafford, Connolly, and Torres.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

Still, cant hurt. He only joined us for the very tail end of the season, it's reasonable to expect he might not be able to keep up that level of intensity.

As for stafford, I think his warning should come in the form of a boot, being lodged firmly up his ass.

Torres won't be back either way so I'm not sure where he falls into this conversation. But, I didn't take this article the same way you did. Just more or less as a stern warning to keep up the hard work, dont get lazy, and probably just the team telling him not to fall into the Stafford, MacArthur, Paille rut and just assume because you are young, talented and were taken with a relatively high draft pick, you are not entitled to time on this team. I hope it's management telling him "If you don't play with the same shabby effort 90% of this team, you will be back"

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"I can't really hear what Jeremy says, because I got my two Stanley Cup Rings plugging my ears...." -Patrick Roy in reference to Jeremy Roenick's trash talking

The NHL is littered with guys that didn't keep working hard after having early success.

I applaud the Sabres for trying to ensure that Ennis doesn't go down that path.

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Sabres Hockey: Commitment to Mediocrity

On one hand, like JB said, it's good the Sabres are trying to reinforce that it can all go away very quickly. But on the other hand, do they really wanna use scared straight tactics on their newest and brightest offensive weapon?

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mechaphil

I'm sure everybody surrounding Ennis was telling how great he did, especially fellow minor-leaguers and family. I'll bet many were telling him he's definitely gonna be on the team come October. Let's face it: He did better than ANYBODY ELSE on the Sabres' roster in the Boston series.

He likely marched into that Darcy meeting feeling pretty good, confident that he was going to hear a glowing review of hie performance.

REALITY: Nothing is more deflating to a performer, whether it be an actor, singer, athlete, etc. than to have all that swirling in your head, ego on max volume---and then a guy who is KEY to your future, in this case Darcy, lets the air right out of your balloon.

I do understand where Darcy is coming from, but Ennis probably had that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach walking out of there, thinking "what the f#$k do I have to do?"

Wish I could hear his inner most thoughts as he assesses his own performance vs. that of the "veterans". Now THAT would be entertaining!

i would have told ennis he has to keep working, and that his spot on the team has to be earned. and that so far, hes doing GREAT, but it cant end there. i doubt darcy sat down with cross arms and said, fuck off, kid. im sure he was praised, and was just reminded what he already knew.

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That's exactly what I'm saying. Maybe it's just me, but it just sounded like Darcy didn't do a lot of positive reinforcement regarding Ennis. I dunno...time will tell. I doubt he'll be in Portland at the end of training camp, though. Just a hunch.

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mechaphil

It would have been awesome if he said "Keep doing what you're doing, just don't slump."

Instead, he says "If you screw up you're going down to Portland".

Not the best thing to say about Ennis.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

Was the directly said to Ennis, or was it someone interviewing Darcy about Ennis' production?

Because an interview with Darcy is not the same as if Ennis said it or someone was behind those doors.

Of course the kid needs to earn his spot, and keep up his hard work, and there is no way to know what Darcy even could have truly said to him, what he says to the media is not what he said behind closed doors.

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I'm not sure I want to judge what Darcy said to him based on his public comments. I'm hoping he didn't try to beat the kid down, but simply tried to remind him that just making it to the dance isn't the goal.

I would bet similar speeches have been given to other rooks in the past. Probably isn't a unique thing.

Some of you guys sound like you never had a player/coach conversation before. What Darcy said is a pretty common sentiment about young players. It's simple - early success doesn't guarantee anything so keep working. Don't read anything more into it than that.

Well, you're right about that - I've never, ever played a sport other than the backyard variety.

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mechaphil

My coaches just told me I sucked. So, I tried harder to piss them off.

My senior year of high school one of them admitted to me that they never really thought that, but that they figured out I busted nuts harder when they said that, and they ran with it. :p

I don't think I was ever told I sucked, but I only ever really played soccer and it was just for fun, and when I did wrestling I just started so I knew I sucked.

but if I want to get good at hockey, I have to take the initiative to just get better, since I started just recently.

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This is exactly how I would've approached it.

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mechaphil

As for stafford, I think his warning should come in the form of a boot, being lodged firmly up his ass.[/quote]

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"Tis The Season, Fa la la la la LaFontaine" - Rick Jeanneret

What Darcy REALLY should have said to Ennis was:

"Kid, you did GREAT for us in the playoffs. You showed-up every guy on the team, including the veterans. You showed the kind of energy and enthusiasm that any NHL coach would be glad to have on his roster. But it's not enough. You need to spend a few more demeaning seasons being a grunt in the minors. THEN and ONLY THEN, will you get a chance to come up and play on a regular basis with Sekera, Connolly and Stafford. And if you continue the kind of play we just saw outa you, we will eventually sign you to a VERY lucrative multiyear contract. Then, AND ONLY THEN, can you take your foot off the gas pedal and settle into the NHL equivalent of a gubment job: A Sabres top 6 forward: Great pay, great benefits and not held accountable for much in the way of peformance. Good luck kid!"

This comment officially made me JIZZ.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

Haha. How true. Anywhos, the way Ennis plays won't allow him to slump. If they COULD stop his speed to the outside they would. Tyler's success will be directly related to whom he plays with. That's why I want him with Vanek with a new center-man. If he plays with Stafford(or any guys like him), he will 'appear' to be slumping. The play is never dead when Ennis is on the ice, but it will die quickly if he's on lines with guys who let it die.

Once again, while I understand this is what you tell a rook, this kid didn't need it(neither did Vanek when he was pulled from the playoffs). Darcy/Lindy play favorites, and it's annoying as hell. Power player summed this up as well as anyone could. Any Monty Python fans here will understand "the comfy chair". That's what our underachievers get.