Can Vanek keep it up?

[GG8407]

Riding the subway from the Sabres' first preseason game, I heard such comments ranging from "Thomas Vanek is God" to "Thomas Vanek is better than Sidney Crosby", etc., etc., (mainly coming from four or five young fans no older than 13 or 14).
My question is--can he keep it up? Despite a great preseason, he had a slow start last year in Rochester before Randy healthy-scratched him, and went on a tear after that. Will he start off hot and carry the fire through the season or will Lindy need to give him a little motivation a few games in?
Thoughts...

[Bay Side]

i dont see why not, they said he was NHL ready 2 seasons ago when drafted, and were seeing why!!

[two4trippn]

Time will tell but he seems to be the real deal. For the first time in ages, the Sabres will be able to dress a potential sniper and play him on one of the top 2 lines instead of burying him on the 4th with Ray and co.

[buffjoe]

I suspect that he will have a little tougher time of it once he plays against full-time NHL defensemen. Remember, your not allowed to hit in pre-season.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Roenick's Melon

[Snarf]

Can he keep this pace up, no. If he did, he would be the greatest hockey player ever to live. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up a decent pace all season and say get between 25-30 goals this season. I just hope he don't disappear for games like a certain other player who just left Buffalo who would score 6 goals in 5 games and then none in the next 10 games.

It's also sad that unless he leads the league in goals there is no way he will get rookie of the year, even if he leads the rookies. Heck they probably already got Sidney Crosby's name on the trophy.

[foster]

He kept it up last season in Rochester - I don't see why it can't happen this season.

[CupCrazy]

Sidney Crosby's got the weight of the hockey world on his shoulders right now...everyone has HUGE expectations for him and it'll be interesting to see how he handles it. The thing is, even if he stinks up the ice, he will never be sent down to the minors.

Vanek, on the other hand, is playing above and beyond 99% of the hockey world's expectations...he's barely in the top 10 list of rookies to watch, but I think that's gonna change REAL fast.

As for "real" NHL defense shutting him down...that could happen, but while they're focusing on him, Briere and Dumont will be chipping in goals. That could be a fantastic line...though it was already the Sabres' best last season with Jochen Hecht, so while I think Vanek is something special, maybe some credit must be given to Briere also. Those two guys together have been awesome!

Bottom line is, a great showing in the pre-season is encouraging...let's see what he can do in 8 DAYS!

[shotgun]

ask his girls friend if he can keep it up lol j/k he has what it takes to be a 50 goal scorer and 100 point guy and even sure pass mr #11