Patrick to take over for Arneil

[Sabres244]

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=2312

I'm told that former Sabres Dman, James Patrick, will take over the Assistant Coaching duties that Scott Arniel is vacating. Arniel will be named the next head coach of the Manitoba Moose. Patrick played in Germany following the Lockout, and he is a very close friend and confidante of Lindy Ruff.


Patrick's first order of business will be to tutor/mentor Paetsch and Jillson, to maximize their potential. Paetsch is young and has shown great promise in the A. He played well as a disaster call-up to replace the fallen Jay McKee in Game 7 vs. The Canes in the ECF. Paetsch has more offensive ability than Janik, and he skates better.

Patrick has a high NHL IQ, and he is very articulate. He'll make a great assistant to Lindy Ruff, at a time when the team needs more from its ever-changing D corps. Patrick has played the big brother role to Jay McKee, Henrik Tallinder, Brian Campbell, and Dmitri Kalinin.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it.....

Garth

[Sabres244]

excellent news IMO

[The MVP]

Definitely. Excellent hire. Patrick's a guy who knows the game and the players can relate to, since some played with him.

[beTough54]

This isn't a done deal, it's just one of Eklund's cronies that just copied it from the Buffalo News this morning.

Would it really make sense to replace an offensive coach with James Patrick? I think Randy Cunneyworth is a much more likely replacement, and you could even give Patrick a shot down in the AHL.

[Sabres244]

The Buffalo News is pretty reliable, espically with things like this

[beTough54]

I was wrong, it wasn't the Buffalo News, it was the Winnipeg Sun (http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/AHL/2006/07/06/1671069-sun.html)

[Sabres244]

I was wrong, it wasn't the Buffalo News, it was the Winnipeg Sun (http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/AHL/2006/07/06/1671069-sun.html)
That's prolly more reliable than the Buffalo News

[smashingt2312]

Good to hear, if helps kalinin reach the level that we all expect our defense should be fine.

[unklechucky]

It's a 2 sided thing. I'm sure Patrick would be a boost to mentor our defensive prospects, but Arniel engineered our PP and we need a way of replacing that.

[R.Dahl]

Did anyone else spot this little gem farther down in the eklund article?

Chew on this Sabres fans.
Marty Biron and Max Afinogenov to Florida for Steven Weiss and Jay Bouwmeester.

Where do we sign?

[Sabres244]

Did anyone else spot this little gem farther down in the eklund article?

Chew on this Sabres fans.
Marty Biron and Max Afinogenov to Florida for Steven Weiss and Jay Bouwmeester.

Where do we sign?
Yes we did, infact theres a whole thread on it, but to save you time...keep dreaming

[R.Dahl]

I must have missed that thread...but yes, that proposal is laughable even by eklunds normally comedic standards.

[Hockeystud1414]

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=2312

I'm told that former Sabres Dman, James Patrick, will take over the Assistant Coaching duties that Scott Arniel is vacating. Arniel will be named the next head coach of the Manitoba Moose. Patrick played in Germany following the Lockout, and he is a very close friend and confidante of Lindy Ruff.


Patrick's first order of business will be to tutor/mentor Paetsch and Jillson, to maximize their potential. Paetsch is young and has shown great promise in the A. He played well as a disaster call-up to replace the fallen Jay McKee in Game 7 vs. The Canes in the ECF. Paetsch has more offensive ability than Janik, and he skates better.

Patrick has a high NHL IQ, and he is very articulate. He'll make a great assistant to Lindy Ruff, at a time when the team needs more from its ever-changing D corps. Patrick has played the big brother role to Jay McKee, Henrik Tallinder, Brian Campbell, and Dmitri Kalinin.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it.....

Garth Well that should just about piss Randy Cunneyworth off!

[SabreGirl]

Two great points were made:

1. Cunneyworth gets jumped in favor of Patrick. Nothing says he'd be a replacement, but it didn't even seem to be a thought or consideration. I guess this is because Lindy feels Patrick, as his best friend and confidante, would be a terrific ally and someone he could work well with. I think Patrick has such a great relationship with many of the players already, that was a big plus. After reading all that history and respect between them, I think he is definitely a great choice for the job.

2. Very interesting Patrick, a defenseman, replaces the architect of our PP! Since Lindy played both defenseman and wing, he clearly has a great balance and I'm sure that he and Arniel worked together on the PP. For that reason, that isn't as great a concern as I believe the benefit will be in having Patrick mentor our young defense corp.

That could be huge to get Paetsch and Jillson who have the potential to both be very good players. Paetsch looked better than Jillson in the play-offs, but I think Jillson is a much better player than we saw on the ice and perhaps Patrick can groom him into the position faster/better.

I think that's a great decision.

[beTough54]

This Is Not Official, It Is A Rumor.

[anEinherjer]

I don't care about the Cunney (hmm, maybe I should rephrase that). The guy still gets to run the show in Rochester, right? Might be a better position to lead up the Thruway than to play 2nd fiddle in Buffalo.

Good choice, Patrick. The fact that his abilities lead him to play defensive indicates nothing about his knowledge or ability to craft a PP. In fact, one might suggest that since he did play just a leeetle defense he might know a lot of tactics on breaking through D.