Myers - All Time Best Sabres Rookie Year?

[Neo]

I've seen them all. I'm old. They all brought me to my feet. In my mind, it comes down to two .... I'll sit back and listen.

[Two or less]

In my life time, he is definitely the best rookie i've ever seen play for Buffalo. However, from all i've heard and read, Tom Barrasso was a heck of a story. He was 18 years old and only like 5 months removed from graduating high school. His role as a goalie is more important and he took the team on his shoulders.

[bunomatic]

I think it would have to be Barrasso straight out of high school.I'm not positive but I seem to remember a whole lot of shutouts that year.Maybe 6 or 7.I recomended him to a friend who was in a players pool in highschool that year and my friend won based on all the shutouts Barrasso got.Defence is a hard position as a rookie but goaltender is even more pressure on a young guy.Myers is playing well beyond his years though.

[Eleven]

Sorry, Tyler, but a Calder and a Vezina, well, you can't beat that, even if he was a dick. Perreault and Schony are tough competition, too.

[PromoTheRobot]

I was 11 when Perrault came to town. He made the Sabres legit right off. He had help, of course, but he was a big reason we went from expansion team to Stanley Cup finalists in 5 years.

 

PTR

[LabattBlue]

I was 11 when Perrault came to town. He made the Sabres legit right off. He had help, of course, but he was a big reason we went from expansion team to Stanley Cup finalists in 5 years.

 

PTR

:thumbsup:

[static70]

Sorry Myers, your a really good player, but you nor anyone else in Sabres history will ever over come Perreault as the Sabres best Rookie ever. Not only will Gilbert forever be remembered as the very 1st Sabre, he will forever be remembered for the ROOKIE that started the franchise, and oh what a fantastic rookie he was. He not only carried the hopes and dreams of this city as it entered into the NHL, he carried them for 16 seasons and does to this day.

 

He will always be the "ONE" rookie in Buffalo that will supersede all others.

[pkwwjd]

I think it would have to be Barrasso straight out of high school.I'm not positive but I seem to remember a whole lot of shutouts that year.Maybe 6 or 7.I recomended him to a friend who was in a players pool in highschool that year and my friend won based on all the shutouts Barrasso got.Defence is a hard position as a rookie but goaltender is even more pressure on a young guy.Myers is playing well beyond his years though.

Only 2 his rookie year, had 5 his second year ... my question is how did Barrasso win the Vezina his rookie year when he only played 42 games? If you don't play at least 60 or 65 now, you don't even get considered.

 

BTW, I believe Barrasso's first game was a shutout, IIRC.

[Bmwolf21]

I think it would have to be Barrasso straight out of high school.I'm not positive but I seem to remember a whole lot of shutouts that year.Maybe 6 or 7.I recomended him to a friend who was in a players pool in highschool that year and my friend won based on all the shutouts Barrasso got.Defence is a hard position as a rookie but goaltender is even more pressure on a young guy.Myers is playing well beyond his years though.

Sorry, Tyler, but a Calder and a Vezina, well, you can't beat that, even if he was a dick. Perreault and Schony are tough competition, too.

This two sum up my vote, although it is tough to vote against #11, THE centerpiece of the franchise.

[henysgol]

I'm old enough to have seen Barrasso and Housley(*I was 7), and of course I just loved Barrasso, but I think I'm more impressed with Myers. He's good with the puck, graceful for a guy that tall, and his age just tops it off. He's not intimidated in the NHL at all. Maybe I'm so impressed because I had a lot of doubts in the beginning of the season.

[Taro T]

Only 2 his rookie year, had 5 his second year ... my question is how did Barrasso win the Vezina his rookie year when he only played 42 games? If you don't play at least 60 or 65 now, you don't even get considered.

 

BTW, I believe Barrasso's first game was a shutout, IIRC.

He won the Vezina by having the 2nd best goals against in the league as a rookie right out of high school. Pat Riggin of the Caps that led the league in SO's (along w/ his teammate Al Jensen) and GAA ended up the 2nd team all-star.

 

Tom played in the opener and beat the Whale 5-3. The Sabres gave out OV "Season Opener" keychains that day.

 

If you'd have needed 65 games to get considered back in '84 the award wouldn't have been awarded. Millen led the league in games played with 60. There were only about 6 others that were in the 50's. Starting with combos like Resch-Smith and Edwards-Sauve in the '70's, (you could actually go back to Plante-Hall back on the Blues in the late '60's, but that was a special case as you had 2 HoF'ers at the far back end of their careers on that squad) a lot of teams by the early '80's had gone to platooning the goalies (at least in the regular season).

 

 

As to the original poster's question, there is no real question, it has to be Perreault.

[DR HOLLIDAY]

Sorry Myers, your a really good player, but you nor anyone else in Sabres history will ever over come Perreault as the Sabres best Rookie ever. Not only will Gilbert forever be remembered as the very 1st Sabre, he will forever be remembered for the ROOKIE that started the franchise, and oh what a fantastic rookie he was. He not only carried the hopes and dreams of this city as it entered into the NHL, he carried them for 16 seasons and does to this day.

 

He will always be the "ONE" rookie in Buffalo that will supersede all others.

 

+1

 

I remember sneaking a hand held radio under my pillow listening to Sabre games on when I was supposed to be sleeping. RJ describing the end to end rushes and then doing his Gilbert Perreault call after he scored, it still brings goose bumps.

[LabattBlue]

For the "youngsters" who never got a chance to see Perreault(especially at the peak of his career), you don't know what you missed. The few highlights of him that you find on youtube were things he did on a daily basis. The excitement level at the Aud during the first 5-10 years of the franchise were second to none and that includes the 05-06 and 06-07 seasons.

 

It is a shame that the team did not win the Cup in 74-75 or find a way in subsequent seasons to get the job done.

[stenbaro]

I've seen them all. I'm old. They all brought me to my feet. In my mind, it comes down to two .... I'll sit back and listen.

I wasnt around for Gilbert..However between the 3 of Barrasso Housley and Myers it would go Barrasso Housley, Myers for the first yr..

[mphs mike]

I've seen them all. I'm old. They all brought me to my feet. In my mind, it comes down to two .... I'll sit back and listen.

 

 

I was 11 when Perrault came to town. He made the Sabres legit right off. He had help, of course, but he was a big reason we went from expansion team to Stanley Cup finalists in 5 years.

 

PTR

 

 

Sorry Myers, your a really good player, but you nor anyone else in Sabres history will ever over come Perreault as the Sabres best Rookie ever. Not only will Gilbert forever be remembered as the very 1st Sabre, he will forever be remembered for the ROOKIE that started the franchise, and oh what a fantastic rookie he was. He not only carried the hopes and dreams of this city as it entered into the NHL, he carried them for 16 seasons and does to this day.

 

He will always be the "ONE" rookie in Buffalo that will supersede all others.

 

I was there when Bert scored the rookie breaking #38 against the Blues. He is THE franchise, THE rookie, etc. and always will be, however, I'll always have a soft spot for Schoney.

[Ohiofan]

+1

 

I remember sneaking a hand held radio under my pillow listening to Sabre games on when I was supposed to be sleeping. RJ describing the end to end rushes and then doing his Gilbert Perreault call after he scored, it still brings goose bumps.

YES! this was me, too. Glorious hockey...Gilbert has to be the one :thumbsup:

 

 

...only I'm old enough to have listened to Ted... :blush:

[deluca67]

As much as I love #11 and the career he had. The top all-time rookie season has to be Barasso's. Calder and Vezina by a goalie in a era where teams routinely scored over 300 goals in a season. in the '83-'84 season 7 of the 11 teams in the Wales Conference scored over 300 goals. 7 of 10 did it in the Campbell Conference. Compared to today where the only team with a chance to do it is the Caps.

[R_Dudley]

I was 11 when Perrault came to town. He made the Sabres legit right off. He had help, of course, but he was a big reason we went from expansion team to Stanley Cup finalists in 5 years.

 

PTR

 

QFT, as a youngster I honed my modest hockey skills on the frozen ponds of Buffalo imagining I was Gilbert scoring that game winner. I will say Barasso was a very close second for what he brought to the team at a very young age.

[mphs mike]

YES! this was me, too. Glorious hockey...Gilbert has to be the one :thumbsup:

 

 

...only I'm old enough to have listened to Ted... :blush:

 

 

I listened to Ted many a night - along with the broadcast team which I recall including Rick Azar and Paul Wieland in some capacity.

[That Aud Smell]

i won't copy everyone's thoughts with which i agree. like wolf said, eleven and static sum up what should be an overwhelming consensus re: gilbert.

 

but, in my 10 year-old's heart, the "best" rookie was housley. there's no time in your life that's better for having a sports idol than that age-range of 8-12 (and i think 10/11 is the real sweet spot). during that period of time in my life, i loved nothing more than staying up late to listen to rick's call and hear a "wow-ee" moment proclaimed by the tinny speaker of my alarm/clock radio (which was housed in some weird faux wood paneling).

 

props to neo for listing taro.

 

p.s. get a load of this video that i came across when i tried to find a housley-as-a-sabre highlight.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ9KmlzcnHQ

 

so many things to love:

 

* a 19 y/o hasek

* how the announcers paused during live game action so that the broadcast audience could hear milt ellis's announcement on the goal. it called to mind how i used to love to imitate the goal calls that i would overhear (darling had the same practice apparently) when we played in the montreal forum.

[Rico7]

Myers is having a great rookie season, but it's pretty hard to argue against Barrasso. Martin also had a fantastic rookie year setting a record for goals by rookie breaking the record that Perreault had set the previous year.

[Stoner]

I'm impressed that the color guy pronounced "Hasek" correctly. Not many did in the NHL, least of all RJ.

 

And, yeah, Milt was awesome. His style is clearly superior to today's shouters. Buffalo's PA guy isn't totally bad -- maybe halfway from an Ellis to that dude in Florida. The perception will be that us old geezers are just being old geezers. But I'd bet the younger fans would also prefer Milt's style.

 

d4rk, chz, anyone else?

[freester]

As much as I love #11 and the career he had. The top all-time rookie season has to be Barasso's. Calder and Vezina by a goalie in a era where teams routinely scored over 300 goals in a season. in the '83-'84 season 7 of the 11 teams in the Wales Conference scored over 300 goals. 7 of 10 did it in the Campbell Conference. Compared to today where the only team with a chance to do it is the Caps.

 

 

There is no discussion Perreault by a mile. He played with a bunch of scrubs, has beens and generally mediocre talent. He was the entire team and we were respectable because of him.

[Trey]

In my life time, he is definitely the best rookie i've ever seen play for Buffalo. However, from all i've heard and read, Tom Barrasso was a heck of a story. He was 18 years old and only like 5 months removed from graduating high school. His role as a goalie is more important and he took the team on his shoulders.

 

:thumbsup:

[Trey]

but, in my 10 year-old's heart, the "best" rookie was housley. there's no time in your life that's better for having a sports idol than that age-range of 8-12 (and i think 10/11 is the real sweet spot). during that period of time in my life, i loved nothing more than staying up late to listen to rick's call and hear a "wow-ee" moment proclaimed by the tinny speaker of my alarm/clock radio (which was housed in some weird faux wood paneling).

 

Yeah, same feelings regarding Housley. I am in a Men's adult league here in Minnesota now and I periodically play in his high school rink. His Jersey is "in the rafters". It takes me back!

 

That and I once spent a weekend camping at Camp Ditmer (spelling?) with Jim Schoenfeld and his son. Great memory!