Gerbe in the AHL

by JSCoope on Oct 29, 2009 6:14 PM EDT

Has anybody been following the Pirates this year? Checking the stats it seems as though Gerbe has regressed, but from what i saw of him in the pre-season he was playing well which makes me think not making the Sabres really destroyed his confidence. I'm just wondering if anybody has anything to report on his play this year? What line is he playing on? Winger or Center? I really like his game and was looking forward to him moving up to Buffalo for good next year.

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Gerbe

He has been pretty good for them so far. The entire team is off to a bad start but he has three goals and eight points in nine games. I expect he will pick it up but overall he hasn’t been bad.

D.O.
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by David Oleksy on Oct 29, 2009 10:46 PM EDT reply actions

I was disappointed after that article came out saying essentially “Gerbe will not be satisfied unless he makes the big club”. He’s not on the Sabres roster right now but I expect big things from him in the future.

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by TEMSON on Oct 30, 2009 2:24 AM EDT reply actions

Gerbe has played underwhelming every time he play in a Sabres uniform.

Why do people want this 5 foot 4, 155 lb player to play for us?

by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Oct 30, 2009 10:39 AM EDT reply actions

because he’s an underdog and it would make for a “feel good” story.

I just want the best players on the ice….

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by J2 on Oct 30, 2009 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Because he tore it up...

…in college.

Unfortunately, a great player in the NCAA (even tournament MVP!!!) can end up being a 3rd/4th liner, spend a few years on and AHL team (Gerbe), or even end up in Europe.

Not all college greats can be Vaneks and Millers…

by The Burl 8 on Oct 30, 2009 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions

I dont think he played “underwhelmingly” at all. He didn’t produce points, but he fought in the corners, he pushed the puck on the break, he acted like he was 6’2" 220 when he was hitting guys twice his size. Most of the time he was up was while Vanek was injured which you can take 1 of 2 ways, either he should be producing cos he’s on the “best” line, but that line didn’t produce a whole lot last year even when Vanek was healthy.

by JSCoope on Oct 30, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

You know who else failed to produce points last season during his call-ups? Tim Kennedy. Let’s not write this kid off after a few bad, mid-season call-ups in his first professional season.
I want him because, although he is diminutive, he plays like he’s Tyler Myers’ size. Gerbe is actually 5’5" 160lbs, you sold him out of an inch and 5 lbs, but it doesn’t matter. The kid plays tough in the corners and likes to hit. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. He was smaller than everyone in college, but that didn’t stop him from becoming the Frozen Four MOP and a finalist for the Hobey Baker.

B-B-B-Byrd Byrd Byrd, Byrd is the Wyrd!"

by willgarr15 on Oct 30, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm going to write him off because he's 5'4" and weights 155 lbs. We drafted a midget dwarf.

by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Oct 31, 2009 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions

My little brother likes to be physical in the corner when we play sports...

Which doesn’t matter because I have 60 lbs on the kid.

Gerbe is a joke and a wasted pick.

by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Nov 6, 2009 7:10 AM EST up reply actions

how can a guy whose put up his numbers be a wasted pick? the draft is a gamble 95% of the time… he put up great numbers in college and the AHL, yeh, sure, you can say “well that doesnt mean he’ll do shit in the NHL”, and your right, but it speaks pretty well of the kid that he has had success at every level he has played at. If he fails then that sucks, but until he does just relax.

by JSCoope on Nov 6, 2009 5:28 PM EST up reply actions

If I'm a GM...

…I am never picking up a player who is 5’4" and 155 lbs. Never. No matter how productive he is against inferior talent. You need to be an athlete in the NHL.

by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Nov 6, 2009 5:48 PM EST up reply actions

Then you would’ve missed out on some of the most explosive talent the NHL has ever had.

by JSCoope on Nov 6, 2009 11:00 PM EST up reply actions

Then you'd be a bad GM

Gerbe is an athlete. You don’t have to be 6-2 220 to be an athlete. Don’t be so simple and close-minded. Tyler Kennedy and Derek Roy aren’t beasts but they seem to be pretty productive. Gionta, Cammilleri, and Gomez are all under-sized and are all-stars and having pretty darn good seasons.
Since when is NCAA D1 inferior talent?

B-B-B-Byrd Byrd Byrd, Byrd is the Wyrd!"

by willgarr15 on Nov 7, 2009 12:57 PM EST up reply actions

Exactly. That Martin St. Louis character isn’t exactly huge himself. Theo Fleury is another one.

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by kaisertown on Nov 8, 2009 12:55 AM EST up reply actions

Yea interesting you say Theo Fluery. He’s perhaps the greatest little guy ever and he was playing with extreme mental problems and he was flooding his mind in a sea of drugs and still was a dominant player in the league. And yet his size was never an issue.

B-B-B-Byrd Byrd Byrd, Byrd is the Wyrd!"

by willgarr15 on Nov 9, 2009 11:40 AM EST up reply actions

Because it would be a sign that the front office is building this team the right way through the draft and not missing that often (comparatively) on top draft choices.
It has nothing to do w/ an underdog story for me (and I would argue for anyone). I like watching Myers and pull for him not because he’s big, but because he’s a kid and plays like a veteran.

by bluecollarbuffalo on Nov 4, 2009 7:58 PM EST up reply actions

It's depressing..

I listened to every pre-season game and I was shocked when Gerbe didn’t make the team.
For the SECOND season in a row.
I really think he deserves more than he’s getting.
I actually got pretty mad about him not being kept here.

I mean, seriously, didn’t he score like 5 goals during the pre-season?

by joeish on Oct 30, 2009 12:46 PM EDT reply actions

he will be up

at some point, the NHL season is a long one and even the teams with the best health get bumps and bruises…gerbes best way up is either via injury or trade, and neither will happen unless he is tearing up the AHL…

by TimR on Oct 30, 2009 1:46 PM EDT reply actions

TrentintheHOF guy, the first thing you need to realize is that Gerbe was a 5th round pick. The Sabres didn’t waste a pick on him. He was a late round flier who would have gone a few rounds earlier had he only been a few inches taller. For the record, only two players taken after him in that 2005 draft have made real contributions to NHL teams so far (the worse of the two Kostitysins and Matt D’Agostini). And the NHL isn’t like the NFL, you draft guys when they are 18 years old and complete unknowns. Also, the NHL draft simply isn’t that deep. Late rounders rarely work out and most of the players taken in the same area as Gerbe won’t even sniff the league. Calling Gerbe a waster pick is absurd. Even if the guy never amounts to anything at the next level, calling him a bad pick is laughable.

And on to a reasonable discussion:

The problem with getting Gerbe into the lineup is that he offers nothing unless he’s a top six forward. He’s too small to have a physical game and is subpar defensively. He needs to be on a scoring line or he offers even less value than an Ellis type player. That’s the real reason why Gerbe isn’t currently on the team, it’s not that he isn’t one of the 12 or 13 best forwards, it’s that he isn’t one of the six best. He’s fine in Portland for now and I’m sure he’ll get his PT as injuries inevitably happen.

by kaisertown on Nov 7, 2009 2:36 AM EST reply actions 1 recs