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2011-12 Buffalo Sabres Report Cards: Luke Adam

With the 2011-12 Buffalo Sabres ending in disappointment and a few weeks for us to gather our thought, it is time for us to issue our report cards on the season. Over the next few weeks, we will grade every player that wore a Buffalo Sabres uniform in 2011 and 2012, from Luke Adam to Mike Weber.

Our first report card starts off with the rookie Luke Adam.


G A P +/- PIM

2011 – Luke Adam

Rochester

10

4

10

9

20

13

-6

-2

14

18


Introduction: Luke Adam came into the season with a lot of promise as many Sabres fans were interested in seeing what Adam could bring to the team. He started the season hot with five goals and 11 points in the first eleven games of the season. In the final 41 games of the season, Adam scored five goals and nine points; was shuffled around in the lineup; and eventually demoted to Rochester to find his game.

In Rochester, Adam had 4 goals and 13 points in 27 games played and added another assist in three playoff games against the Toronto Marlies. Adam went from one of the hottest rookies in the league to start the season and an all-star representative to a hockey player that lost all confidence in his game that eventually needed to be demoted to find a scoring touch.

Key Stat:4.34% That was the total percentage this season season of how often the Thomas Vanek/Luke Adam/Jason Pominville line was together this season. Adam scored the majority of his points at the start of the season with this line. When the lines were switched up, Adam’s production fell off a cliff.

Thumbs Up: There was some optimism on the potential of how much production the Sabres could get out of Adam in the early part of the season. The Vanek/Adam/Pominville line looked to be unstoppable during the first month and a half of the season with the majority of Adam’s production coming when he was playing with those two players.

For Adam, it was another Jochen Hecht injury that caused him to be in that spot to begin with. At the start of the preseason, Adam was playing on a line with Zack Kassian and Marcus Foligno and all three players appeared to be heading to Rochester to start another season. Then Adam was moved up with Vanek and Pominville at the end of the preseason and the three players seemed to be clicking at the start. Adam was first taken off that top line at the end of October to switch up the offense. After that, Adam was switched on and off that line before he was permanently removed on November 16th.

Thumbs Down: After Adam was moved off the first line, his production and his confidence took a severe nose dive. Adam did have six points in an eight game stretch at the end of November going into the beginning of December. That included two goals against the Washington Capitals on November 26. In Adam’s final 25 games, he scored one goal and was a -6. The lack of production saw Adam eventually play his last game with the Sabres on February 8th and was eventually demoted to Rochester to regain his confidence.

Voting: On a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest and ten being the highest, grade Luke Adam on his season according to the expectations you had for him. If he met them, give him a five or a six. If he eclipsed them, aim for a seven or beyond. If he failed to meet them, give him a lower number relating to how poorly he missed the target.

On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, what would you give Luke Adam for his 2011-12 season.

1 2
2 13
3 32
4 48
5 60
6 40
7 16
8 6
9 3
10 1