OTTAWA – In the time he spent earlier this season recovering from a high ankle sprain and also regularly watching games as a healthy scratch, Buffalo Sabres newcomer Jacob Bernard-Docker tried to reflect and understand why he had lost his spot in the lineup.
Bernard-Docker, a right-shot defenseman the Sabres acquired March 7 in the trade that sent center Dylan Cozens to the Senators, said he realized he needed to be harder to play against.
“Just not be afraid to make mistakes and move my feet,” he told the Times Herald following Friday’s practice in KeyBank Center.
Bernard-Docker, 24, has made his presence known throughout his first six appearances with the Sabres entering tonight’s contest against the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre, showcasing an aggressive, heavy game that has caught coach Lindy Ruff’s attention.
Clearly, the 6-foot-1, 198-pound University of North Dakota product wants to seize what could be a career-changing opportunity in Buffalo.
He recorded two assists in his second outing before scoring his first goal in last Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Senators. After he knocked Connor Dewar into the boards and to the ice in Thursday’s 8-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he accepted Dewar’s challenge and fought the center.
“I think whenever you have a chance to make an impact on the game physically, you got to try and take it,” said Bernard-Docker, who’s sporting stitches on his chin. “Saw he had his head down a little bit, tried make a good play.”
Ruff said following Thursday’s game Bernard-Docker “showed he was hungry every shift.”
The game marked the second of four times he has registered at least two blocked shots with the Sabres. After blocking two shots in Saturday afternoon’s 7-4 loss to the Flyers – one appeared to go off his chin – he recorded three more in Sunday afternoon’s 8-5 win over the Washington Capitals.
Bernard-Docker, who has been playing alongside defenseman Owen Power, could earn regular duty for the rest of the season. Given his age and that he was the 26th overall pick in 2018, he could have a lot of upside.
“I think when you step into a new lineup, and you haven’t been playing with the previous lineup, you look at it as an opportunity that you’ve got a group that doesn’t know a lot about your personality, a lot about the ins and outs of you as a person, you get this opportunity to plant a seed right away, that, ‘I’m going to make it really hard on you to take me out of the lineup when I get in,’” Ruff said. “And if you look at his game, that’s exactly what he’s done right now.”
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Sabres prospect Noah Ostlund has been named the AHL’s Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday after recording three goals and six points in three games.
Ostlund, 21, has been one of the league’s hottest players, having scored 14 goals and 23 points in his last 18 outings.
Right now, the Swedish center has a five-game goal streak.
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The Sabres, who had Monday off before they close their three-game road trip, sent defenseman Jack Rathbone back to Rochester.
The Sabres summoned Rathbone, 25, on Sunday because captain Rasmus Dahlin was ill but felt well enough to play.