E-Mail
Print
It would have been easy for Adam Pardy to be bitter about his situation after he was waived by the Buffalo Sabres. He had played 183 NHL games with the Stars and Flames and, with a short training camp, hadn't gotten the chance to show his new club what he can do.
But the 6-foot-4, 220-pound defenseman did not let any frustration slip into his game or his attitude about playing in the American Hockey League. Now with two blue liners out, Pardy has been called up to Buffalo.
Pardy dominated in his first game, on the same day he was waived and didn't even have a proper pre-game meal. Since then, that's all the Amerks have come to expect from their D-man.
" You see it, his physical presence out there, he's a man," goalie David Leggio joked after seeing Pardy play for the first time. Since his arrival, the Amerks have won four of five games and he has three points.
"He's quite a player," forward Kevin Sundher said, talking about a goal that was created by a nifty play in Rochester's end by Pardy. "He can move the puck, make plays, he's an NHL-caliber defenseman. It's nice to have him down here."
Pardy was so strong his first night that general manager Darcy Regier came down to the locker room after the Amerks' 4-1 win to shake his new defenseman's hand.
“I have to work my way back to the NHL,” Pardy said after his first game. “Whether it's going to be here or in Buffalo or wherever else. Nobody knows what's going to happen so I just have to keep working. It was tough coming in here tonight but it was good to get the win.”
Hear Pardy's full interview after his first game here:
“I have to work my way back to the NHL,” Pardy said after his first game. “Whether it's going to be here or in Buffalo or wherever else. Nobody knows what's going to happen so I just have to keep working. It was tough coming in here tonight but it was good to get the win.”
Hear Pardy's full interview after his first game here:
There's no question he did work his way back.
The Sabres next face the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Pardy's time in Rochester might not be over for the year. He is exempt from waivers again for 9 games or 30 days.