Wedgewood ready to answer call as Amerks top goalie

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA

For Scott Wedgewood, the 2018-19 season will be all about re-establishing himself as a goalie with NHL abilities.

To do so, he must put the recent past behind him and assume a front-and-center role with the Rochester Americans.

Which is precisely what he intends to do, and he provided an indication on Sunday night that he’s more than capable. The seventh-year veteran stopped 29 shots, including 23 in the first two periods, in a 4-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch in the Amerks final American Hockey League preseason game.

The Amerks will start the regular season on home ice with games Friday and Saturday against the Charlotte Checkers, anxious to continue the process of elevating the franchise back to AHL prominence.

“It’s pretty clear, I think, we’re going to have a good team,” said third-year winger Eric Cornel, who scored one goal and assisted on an empty-netter by Andrew Oglevie in the game at RIT’s Gene Polisseni Center.

Wedgewood is one reason for the high hopes. He appeared in 20 NHL games for the Arizona Coyotes last season, going 5-9-4 with a 3.45 GAA and .893 save percentage.

While he earned the first significant NHL playing time of his career last season, he also endured two trades within four months. The New Jersey Devils sent him to Arizona for a fifth-round draft pick, then the Coyotes shipped him to the Los Angeles Kings.

This was after missing nearly all of the 2016-17 season because of a torn labrum in his shoulder.

So when he became an unrestricted free agent over the summer, his priority was finding an organization that would provide him with opportunity.

“I kind of looked to go somewhere I was wanted,” Wedgewood said.

The Buffalo Sabres offered that feeling of being wanted. Linus Ullmark has graduated to the Sabres, meaning the No. 1 job in Rochester is Wedgewood’s to take and run with.

During the UFA process, Sabres general manager Jason Botterill and his assistant, Amerks GM Randy Sexton, let him know prime minutes in Rochester would be available.

“As a goalie, that’s what you want,” he said of the opportunity.

His priority now is proving again that he can be the go-to guy in goal, and he played the part very well on Sunday. He made several key point-blank stops in the first 25 minutes to keep the game scoreless.

“He just looked confident, solid,” Amerks coach Chris Taylor said. “He looked composed and he moved the puck very well for our defensemen.”

Taylor said he has no concerns about what Wedgewood can do.

“He played 20-some NHL games last year, there’s a reason,” Taylor said.

C.J. Smith and Dalton Smith scored the Amerks other goals.