By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
The one thing any newcomer to an organization wants to do is make a positive first impression.
Justin Baudry may have done just that on Thurday night.
The Rochester Americans don’t have many — or any, really — open spots on defense. The position will be a major strength, especially when the parent Buffalo Sabres pare their roster down.
Thus, the American Hockey League preseason is the best chance for a depth player to show what he can do.
Baudry was solid for the Amerks in the 4-1 loss to the Syracuse Crunch at RIT’s Gene Polisseni Center. He scored the only goal and showed good puck prowess on the power play.
But like many of the newcomers who joined the organization on AHL contracts, he’s not AHL-ready.
“Obviously he sees the ice really well,” Amerks coach Chris Taylor. “(But) for me, he’s just got to pick up that level of pace, like a lot of guys coming out of college.”
Baudry, 22, played four years at Bemidji State, where he was second-team All-WCHA selection as a senior. His 22 assists last year were the most by a Beavers player since Matt Read (449 career NHL games) produced 22 in 2009-10.
“He’s a good puck-mover and I thought he made some nice plays,” Amerks veteran defenseman Nathan Paetsch said. “He had his head up and he made a couple nice slip passes.”
The undrafted Baudry had a taste of the AHL last spring, when he joined the Ontario Reign on an amateur tryout. He had one assist in two games.
“I had a great time over there, just getting the experience to play in a very experienced league,” he said. “This is a very competitive environment.”
The Amerks used a very young lineup, with most of their veterans sitting out. The Crunch played a little more of what their regular-season lineup will feature in next Friday’s opener at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
Former Amerk Scott Wedgewood played the entire game in goal for the Crunch, stopping 21 shots.
“I thought our compete was really good, I thought we hit pretty well,” Taylor said. “They had a pretty good lineup and we had a lot of young guys. They dressed a lot of veterans.”
The Amerks play the Toronto Marlies at 7 p.m. Friday at the LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo, then close the preseason on Sunday afternoon against the Marlies in Newmarket, Ontario.
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