Gerbe's choices
After spending parts of four days talking with and watching Nathan Gerbe in hockey rinks, I have little doubt he has the talent to play in the NHL. How well he will do when he gets there is up for debate and the style of the play the league embraces. A skating league, he's got star potential. A clutch-and-grab league, he could have trouble.
He would be a great addition to the organization. He's straight-forward with his chats and a wizard on the ice. The top of his 5-foot-5 head touches only the shoulders of 6-3 skaters on the ice with him, but he's strong enough and fast enough to handle that. A few other stories since he turned the Frozen Four into his personal playground talked of how he used to push the family car in order to build leg muscles.
Now it's up to the Sabres to make it happen. He seemed genuinely shocked the team had yet to talk with him. He understood they may have wanted to give him time to celebrate his national title and work out with Team USA, but he seemed to expect more input.
As he said in the story, he has two great options. He can get paid to play hockey, or he can live it up as a college senior in Boston, one of the country's best college towns. He said he's 50-50, but it seemed like he was eager to test his skills at the pro level. I'm hoping he does. He's fun to talk with, and he's more fun to watch.
---John Vogl
