Buffalo Sabres‘ 3rd round pick in the 2011 draft (#77 overall) 3rd year center/right wing Daniel Catenacci(43) gets his first NHL game under his belt on recall from affiliate Rochester Americans.
For his debut he skated 11 shifts at sparing 7:42 minutes of ice time with 2 shots, 3 hits and one take away in a 2-1 overtime loss on a penalty shot tally.
The small 5’9″ but solid 191 lbs. forward was putting up some ok numbers in the minors and plays with a good amount of grit for his size, when he was summoned.
He looks to be on par with last seasons’ bests scoring 7 goals and 9 assists in 36 AHL games.
In his final three years of juniors, one with Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and two skating for Owen Sound Attack he was a more than a point-per-game producer before turning pro at the end of 2012/2013 signing an ato.
In his first pair of contests with the Amerks he potted his first goal and added a two assists.
The soon-to-be 23 year old is at the final year of his entry level deal and set to become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the current campaign.
The parent club must like what they are seeing. It should be a no-brainer to keep him around.