BJORK READY TO MAKE THE MOST OF OPPORTUNITY WITH AMERKS
Oct 19, 2022By Suzie Cool
Yesterday, forward Anders Bjork cleared waivers and was loaned to the Rochester Americans from the Buffalo Sabres. Tonight, he’s slated to appear in his first game in the American Hockey League since the 2019-20 campaign.
“I haven't played down here, so I'm excited for sure,” commented Bjork when what he’s looking forward to in his stint with Rochester. “I think it's a league where you can really develop and there's tons of good players down here and I think it’s a great opportunity for me to work hard and improve and maybe play a little bit more and develop in ways that look a little more challenging at the NHL level.”
Bjork then continued by saying, “I wasn't playing a ton and I was in and out of the lineup, so yeah, I'm excited because there's a lot of opportunity for me.”
And Amerks head coach Seth Appert is just as excited to have Bjork in his lineup and feels the forward’s transition to Rochester will be no issue with the relationship he’s already built with everyone on the staff here.
“He's been an NHL player for pretty much his whole pro career, right?,” said Appert when asked how Bjork will fit into the lineup in tonight’s game against the Belleville Senators. “He's only played, I think, 29 games the American League, which is a real credit to him that you can leave college and step right in the National League. Donny (Sabres head coach Don Granato) does a great job of integrating our staff in Buffalo's camp, so I feel like we have a little bit of a relationship already, which is helpful and our goal is to help Anders just get that life and that confidence back in his game so he can earn that right to go back to the NHL and be the full time NHL player that he has been through most of his career.”
Bjork has spent much of his six-year professional career in the National Hockey League and has appeared in 211 games between the Boston Bruins and Sabres. Last year with Buffalo, Bjork recorded eight points on five goals and three assists in 58 games. The Sabres acquired Bjork from Boston in a trade in April 2021 after the forward was originally selected in the fifth round by the Bruins in 2014.
In 29 career AHL games, all with the Providence Bruins, Bjork has totaled 22 points on six goals and 16 assists. With Rochester, Bjork is going to use his time wisely and continue to get better at and elevate parts of his game that need to be worked on in the NHL.
“Hunting pucks all over the ice, creating turnovers, that sort of thing,” stated Bjork when asked what his biggest focal points in Rochester will be. “Using my speed and quickness to sort of disrupt plays. That's a big part of it, and then, it's more on the, not really defensive side, but away from the puck…using my instincts, using my speed and quickness and holding on to the puck and being confident with it.”
Speaking of confidence, that’s something that can be altered when you’re back and forth between the leagues over the course of the season, however, Bjork isn’t seeing this time with the Amerks as a negative. Instead, the forward is look at it as possibly being the best thing that could happen to his game right now.
“It's obviously a little tough going from the NHL to down, but how I view it is you can always get better as a hockey player, and this is an opportunity to do that.”
Bjork then finished with, “You know, it could be the best thing that happened to me if I had the right attitude and put in the right work ethic. So, that's my plan and, as I said, I'm just excited to get to work now no matter what I’ve done.”
Tonight, the Amerks open a busy stretch of three games in four nights tonight with a North Division showdown against the first-place Belleville Senators at The Blue Cross Arena. The Amerks and Senators, who enter their sixth season in the AHL, will meet a total of seven other times during the 2022-23 regular season following tonight’s contest, with tonight’s matchup representing the first of four in the Flower City. The 7:05 p.m. matchup will be carried live on 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.