FITZGERALD READY TO BE A MAINSTAY ON SABRES BLUELINE

Sep 28, 2022

By Suzie Cool

 

A good underdog story is always something that everyone can get behind and, if you can’t, then I’m convinced you’re just not human.

 

That feel-good, rising-through-the-ranks story over the last two seasons is that of Rochester Americans defenseman Casey Fitzgerald. Or at this point should we say, Buffalo Sabres defenseman?

 

 

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, however, it’s looking pretty good for Fitzgerald after wearing the ‘A’ on his Sabres sweater in the team’s first preseason matchup against the Washington Capitals this past Sunday.

 

“No, I wasn't at all,” commented Fitzgerald when asked if he was expecting to help captain the Sabres in their first preseason game heading into the 2022-23 season. “That was a pleasant surprise, and it was cool to see. My mom was definitely excited.”

 

If we really want to dive into Fitzgerald’s career trajectory from healthy scratch to sporting an ‘A’ in the National Hockey League, let’s take a look back to his first full season with the Amerks in 2019-20. Fitzgerald was a healthy scratch more times than not, fighting for playing time amongst a team full of American Hockey League defensemen. During that first year in the Flower City, Fitzgerald saw time in just 25 games while registering eight points on two goals and nine assists.

 

Now, things could’ve been a little different if the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t completely cancel the end of the 2019-20 campaign. Fitzgerald could’ve played in more games, racked up more points and gained a little more experience before the season’s end.

 

Fast forward to the condensed 2020-21 season, and this is where Fitzgerald started to settle into his role in the pro ranks.

 

Fitzgerald appeared in 22 games out of what was supposed to be a 38-game slate for the Amerks during their “COVID” season. However, the defenseman would go on to have a better offensive output than the year prior while taking on a significant role with the team as a “veteran” blue liner and spending ample time on the taxi squad for Buffalo.

 

Three things that in the year prior might not have seemed possible for Fitzgerald to make such a significant jump within the organization.

 

Then we look at last season for Fitzgerald, and wow, now we’re talking.

 

Fitzgerald really came into his own last year, spending ample time in Buffalo and appearing in 28 games with Rochester as one of the most critical pieces on its blueline.

 

“I’d just say my consistency,” commented Fitzgerald when asked where his biggest area of growth had been following the 2021-22 campaign. “Playing that consistent defensive game and kind of being a guy that the coaches can trust out there, and that goes hand-in-hand. I’ve been pretty lucky to have the trust of my coaches in Buffalo and in Rochester, which not a lot of players get.”

 

In Rochester, head coach Seth Appert described Fitzgerald as his “Number 1 defenseman” over the course of last year and a player that he’d slot others around to keep him in the lineup. With the trust that both coaching staffs put into Fitzgerald this year, it ultimately helped him grow into the player that he was trying to prove he could always be in years prior.

 

To boot, on Dec. 17 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Fitzgerald laced up his skates and took the ice with the Sabres for the first of an extended 36-game stay last year. From then on, Fitzgerald was a mainstay in Buffalo for a majority of the season, racking up six assists for six points and 36 penalty minutes.

 

To other teams, Fitzgerald was getting noticed by top lines because of his aggressive demeanor on the ice and he really began to show what kind of role he could play in this organization.

 

“It’s been really neat to be able to watch and to be a small part of and just getting to see him work and go from being a guy kind of on the outside of the prospect pool to now where he's a really respected NHL player,” commented Appert when asked how fun it’s been to watch Fitzgerald grow his game under his helm.

 

Appert then continued with, “He's tough and he's competitive and the guys look to him and we're really proud of him. It’s easy sometimes in your first year if you're struggling or not getting a lot of time to not dig in, like he had to climb back through that player pool and earn the right to be in the National Hockey League.”

 

Training camp has already been going well for Fitzgerald as he heads into his fourth full season in the pros. The camaraderie between the group is right where the organization left off last year, the young players coming in are exciting to watch and Fitzgerald now knows exactly what it’s going to take to try and earn him a full-time spot with Buffalo this season.

 

In fact, the defenseman worked on all the little details in his game over the offseason to further prepare him for the opportunity at hand.

 

“Just realizing the opportunity, I mean, there's a lot of details in my game that I had to work on this summer,” stated Fitzgerald when asked what the focus was over the summer to earn a spot on the Sabres roster this season. “Just being able to close out plays quicker and being kind of quick on pucks and come with the puck when I have it. At this level, the biggest thing is being able to make plays and I play a pretty simple game, nothing too complicated.”

 

Fitzgerald then finished with, “I’ve just made sure that I’ve been dialed in from day one. I mean, I came out here two and a half weeks early to make sure I was ready to go.”

 

No matter where Fitzgerald lands this season, he’s dialed in and ready to make an impact. And, as selfish as we’d like to be in Rochester, we hope that Fitzgerald remains with Buffalo to continue to prove that hard work and consistency pays off.