When I predicted Zemgus Girgensons would be an alternate captain for the Buffalo Sabres, I was met with sheer confusion and some laughter.
Zemgus Girgensons never lived up to expectations as a first round draft pick, but he is also far from being a bust, having been part of the Buffalo Sabres organization since 2012. This year, with the Sabres so young, players like Girgensons have become more valuable than their statistics indicate.
Sure, he is nothing more than a fourth-liner at this stage in his career, but Girgensons has never been a more valuable asset to the Sabres. Besides his overall leadership ability, here are three reasons why Zemgus Girgensons is among the most valuable Sabres this season on the ice.
1 – Overcoming Adversity
One reason I was such an advocate for Girgensons becoming a team captain, or an alternate captain, stems from the adversity he faced throughout his career. Few in the NHL have overcome more than Girgensons, as he has never seen a playoff game, never lived up to his draft status, and has even missed entire seasons because of injury.
Yet he continues to show up for work every single day, keeps his head up, and does his job. And that type of mentality is something that has and will continue to rub off on younger players. Girgensons’ value here may not be high to older, more experienced teams. But to the young Sabres, they need at least one player who has been there, overcome that in several points in their career.
2 – Faceoffs
Here is one place of value that comes from his on-ice statistics. It’s no secret that the Buffalo Sabres are abysmal at winning faceoffs, but Girgensons is one of three players on the team who can win them roughly 50% of the time.
His current statistics show him winning 50.8% of them this season, while only Jeff Skinner and Casey Mittelstadt have reached an identical threshold for all Sabres who have taken part in at least 50 faceoff draws in 2022.
3 – Defensive Ability
They often call the fourth line the Energy Line, and few have epitomized that more than Girgensons. Naturally a physical player, he has logged 100-plus hits in all but one season, and he is also an expert at getting his stick in there to separate the puck from an opponent, or to at least disrupt a play.
Rasmus Asplund is often considered the Buffalo Sabres best defensive forward and he should stay in Buffalo for at least the foreseeable future. But a player like Girgensons, even if it is his last year in the Queen City, has shown time and again in this young season that he can be an effective stopgap until the Sabres find another Asplund-like player.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)
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