AMERKS DAILY PRESS CLIPS Tuesday, M arch 9, 2021 Amerks Top Five Takeaw ays From The Month Of February By Suzie Cool Amerks.com As the Rochester Americans’ 2020-21 campaign has kicked off a little over a month ago, it’s hard not to notice the excitement that surrounds the squad at The Blue Cross Arena. Unlike any other year, Rochester started off the season coming off an extended training camp that lasted three whole weeks prior to opening night on Feb. 5. From that first game on, we have seen this team grow exponentially in terms of coming together during such an unprecedented season. That togetherness has seen the Amerks ride a four-game win streak, produce a power- play that sits among the top three in the entire league, has given young players the chance to make their NHL debuts and the list goes on. It’s time to take a look at the Amerks top five takeaways of their first month of play during an untraditional season. 1. AMERKS HEAD COACH, SETH APPERT New to the city of Rochester this season, Amerks head coach Seth Appert made his pro coaching debut on Feb. 5 when the team hit the ice on opening night at The Blue Cross Arena. As the 33rd head coach in the 65-year history of the franchise, Appert has a long history of developing players at all levels. Prior to coming to Rochester, he spent the last three years alternating the head coaching duties between the Under-18 and Under-17 teams at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP). Prior to joining USA Hockey, the Cottage Grove, Minn., native spent 20 years in the NCAA Division I collegiate coaching ranks, including 11 seasons as head coach of the men’s program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and nine seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Denver. Over his 20 years at the collegiate level, Appert has aided in the development of 13 All-Americans, 37 all-league selections, four Players of the Year, four Hobey Baker Finalists and, prior to this season, at least 23 players who have graduated to the NHL, including former Amerks Jerry D’Amigo, Jason Kasdorf and Erik Burgdoerfer. Looking at what Appert did in his first month behind the bench in Rochester, it seems he’s fitting into his role quite nicely. Through the first six games of the year, Rochester’s record sat at 4-2-0-0, which included a four-game win streak between Feb. 10 and Feb. 20. Appert also helped produce a power-play that sat at third in the entire American Hockey League at a 32.0% conversion rate prior to February’s end. Appert also saw one of his Amerks defenseman make his NHL debut in Jacob Bryson, while fellow blueliner Casey Fitzgerald and forward Andrew Oglevie each earned their first career recalls to Buffalo’s taxi squad. On top of the NHL newcomers, captain Steven Fogarty has made his Sabres debut and forward C.J. Smith and goaltender Dustin Tokarski are consistently back and forth between the Rochester roster and taxi squad. The best part is, there’s only more to come from the Amerks new bench boss and we’re only a month into the 2020-21 campaign. 2. POWER-PLAY PRODUCTION Rochester’s power-play came in hot over the month of February as they were successful on eight of their 25 man-advantage opportunities. Through first month of 2020-21 season, the Amerks saw at least three power-play chances in each of their first six games. By the end of the month, the Amerks power-play sat a 32.0% conversion rate, which was ranked third in the league. 3. LAAKSONEN LEADING THE WAY Newcomer Oskari Laaksonen has quickly emerged as one of the top offensive defensemen in the AHL. Averaging just under a point-per-game through February, the first-year defenseman led all Rochester blueliners with five points on five assists through his first six games of the season, including a season-high three assists in the 4-3 overtime win against Syracuse back on Feb. 10 Prior to February’s end, Laaksonen was tied for the league lead in assists among all first-year defensemen while having the third-most points despite having registered only one shot on goal. 4. DEA PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF After leading the Amerks in points (39) and holding a share of the team- lead in goals (15) during the 2019-20 season, his first in Rochester, forward Jean-Sebastien Dea picked up right where he left off this season with a team-high seven points on three goals and four assists through his five games in February. Dea averaged nearly a point and a half per game and was among the AHL’s top point-getters in scoring while also showing a team-best plus- four on-ice rating. 5. QUINN SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY Jack Quinn, Buffalo’s eighth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, rounds out Rochester’s rookie class this season. The highly touted 19-year-old is coming off an explosive 52-goal season for the Ottawa 67’s in 2019-20, during which he became just the eighth player since 2000-01 to reach the 50-goal mark in his NHL Draft Year. He finished the season second in the Ontario Hockey League in goals and tied for fifth with 15 power-play tallies while also adding 37 assists. He made his professional debut with Rochester back on Feb. 18 against Utica, recording an assist on the game-tying third-period goal before scoring the shootout-clinching goal on a dazzling effort in the second round. Quinn is the third eighth overall pick of the Sabres in the last five years to spend time in Rochester, joining Alexander Nylander (2016) and Casey Mittelstadt (2017), and the second to make his pro debut with the Amerks following Nylander, who would spend parts of three seasons in Rochester. Amerks Practice Report: Dea Continues Torrid Start, Upl Rolling By Staff Report Amerks.com The Syracuse Crunch. The Utica Comets. The Syracuse Crunch. The Utica Comets. Yes, the Rochester Americans have already seen plenty of their North Division rivals through the first nine games of the 2020-21 season all while going 6-3-0-0 to begin their 65th season in the American Hockey League. While seeing each of the aforementioned teams four times already, this coming Friday’s matchup with the Cleveland Monsters on Mar. 12 will provide a welcome reprieve from Utica and Syracuse, especially considering the Amerks face-off against the Comets twice this week as the team prepares for another busy stretch of three games in four nights. Stand and Dea-liver With a season-high three points (1+2) in Saturday’s 4-2 victory against the Crunch, forward Jean-Sebastien Dea became the first Amerk skater this season to reach double digits in points with 12 (4+8). Dea, who has notched at least one point in seven of his first eight games this season, has already recorded four multi-point games after posting six in 57 contests last season. “I am 10 pounds heavier than I was a season ago,” explained Dea of the difference this year compared to the 2019-20 campaign. “Despite being heavier, I feel 20 pounds lighter and every day I am just having fun when I come to the rink. I am not worrying about things I cannot control.” “Every night I sleep well on my pillow and when I wake up, I am happy and excited to come to the rink. Everyday is a new day and it is a fresh start to work hard and bring my energy for the young guys on the team. It has been a lot of fun this season so far.” While the Laval, Quebec, native is tied for fourth in the AHL in points and eighth in assists (8), Amerks head coach Seth Appert said its Dea’s play away from the offense that is contributing to his success. He also paces all Rochester skaters with an on-ice rating of plus-seven, which ranks 16th among league leaders in that category. J-S is playing so committed,” said Appert. “We always talk about his skill, creativeness and offensive ability, but I think Saturday night, he and Remi Elie were dominate on the penalty kill and J-S’s work in the face-off was impressive as he was 18-for-24.” After pacing the Amerks in points and tying for the team in goals last season, Dea has picked up right where he left off last March while also being looked upon as a leader. He’s a veteran presence that the Amerks are benefitting from in all aspects. “He is playing such a committed 200-foot style,” Appert continued. “With the commit, it is helping him getting the puck a lot, and when a player with his talent has the puck a lot, good things happen.” UPL rolling After suffering back-to-back losses to see a four-game win streak come to an end, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen responded to last Monday’s 4-3 loss with a pair of victories to push his season-record to 5-2-0. The Finnish netminder is tied for fourth in the AHL in wins and has made 30 or more saves in four of his last six appearances dating back to a career-best 43-save performance at Cleveland on Feb.