Buffalo, NY ~ The Buffalo Sabres came to terms tonight with defenseman Ladislav Smid. Smid, on paper, immediatly steps into a roster spot on the Sabres blueline, as he will be fighting veterans Doug Janik and Jan Hejda for the 5th/6th/7th defensemen spots. Smid came to the Sabres back in February 2006, when the Sabres traded Derek Morris to the San Jose Sharks for the rights to Smid and another young defenseman, Andrew Alberts, who has since been traded. (Sabre fans, you rememeber the Sidney Crosby trade right?)
Smid is a young, steady defenseman who does a lot of things right, even though he has nothing flashy. He also has the size all OTHL personel men love, coming in at 6' 3", 200+ lbs. He is projected to be a solid top 4 defenseman for the Sabres in the years to come. And that's fine for the Sabres Management. With Jack Johnson, Dennis Persson, and Smid, the Sabres have a solid young defensive core to build around. Add that in with their young stars at forward like Sidney Crosby, Thomas Vanek, Marian Gaborik, and with Ryan Miller in net, the Sabres hope to be Stanley Cup contenders for many many years.