Compared to the rest of his development camp brethren, Buffalo-native Justin Bailey is a wily veteran.
Even though he has only nine career games with the Sabres under his belt, Bailey is going through with his fourth development camp with the team. He's improved steadily over each passing year, and it earned him a call-up last season.
Now, with the taste of the big league, Bailey is aiming to make every opportunity in front of the decision makers count -- and that starts at development camp.
"I try to show them something they haven't seen," Bailey said, following the team's first day of work in downtown Buffalo. "Having a pro season under my belt, they've seen what I can do at the pro level. Those nine games also gave them a chance to see what I can do at the NHL level."
In his first day on the job, it was easy to see from his size, speed, and shot power, that Bailey was ahead of the rest of his development camp teammates.
And as general manager Tim Murray watched over the ice at the Harbor Center, Bailey knew it was just one of many chances to convince Murray and the coaching staff that he should be in Buffalo to stay.
"Every single training camp is the biggest one for the rest of my life going forward," he said. "So, I think for me it's huge to make an impact -- especially with all the new guys coming in, and how difficult it's going to be to make team."
Bailey, and the 42 other young prospects of the Sabres system will reconvene for Day Two of development camp on Thursday morning.
