[SoDak]

I got to watch Vanek play his pre-collegiate minor league hockey here in SD a few years back. There was always the feeling he was going to be really good.

[Major Matt Mason]

He may finally be turning into that good - or elite, really - player that you had envisioned. But it has been a struggle, and it wasn't looking like a sure thing even earlier in the season. But we'll see what he does in the playoffs - he was Mr. Clutch in his U of M days, but we haven't seen that yet in a Sabres uniform.