Mitch Calvert
For former Muskie boys’ hockey standout Joe Basaraba, the adjustment period to a higher level of play is officially over.
After a slow start offensively with just 15 points in 26 first-half games in his rookie season with the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Sabres’ prep team, Basaraba has caught fire ever since—tallying 26 points in his last 22 games.
“His game’s kind of taken off the last half of the season,” coach Tom Ward lauded. “He’s been getting used to his new surroundings and a different style of play.
“It’s just the natural evolution of a 16-year-old hockey player,” Ward added.
Basaraba has had to make some changes to elevate his game—and has seen his hard work both on and off the ice pay dividends on the scoresheet.
“He’s becoming a better puck-mover and seeing the ice a bit more,” Ward noted. “He was more of a puck carrier and a pure shooter before he got here, and now he’s learning he can’t walk in tight to the net like he could in previous years.
“He’s learning to give-and-go, shoot the puck and crash the net, and is creating space for him and his teammates,” Ward added.
“He’s realized he has to play hard from the time he jumps over the boards to the time he jumps back over the boards, and he’s really come around and done a great job for us.”
The Sabres are led by the Scandinavian duo of Alexander Fallstrom (Sweden) and Erik Haula (Finland), who have combined for 151 points to date.
But Basaraba has found chemistry with fellow Grade 11 players Jean-Paul LaFontaine and Jason Clark, giving the Sabres another scoring line to complement their two snipers.
“They’ve got a little bit of everything,” Ward said of their line. “They’ve got a smart puck-mover down the middle [LaFontaine], and with Joe they have a big go-getter on the right side, and Jason Clark is a skillful left-handed player on the left side.
“They are all good, complementary players who all bring a little something different to the table, and seem to be clicking pretty good right now.”
The young Sabres have eight players eligible to return next season but despite the inexperience, Ward said they’ve worked out some of the inconsistency issues they displayed in the first half of the season and now have compiled a 35-9-7 record.
The season is winding down for the Sabres with the USA Hockey Tier I under-18 national tournament to play, beginning today through Sunday in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The 12 districts of USA Hockey will be represented—split into three divisions of four teams each in a round-robin format, culminating the conclusion of the Sabres’ season.
“We’ll be as competitive as anybody,” Ward stressed.
“I think we’ve grown as the year has gone on and become more of a team as the weeks and months have past,” he noted.
“If we get good goaltending and have timely scoring, play as a team, and don’t take silly penalties, I think we’ll be fine.”
Basaraba was taken 22nd overall in the Ontario Hockey League draft by the Erie Otters last spring after his second season with the Muskies, but opted to go the school route and instead enrolled at Shattuck-St.Mary’s this past fall.
It looks to have been the right decision as he’s since been recruited by the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and is expected to suit up there for his freshman year in 2010 after one more season at Shattuck.
“It keeps him up close to home, and he wanted to do that if he could,” Ward noted. “I know his sister [Kim] goes to school there, and it will be good for his folks to be able to watch him play.
“UMD is an up-and-coming team here,” Ward added. “I’m sure he’ll step in there and do a nice job.”
