Published: July 07, 2009 11:16 pm      

SABRES: Schutz still skating under radar

LEWISTON — Last year with the Portland Pirates, a smallish Sabre prospect had 42 points, using slick stick work to become one of the team’s better offensive forwards.

Tim Kennedy? Nope.

Nathan Gerbe? Nuh-uh.

Instead, it was lightly regarded Felix Schutz, who has slipped through the Sabres farm system the way he slipped through the ice at the team’s development camp at Niagara University’s Dwyer Arena on Tuesday. The camp continues today with a session open to the public from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Schutz finished with 25 assists in Portland, a marker that would probably put him on the radar with other teams.

But in Portland, with Kennedy and Gerbe garnering all the attention, Schutz was hardly noticed, perhaps because he’s included in what many Sabres fans hope is an up-and-coming class that can get the team back to the postseason. Schutz said the lack of notoriety hasn’t been a hinderance, but he isn’t thrilled with it either.

“I don’t have to be in the newspaper all the time,” Schutz said Tuesday. “I’m just trying to do my job on the ice and off it. I don’t think it’s a great thing that I’m not in the paper, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I guess I’ll just deal with it.”

Schutz, a native of Germany, was taken in the fourth round of the 2006 draft, and admits his first year in Portland didn’t get out of the gate quite the way he’d hoped. But when the season was done, he’d acquitted himself nicely, and had earned the trust of the coaching staff.

“It started off a little slow, but as we got going and I got a couple goals, I got a little confidence,” Schutz said. “Coach (Dineen) had a lot of confidence in me.”

That leads to this week’s camp, which offers another chance to impress the Sabres braintrust, most of whom roam the rinks during the drills and scrimmages. General manager Darcy Regier popped in and out of the Niagara facility on Tuesday and director of scouting Kevin Devine also was on hand. Chances are good he’ll start the season again in Portland, but if Schutz continues to produce, it’s a decent bet that his call will eventually come.

“There are so many prospects in Buffalo and everywhere else and they’re all good hockey players,” Schutz said. “There are only a couple spots every year and I think you put too much pressure on yourself if you think you can’t make it.

“There are still a lot of things I need to learn. You’re never perfect. I’m a center so I need to get better at draws. And if you can’t play in your defensive end, you can’t play at any level.”

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.