WGR: Max Strbak excelling by playing at Michigan State

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Max Strbak excelling by playing at Michigan State​


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The Sabres' 2023 second-round pick is getting ready for his Sophomore season with the Spartans
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Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) – Before Max Strbak was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2023 NHL Draft, he had come to North America from Slovakia and played in the USHL for the Sioux Falls Stampede. That allowed him to learn the North American game before heading to Michigan State University last season.
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The defenseman played 32 games for the Spartans and had two goals and seven assists for nine points. The 19-year-old was in town for Development Camp this month and he said playing in the USHL made his freshman season easier,

“It was a good experience, it was a bit different than the USHL with bigger competition because the Big 10 in known for its speed and skill, so it was hard at the start, but I think I got adjusted pretty good. It was a good year for me.”

Playing with Strbak at Michigan State was Hamburg’s own Patrick Geary. Geary was taken in the sixth-round of this year’s draft by the Sabres and Strbak couldn’t have been happier for him,

“I was eating lunch and I looked at the TV and they had the draft on and I saw Patrick Geary and I was like, ‘What just happened?’ and then I just texted him congrats and he's from Buffalo, so for him it’s a pretty big deal and his family.”
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Strbak seemed to improve throughout the season with Michigan State and he said he knows why,

“I think a lot of it has to do with our coaching staff, Adam Nightingale and they’re doing a good job with everybody with the way we practice and it's given me a lot of confidence and I can see that turning into games more and more, so that’s what's made an impact.”

Adam Mair and his staff in player development are always in touch with the Sabres prospects. Strbak gives them credit for already making him a better player,

“I talked to them throughout the season and the feedback was usually very good, so I think they’re happy with the way I play, so it’s another big season for me and for Michigan State.”
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Many fans tell me the Sabres have nothing in the pipeline when it comes to defense, but I would disagree with that.

This season Ryan Johnson, Nikita Novikov and Vsevolod Komarov will be in Rochester, with Strbak, Geary, Gavin McCarthy, Adam Kleber, Luke Osburn and Sean Keohane all playing in the college ranks this season.
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I remember in the early-90's the Sabres were stuck and not advancing and I read a story about how we had the best prospects in Hockey. A few years later, we were regulars for the playoffs
 
Hope springs eternal in Buffalo. In the rust belt, we'll always have "It could be worse. We could live in Cleveland."
 
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