Maine Hockey Journal

Portland! Persson has landed

Portland, ME – Defenseman Dennis Persson, the Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick (24th overall) in 2006, has finally arrived on the shores of North America and skated with his new teammates in Portland this morning at Portland Ice Arena.

Wearing #39, he skated with Geoff Waugh in practice as the team ran through their various drills.

It’s quite conceivable that he’ll see significant ice time as Portland tries to secure their playoff position in the Atlantic Division.

Persson signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabres back on June 3, but decided to stay in Europe versus coming to North America to play in the AHL with Portland.

“He’s a puck-moving skilled defenseman,” general manager Darcy Regier said. “The learning curve is a little longer for defenseman [than forwards]. He’s looking forward to coming over, but the deadline was more about getting him under contract with us.”

Had the Sabres not signed him, he would have gone back into the NHL draft, something the Sabres did not want to happen.

When European players come to North America, it’s hard to say what there impact will be with their new clubs. For most, it’s more about being immersed into a whole new culture, as many of these players can’t even speak the English language.

“I left home when I was 16 years old (to play) juniors and I was fortunate I learned the language really quick,” said Felix Schutz, who is from Germany. “It’s not always that easy as some guys tend to get home sick and that affects them on the ice. I enjoy it here (in North America) and I couldn’t see myself going back.”

Allowing Persson to come over now will allow him a valuable chance to get ahead of the learning curve, which will only help in September when training camp opens for the Sabres.

In the mean time, he’ll be tossed into the fire pit with the rest of the Pirates as they fight for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, a fight that will begin this weekend with games against Lowell, Manchester and Springfield.

NOTES:Persson joins current Pirate Marek Zagrapan as one of only 34 players that were drafted in the first round of the NHL draft, and wore a Pirates jersey.

Player List:
John Slaney — Selected by Washington Capitals #9 overall 1990 NHL Entry Draft
Pat Peake — Selected by Washington Capitals #14 overall 1991 NHL Entry Draft
Olaf Kolzig — Selected by Washington Capitals #19 overall 1989 NHL Entry Draft
Jason Allison — Selected by Washington Capitals #17 overall 1993 NHL Entry Draft
Sergei Gonchar — Selected by Washington Capitals #14 overall 1992 NHL Entry Draft
Rob Pearson — Selected by Toronto Maple Leafs #12 overall 1989 NHL Entry Draft
Alexander Kharlamov — Selected by Washington Capitals #15 overall 1994 NHL Entry Draft
Eric Charron — Selected by Montreal Canadiens #20 overall 1988 NHL Entry Draft
Jaroslav Svejkovsky — Selected by Washington Capitals #17 overall 1996 NHL Entry Draft
Miika Elomo — Selected by Washington Capitals #23 overall 1995 NHL Entry Draft
Brad Church — Selected by Washington Capitals #17 overall 1995 NHL Entry Draft
Brendan Witt — Selected by Washington Capitals #11 overall 1993 NHL Entry Draft
Nolan Baumgartner — Selected by Washington Capitals #10 overall 1994 NHL Entry Draft
Paul Gardner — Selected by Kansas City Scouts #11 overall 1976 NHL Amateur Draft
Alexandre Volchkov — Selected by Washington Capitals #4 overall 1996 NHL Entry Draft
J.P. Dumont — Selected by New York Islanders #3 overall 1996 NHL Entry Draft
Daniel Cleary — Selected by Chicago Blackhawks #13 overall 1997 NHL Entry Draft
Peter Ferraro — Selected by New York Rangers #24 overall 1992 NHL Entry Draft
Brian Sutherby — Selected by Washington Capitals #26 overall 2000 NHL Entry Draft
Maxime Ouellet — Selected by Philadelphia Flyers #22 overall 1999 NHL Entry Draft
Chris Wells — Selected by Pittsburgh Penguins #24 overall 1994 NHL Entry Draft
Boyd Gordon — Selected by Washington Capitals #17 overall 2002 NHL Entry Draft
Shaone Morrisonn — Selected by Boston Bruins #19 overall 2001 NHL Entry Draft
Alexander Semin — Selected by Washington Capitals #13 overall 2002 NHL Entry Draft
Steve Eminger — Selected by Washington Capitals #12 overall 2002 NHL Entry Draft
Jakub Klepis — Selected by Ottawa Senators #16 overall 2002 NHL Entry Draft
Jonas Johansson — Selected by Colorado Avalanche #28 overall 2002 NHL Entry Draft
Corey Perry— Selected by Anaheim Mighty Ducks #28 overall 2003 NHL Entry Draft
Ryan Getzlaf— Selected by Anaheim Mighty Ducks #19 overall 2003 NHL Entry Draft
Ladislav Smid— Selected by Anaheim Mighty Ducks #9 overall 2004 NHL Entry Draft
Bobby Ryan — Selected by Anaheim Mighty Ducks #2 overall 2005 NHL Entry Draft
Jason Marshall — Selected by St. Louis Blues #9 overall 1989 NHL Entry Draft
Stanislav Chistov — Selected by Anaheim Mighty Ducks #5 overall 2001 NHL Entry Draft
Marek Zagrapan — Selected by Buffalo Sabres #13 overall 2005 NHL Entry Draft

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