Adam Mair Sabres’ energy guy

By Dave Ricci

Last July when the Buffalo Sabres shipped Erik Rasmussen off to Los Angeles for Adam Mair I thought, finally; here’s a fourth line guy who won’t complain about being on the fourth line! He’ll bang and crash and just give you an honest day’s work. Mair has been that and more.

When the Sabres were plodding through a stretch that saw them win just once in 17 outings it was Adam Mair’s voice that summed up the frustration that the team and the fans were feeling.

The day after a team meeting that lasted some 90 minutes, Mair did a TV interview and in no uncertain terms expressed the level of frustration and embarrassment he was feeling. How being in last place overall made them the laughing stock of the league.

"Definitely I can’t think of any reason why anyone would be happy. We were last in the league at the time (of that statement) and we weren’t playing very good hockey. I think it was maybe an echoing of how some guys felt in the room, the majority of the guys I hope. It wasn’t necessarily about getting attention I was just answering the questions that were asked," said Mair.

He might not have been looking for attention but Mair found it. Fans and the media listened to Mair’s words, breathed a sigh of relief and thought ‘finally!’ Someone is saying what we think! Someone on that team still cares!’

Curtis Brown said, "I guess the good thing was that we were frustrated because we expected more from ourselves. We looked at it and we saw areas that we could improve in. That was a good sign for us to bring everyone together (for the meeting) and say you know what? This isn’t good enough."

Dubbed as an ‘energy guy’ Mair was giving his teammates a spark with his words and it worked. Call it a coincidence but after Mair’s interview the Sabres rattled off their first three game winning streak of the season. Mair even banged home the game-winning goal against Washington in early December. Sabres captain Stu Barnes said that when an energy player like Mair scores a game winner it has a huge impact in the room with his teammates.

"It’s very important. We’re not a team that’s going to have one guy win or lose games. Mair has worked so hard this year and played so hard it’s great to see him get rewarded," said Barnes.

Additional ice time has been the reward for hard work under Head Coach Lindy Ruff and Adam Mair is reaping the benefits from his efforts. Mair’s time on ice has steadily climbed to about 11 minutes per game. Mair might not be the most skilled player on the ice but few players try harder then he does and he’ll accept any role asked of him. A quality Curtis Brown thinks is more vital than people realize.

"There are different ingredients that go in to making a winner. Every team has one of those energy guys who go out (and stir things up). Adam can do everything. You can put him out in any situation and he’ll help out."

Scoring the game winner versus the Capitals was good but Adam Mair isn’t the kind of player to pound his chest and say ‘look at me!’ He does what’s expected of him then he tries to figure out a way to do more. "In juniors and in the minors I’ve always been able to do my share of scoring. So it’ll be nice if I can bring that part of my game to this league. Meanwhile, you have to do what got you here. For me that’s my energy," Mair said.

Adam Mair gives his best and expects the same from those around him. He doesn’t seek out the media for attention but he won’t shy away either. "That doesn’t bother me at all. I’ll back up my feeling with the words that I say. If I say something that maybe I shouldn’t have said then I would say ‘oh I didn’t mean to say that,’" said Mair.

So far Adam Mair has said more than most, on and off the ice.

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