'Calm and cool': Jacob Bryson's confidence has shown to start NHL career

Jacob Bryson said prior to making his NHL debut in New Jersey last month that he would not shy away from playing his game, which for him involves plenty of skating with the puck on his stick.
He wasn't kidding. Bryson put his playmaking tendencies on display during his very first NHL period, jumping in on a rush and earning a scoring chance at the back door.
"His confidence level is extremely high, which this league asks for," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said.

Bryson skated a season-high 24:10 against the New York Islanders on Tuesday, his fifth NHL game. The 23-year-old defenseman has continued to exude confidence not only with his willingness to join the rush, but with his poise under pressure in his own end.
"Whether it's on retrievals on our end, when he's trying to solve pressure or when he's at the blue line and he's getting a winger closing on him extremely quickly, he's so calm and cool," Krueger said. "He's got his head up all the time and makes the right decision.
"We're extremely pleased with his puck management. The same thing is going on without the puck. Whenever there is a transition of any sort, we lose possession, he is able to read his gaps and take those gaps really quickly and also in the D zone he always falls back to the good ice and works from there without really any sort of panic."
Poise, mobility, and an ability to move the puck were the traits coaches and teammates used to describe Bryson during his NCAA career at Providence College. In three collegiate seasons, Bryson developed into an all-situations player who co-captained the Friars to the Frozen Four in Buffalo.
He admits to having felt nervousness at the start of last season, his first as a pro in Rochester. He played 44 consecutive games for the Amerks before being scratched for a January contest in Cleveland. He tallied 16 points in 21 games from that point on, including all four of his goals. Any nervousness was gone by the time he made his NHL debut in New Jersey.
"When I watched that game up top I got better and better," he said. "I just tried to carry that into this year and keep my feet running. I think I've done a good job. … I'm just trying to keep that confidence, gain more every day."

With his ice time increasing and now including minutes on the penalty kill, Bryson may be working himself into a consistent role for a defense corps playing without a key left-handed piece in Jake McCabe. His 5-foot-9 stature has not prevented him from ably battling against larger players, in part a testament to his NCAA upbringing.
The total package has the Sabres believing they have a key piece for the future.
"We all have to be excited about it, because the need for a defenseman in the modern game to be able to solve pressure and maintain control of the puck through that pressure is one of the most important attributes to be a long-term NHL defenseman in the future," Krueger said. "The days of rim off the glass or indirect out of the zone and just defend are over. Everybody needs to be able to play with the puck now."

Friday's practice

Dylan Cozens skated on a line with Taylor Hall and Jack Eichel, offering a glimpse of what we could see when the Sabres continue their three-game series with the Islanders on Saturday.
"He quite clearly is becoming very quickly an important centerpiece of what we want to build on here as we move forward," Krueger said of Cozens. "He has completely taken on the culture on and off the ice that we are striving to embed in everybody as a habit. You will see him up the lineup again tomorrow."
Coverage on Saturday begins at 12:30 p.m. on MSG. The puck drops at 1.