June 23, 2011
Butler does it
After impact rookie year in Ottawa, the former New Hampshire standout has led the B-Sens into the Calder Cup finals
by Elliot Olshansky/Correspondent
Bobby Butler (photo: Just Sports)
Before the 2010-11 season, Bobby Butler didn’t know a whole lot about deep postseason runs.
As a four-year player at the University of New Hampshire – often mocked as the “University of No Hardware” for its lack of NCAA tournament success – Butler recorded 121 points in four seasons, including a 29-goal, 24-assist senior year that landed him in the top three for the Hobey Baker Award.
But he never advanced past the second round of the NCAA tournament. He looked to have an excellent chance as a senior in 2010, but the Wildcats bowed out to upstart RIT in the finals of the East Regional at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.
However, while his dreams of a deep postseason run -- at least by NCAA standards -- were stunted in upstate New York, that’s also where they’ve found new life, as Butler helped lead the Binghamton Senators to a Calder Cup championship in his first season as a pro.
“It’s awesome,” Butler said. “It’s something I never thought I’d experience at this point in my career, just to get here. Having the experience of playoff hockey, it doesn’t matter where you’re playing. It’s playoff hockey. It’s been a lot of fun so far, and it’s going to get a lot more exciting.”
The excitement is even greater when a player has the chance to be in the middle of it, and there’s little doubt that Butler has been. Through three rounds, the native of Marlboro, Mass, ranked third in the league with 10 playoff goals, behind only teammate Ryan Potulny and Hamilton Bulldogs forward Nigel Dawes.
Butler was particularly strong in the B-Sens’ four-game sweep of Charlotte in the Eastern Conference finals, scoring a goal in each of the first three games and assisting on Andre Benoit’s third-period goal in Binghamton’s 4-3 overtime win that brought the Calder Cup finals to Binghamton for the first time since the Binghamton Whalers fell to the New Brunswick Hawks in 1982.
Of course, for Butler, the first-round series win against Manchester was particularly satisfying, especially the Game 7 win at Verizon Wireless Arena. Butler scored Binghamton’s fourth goal in the 6-5 overtime win, getting a victory in the building where his UNH seasons had ended in 2007 (to Miami in the first round of the NCAAs) and 2009 (to Boston University in the regional final).
“Winning in Manchester felt good,” Butler said, “because we had been there and lost in two out of my four years.”
The playoff run has been just part of Butler’s year of excitement, which included 10 goals and 11 assists with the parent Ottawa Senators.
After playing two games with Ottawa in 2010 after signing as an undrafted free agent, Butler started the season with Binghamton, but earned his way back into the NHL with 23 points in the B-Sens’ first 24 games. He failed to score in his first two four-game call-ups, but hit his groove in February, getting his first NHL points with a goal and an assist in a 5-3 win over the Oilers on March 12, and finished out the regular season with the big club.
For former New York Bobcats and New York Apple Core coach Dave Starman, who coached against Butler during his time with the EJHL’s Junior Bruins, it’s hardly a surprise that Butler has gone from undrafted free agent to a significant part of Ottawa’s future.
“When you look at Bobby Butler as a junior and you look at Bobby Butler now,” Starman said, “you see a kid who has continued to develop, who has continued to get bigger, stronger and faster, develop his skills, get better hockey sense and consistency, do all the little things. Ottawa did a good job in recognizing that and getting him signed.”
When the regular season ended with Ottawa at the bottom of the Northeast Division, Butler rejoined his Binghamton teammates, using the experience gained in the NHL to help him power Binghamton’s run to the finals, the same experience that has helped teammates like Colin Greening, Zack Smith, Erik Condra and Jim O’Brien, who also spent time in Ottawa this season.
“I think the guys who came back had a confidence that they could play well and play hard,” Butler said, “They were going through a rough time (in Ottawa), and I think we learned, watching all the guys who were there, to go one game at a time and win for each other. To go up there and work through that, I think that helps everyone in their game, not only physically, but mentally, to see what a team goes through, and to want to get better every day.”
While the Binghamton Senators gave New York a team in the Calder Cup finals for the first time in more than a decade, the rest of the state’s AHL teams found rougher going in 2010-11, finishing the year near or at the bottom of the league’s East and North Divisions.
Syracuse Crunch
After Binghamton, which finished fifth and beat out the Atlantic Division’s Worcester for a playoff spot, the next best finisher was Syracuse, which went 35-38-3-4 to end up sixth in the East.
Kyle Palmieri (Smithtown, N.Y.) led the team with 29 goals and 51 points, and scored his first NHL goal in the first of 10 regular-season games with the parent Anaheim Ducks. Palmieri was in Syracuse from Nov. 19 on, but made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut with Anaheim on April 17, alongside Nick Bonino, who spent November and December with the Ducks, and then played in four playoff games against Nashville.
Adirondack Phantoms
The Phantoms finished seventh in the division at 31-39-4-6. The parent Philadelphia Flyers kept their roster fairly consistent, but defenseman Danny Syvret made 10 playoff appearances with Philly after scoring 10 goals and handing out 26 assists for the Phantoms in 51 games, following a trade from Syracuse.
Albany Devils
Albany came in last in the East in the Devils’ return to the state capital, finishing with a record of 32-42-1-5. New Jersey’s struggles with injuries and the roster restrictions imposed by the Ilya Kovalchuk deal created significant opportunities for Albany players, including Nick Palmieri (Utica, N.Y.), who returned to the NHL on New Year’s Day after playing six games with the big club last year, and scored his first NHL goal eight days later against Tampa.
Vladimir Zharkov wound up spending most of the season with New Jersey, getting his first call-up at the end of December and only returning to Albany for four more days at the end of January.
In the Western Conference, Rochester finished last in the North Division at 31-39-5-5. with Florida in sell mode at the trade deadline, opportunities were abundant for Amerks to show their stuff at the NHL level, including Michael Repik, Bill Thomas and Joe Callahan, who all played at least 24 games with the Panthers.
Elliot Olshansky can be reached at feedback@nyhockeyjournal.com.
