Practice Report | Bernard-Docker eager to ‘show what I’ve got’

One week after being acquired via trade, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker finally joined his new team on the ice. The Banff, Alberta native, having secured a work visa, participated in Friday’s practice at KeyBank Center.

Buffalo marks the second NHL organization for Bernard-Docker, who was drafted 26th overall by Ottawa in 2018 and played 129 games with the Senators. He, alongside Josh Norris, became Sabres ahead of last Friday’s trade deadline.

“Definitely sad to leave that group,” Bernard-Docker said. “Tight with a lot of guys there – I’ll miss them. But, at the same time, really excited to be here.”

The 24-year-old has been itching to return to game action, and that stretches beyond this past week of border logistics. Bernard-Docker last played Dec. 28; he suffered a high-ankle sprain in a Jan. 6 practice collision, returned to practice after the 4 Nations Face-Off break and wasn’t cleared to play until the beginning of March.

“It’s been so many rehab skates alone, just grinding in the gym, grinding on the bike,” he said. “I’m more than ready to play, so I can’t wait.”

Coach Lindy Ruff said there’s a “good possibility” Bernard-Docker enters the lineup in the near future. So, what can the Sabres expect from their newly acquired blueliner when he eventually suits up?

“I think just being hard to play against,” Bernard-Docker said. “I think my fundamentals are definitely shot-blocking, good D, tight gaps, and hopefully I can get comfortable and add in a little offense here and there. But, yeah, I think my game is definitely tailored towards just being a good, reliable, solid D-man.”

Bernard-Docker has 20 career points, including 14 (4+10) in a career-high 72 games last season and four (1+3) in 25 games this season. Numbers aside, his most intriguing asset – for the Sabres – may be his right-handed shot.

Ruff has often preached the benefits of a balanced defensive pair: one lefty, one righty. Buffalo was already short on right-handed defensemen, especially since dealing Henri Jokiharju to Boston, so Bernard-Docker, a restricted free agent at season’s end, should have every chance to carve out a role for himself.

“There are advantages to a lefty-righty (pair), especially moving the puck in your own end, where you don’t get trapped on your backhand,” Ruff said. “With O-zone pressure, when pucks are coming up the wall, if you’re trying to release it, or catch it and try to get it to your forehand to release it, sometimes that little bit of time eliminates the shot. So I look at puck moving and a little bit of that offensive threat to catch and shoot more."

The Sabres have mixed and matched pairs all season. If Bernard-Docker can quickly establish chemistry with one of Bowen Byram, Owen Power or Mattias Samuelsson, he’d bring clarity to the team’s defensive plans moving forward.

“There’s a lot of right D in Ottawa,” said Bernard-Docker, referencing the group of Artem Zub, Nick Jensen, Nikolas Matinpalo and Travis Hamonic. “I wasn’t really getting the opportunity anymore, so I’m excited to be here, hopefully contribute a little more and show what I’ve got.”

Bernard-Docker already knows two of his potential partners from international competition with Canada; he was teammates with Byram at the 2019-20 World Juniors and Power at the 2021 World Championship. He also knows forward Peyton Krebs, another Calgary-area native.

The Sabres are an otherwise unfamiliar group, but Bernard-Docker sees parallels to the Senators team currently pushing for a playoff berth.

“Feels pretty similar to Ottawa because there’s a pretty young group there and there was a few veteran guys brought in this year,” he said. "But I think a pretty similar-feeling group (here), and I’m really excited to work with them.”

Here’s more from Friday’s practice.

1. The Sabres practiced without forwards JJ Peterka (lower body) and Norris (undisclosed).

Peterka will be unavailable Saturday against Vegas, Ruff said, but should rejoin the lineup sometime during Buffalo’s upcoming four-game road trip.

Norris’ injury, meanwhile, is “something he’s been dealing with,” according to Ruff, who had no further updates on the center’s status.

2. Preparing for a lineup without Norris on Saturday, Ruff plans to reunite Ryan McLeod, Jason Zucker and Jordan Greenway on a line. With Buffalo controlling the matchups on home ice, that trio will be tasked with defending the Golden Knights’ first line centered by Jack Eichel.

“That was a good line for us against top lines,” Ruff said. “The one thing that Ryan can do is he can skate with everybody, and he doesn’t get tired that often inside of a game. But he’s gonna have to skate with an elite skater (in Eichel), for sure.”

Here are the Sabres’ full lines from practice, with Bernard-Docker rotating in on defense.

3. Defenseman Jacob Bryson was a full participant in practice after exiting Wednesday’s loss early. He missed the final 8:18 at Detroit after absorbing a hit to the head from Michael Rasmussen.

That incident prompted Alex Tuch to fight Rasmussen, and the rest of the Sabres followed suit in a nasty conclusion. Five Buffalo skaters received 10-minute misconducts and the team accumulated 83 penalty minutes, its most in a game since Oct. 10, 2002 – an opening-night win versus the Islanders.

4. Forward Tyson Kozak practiced, too, after being recalled from Rochester (AHL) on Friday morning. His most recent stint with the Sabres came in January, when he played eight games before being assigned to the Amerks on Feb. 9.

Up next

The Sabres return home for a Saturday matinee against the Vegas Golden Knights; it's also KeyBank Center's St. Patrick's Day Celebration. Tickets are available here.

Coverage on MSG begins at 12 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 12:30.