Buffalo Sabres: What's Wrong With Tyler Myers?

Despite being 6’8″, 227 lbs, the Buffalo Sabres are still waiting for their mountain of a defenseman in Tyler Myers to stand tall.

Myers has struggled quite a bit in 2013, one of the many reasons that the Sabres sit at the bottom of the Northeast Division in the Eastern Conference. In 12 games played, Myers has posted just one goal and zero assists.

Yikes. No wonder head coach Lindy Ruff decided to scratch Myers over the weekend.

“He’s beating himself up,” Ruff said. “I’m trying to get him to park some of the bad stuff that’s happened. He has to go to ground level. I know he’s had some good talks with Robyn Regehr, who’s had similar struggles in his career. Tyler’s now got to succeed at ground level, and then get to the next floor after that.”

Myers scored his lone goal during the team’s first game of the season, but it was all down hill from there. The 23-year old has all the upside in the world, but has displayed poor decision making, missed coverages and has seen his confidence plummet after each and every game. He is a former NHL Rookie of the Year back in 2010, so you know that the talent is there.

After a rough weekend, Myers was inserted back into the lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. He saw a tad over 20 minutes of ice time, but was basically a non factor during the contest. Playing on a first unit with scoring machines such as Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville should make it easier to get out his recent slump, but it’s not 1oo percent about the supporting cast. It’s about Myers and his mentality. Until he gets that confidence back that he had during his rookie campaign, he will look lost out on the ice.

Myers is still a special talent in this league with towering size. I expect him to bounce back sooner rather than later, but boy Sabres fans must be frustrated.

Well, not nearly as frustrated as Myers.