At the start of this season, the Buffalo Sabres picked up winger Jordan Nolan off of waivers from the Los Angeles Kings, and subsequently traded Nicolas Deslauriers to the Montreal Canadiens. With Deslauriers out and Nolan in, it seemed like the Sabres had chosen their new enforcer. While early preseason signs pointed towards Nolan doing well in this role, he has not stepped up in any way to put this on display for the fans or his teammates.
The role of any enforcer/grinder type player in today’s NHL is to be a pest to the opposing team, throw hits to keep opposing players honest, and ultimately to protect your teammates, especially the stars of the team (i.