Sabres to have four teenagers in lineup Wednesday
Zemgus Girgensons, 19, has one goal and one assist in nine career games. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Buffalo Sabres are in the process of rebuilding, as they languish in last place in the Atlantic Division. So rather than waste time with a veteran lineup that isn't working, head coach Ron Rolston has decided to launch a youth movement.
The Sabres will start four teenagers when they play host to the Bruins on Wednesday, according to TSN Hockey Commentator Gord Miller. It will be the first time that a team has started as many under-20's since the Winnipeg Jets in 1996, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The four players are 19-year-old centers Zemgus Girgensons and Mikhail Grigorenko, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who turns 19 on Sunday, and 18-year-old defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who is 6-5, 220 pounds.
All four players are foreign born — Girgensons is Latvian, Grigorenko and Zadorov are Russian and Ristolainen is from Finland — and all four were first-round draft picks.
