Sabres' Bogosian hopes Housley will help tap into his offensive potential

When the Atlanta Thrashers drafted Zach Bogosian third overall in 2008 - one spot behind Drew Doughty and one ahead of Alex Pietrangelo - many observers would have been hard-pressed to believe that in 534 NHL games, he'd have just 169 points.

Here was Bogosian, a towering 18-year-old defenseman who could skate like the wind. He had 61 points in 60 games as a 17-year-old in his final year of junior for the Peterborough Petes. However, his NHL career high is 30 points, and he's coming off a career-low 11 in 2016-17.

Bogosian is hoping that the Buffalo Sabres' new bench boss, Hall of Fame defenseman Phil Housley, will help him rediscover the offensive side of his game that made him such a coveted prospect.

"I'm looking forward to getting up in the play and making sure I'm that second layer of offense," Bogosian told Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Times Herald. "He wants us to get up there. Everyone that's playing defense on our team can skate, so it's going to bode well for us."

Housley made a living rushing the puck up ice and piling up points during his illustrious career, and spent the last four seasons as assistant coach of the Nashville Predators, primarily working with their blue-liners. Anyone who watched the Preds during the postseason is well aware that Nashville liked to activate its defensemen.

Under previous Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma, though, seeing a Buffalo rearguard join the rush was akin to seeing a solar eclipse. Only one D-man - Rasmus Ristolainen - topped 20 points. That's set to change under Housley.

"He seems to be part of that new group with the skating and getting up in the play on the offensive side of things," Bogosian said. "Guys are looking forward to playing that style."

Housley seems just as excited about the prospect of coaching a player with Bogosian's skill set.

"He's in great shape," said the first-year head coach. "You can see him out there, he's explosive, he's enjoying himself.

"He can be part of the rush. I can definitely see him pinching down the walls and keeping pucks in, and when you say that, it means you have to get up ice."

Both Housley and Bogosian are hoping the new, aggressive style of play will help end the Sabres' six-year playoff drought. If they succeed, it would be the first playoff appearance of Bogosian's nearly 10-year career.

"It's been frustrating the last few years in Buffalo," said Bogosian, who was acquired from the Jets in a 2015 blockbuster trade along with Evander Kane. "We're getting sick of not making the playoffs. There's no way of getting around that. It sucks when you're sitting around watching good teams that you know you can try to compete with."