(Buffalo) A year ago, Joshua Fleming was cut from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan camp. At almost 18 years old, the Montrealer was unable to carve out a place in the QMJHL, a league that players who aspire to the NHL reach at 16 years old.
A year later, Fleming stepped into the NHL for the first time, so to speak. Only one, because the Sabers simply invited him to their rookie tournament. He is not drafted, he does not have a contract.
But there he was, Thursday morning, on the LECOM Harborcenter ice rink, taking shots from Matt Savoie, Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich and the Sabres’ top prospects, players who will reach the NHL before long. And starting Friday, he will face shots from young people from other teams, during the Sabers rookie tournament, which brings together the hopes of six clubs, including those of the Canadian.
This outcome would have been impossible to predict at this time last year, when this Roxborite had to report to the Grand Falls Rapids, of the Maritime Junior A league. What if he had been told he would be at an NHL camp a year later?
“I wouldn’t have believed you!,” he spontaneously replied to La Presse after training. It was definitely hard being cut off, so I never thought I would be here. But it showed me that in the future, if I experience something like this again, anything is possible. I must never give up. »
On the Elite Prospects reference site, Fleming does not have the profile of the typical player invited to an NHL camp. It was only at the age of 17 that he accumulated his first statistics at the midget AAA level, with the Lac-St-Louis Lions. The cancellation of the 2020-2021 season due to the pandemic deprived him of a year, but before that, he played for John-Rennie High School at the juvenile level. Not exactly the fast track to the NHL.
“Josh was born late in the year [in November], he was smaller than the others,” remembers Marco Raimondo, goalkeeper coach who manages Fleming in the summer.
In 2021-2022, he ends up playing a little more with the Lions, and even gets a recall with Acadie-Bathurst. But he concluded his three matches with an average of 6.01. At the Titan camp last fall, he was still weak and ended up getting injured.
“Even though he was 18, you could tell he wasn’t ready physically,” remembers Gordie Dwyer, head coach of the Titan, on the phone. He was still growing. He was 5’10, not even 150lbs. He had an average camp and injured his knee in an exhibition game. The best thing was that he started in junior A. He recovered and gained confidence. With the loss of Jan Bednar, the chance presented itself and he took it to establish himself as the No. 1 goalie.”
Conditions were not optimal in Bathurst. Midseason, the Titan traded Riley Kidney and Jacob Melanson, its two leading scorers. “It was one of the worst teams in the country and he had an efficiency above .900,” marvels Raimondo.
Despite this, no team drafted him last summer, although Dwyer remembers scouts contacting him “to find out what games he was going to play” late in the season. Despite his growth spurt, Fleming was still physically frail. At the end of the season, the team organized physical tests to measure where the players were at. In particular, they had to do pull-ups, the good old “chin ups”.
“I only managed one or two,” he remembers. I worked there this summer and was able to do around ten when I came back to camp. I feel this work on the ice. »
Today, Fleming is listed at 6’1, although Dwyer says he is actually 6’2, and weighs 164 lbs.
Fleming would now like to silence his detractors, a bit like another goalie from his neck of the woods who is part of the Sabres. A certain Devon Levi.
In the small world of West Island hockey, Levi and Fleming rub shoulders, since they are both coached by Raimondo in the summer. “Our goalkeepers see the work habits, the priorities in Devon’s game. It sure has a big effect on Josh,” says Raimondo.
“I hope to be in Devon’s position one day,” Fleming said. He was overlooked too, he was drafted far away, he’s small, but he overcame those obstacles. It’s cool to see a guy from your town become an NHL player. It inspires me to push, to make my way. »
The Sabers publicist comes to tell us that Nicolas Savoie will soon be ready for his interview. “Is it pronounced Savoy, or is that different? », asks the friendly Chris Dierken. The question is legitimate, because the Sabres’ first pick in the 2022 draft, Matt Savoie, pronounces his last name in English, as he comes from Alberta. Nicolas Savoie is originally from Dieppe, New Brunswick. Here he is at Sabers rookie camp on an American League contract. The defenseman had a nice calling card: he just helped the Remparts win the Memorial Cup, doing what he describes as “little things that make the difference, like blocking shots, taking hits, getting the puck out “.
The case of Savoie is interesting, because before reporting to the Remparts, in 2018, he had the option of going through American colleges. He could be admitted to Providence College in 2021. If he had opted for the NCAA, he would therefore have the possibility of waiting until 2025 before moving on to the pros, and could have obtained a university degree. On the other hand, he would not have been able to receive a professional player’s salary, which he will do starting this fall. “It’s easy to say that I could have gone the other way, but I’m happy with my decision,” he says. I loved my five years in Quebec. No matter what happens from now on, another year or two of college wouldn’t have made a difference. »
