The NYR Facts Of Life: #54 Bobby Sanguinetti

For each player who suited up in a Blueshirt this season we will take the good, we will take the bad and take them both and see what we have. It is an interesting coincidence as we follow Ilkka Heikkinen with #54, Bobby Sanguinetti. I'll explain why down below.

#54's #s: 5 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, even, 2 PIM.

Take the good: Bobby made his NHL debut at the end of November and played fine. He clearly had the jitters but his nerves didn't result in any goals against so it was good to get that milestone out of the way.

Take the bad: He wasn't particularly physical, he wasn't particularly in the moment. Bobby blocked two shots, took five and collected three hits over his five game stint. He had more than 10 minutes of ice time in four of the five games and still came away with zero points.

Take them both and then we have: Where it was acceptable for Heikkinen to have a quiet time with the team, it was not for Bobby. The Finn was a unsigned free agent, Bobby was a first round draft pick. In a day and age where we see kids like Drew Doughty and Tyler Myers stepping in and starring, having a first rounder put up mediocre numbers in the minors and do nothing when the door was opened for him in the bigs is disappointing. It is still early to say that Sanguinetti was a bust - he is just 22 - time is ticking when you consider that Claude Giroux, Semyon Varlamov, Patrik Berglund and Nick Foligno all came after him in the first round and all have earned regular roles in the NHL. Ivan Vishnevskiy was selected five spots after Bobby, grabbed two assists in three games for Dallas and was traded away to Atlanta at the deadline. After this season - granted, an AHL All Star campaign - you have to wonder if a trade would be best for Bobby's future ...