Ellis
12-21-2006, 10:37 PM
VANCOUVER (LGS) — While most Buffalo Sabres fans have gone online to vote Max Afinogenov, Brian Campbell, Ryan Miller, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere into the All-Star game, there is one other player with ties to Buffalo gaining ground on the event to be held in Dallas on January 24.
Former Sabre defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick currently sits in second place among defensemen in the Western Conference with 428,832 votes. Only Scott Niedermayer (447,502) had more votes than Fitzpatrick as of Tuesday evening.
So has it been Rory’s stellar play that has the fans voting in droves on the NHL’s web site? Simply put, no. The effort to get Fitzpatrick voted into the All-Star game is lead by Auburn, NY native Steve Schmid. Schmid started VoteForRory.com and asked that fans go online and vote for Fitzpatrick as a write-in candidate.
So far, the fans and players have responded in mass. At 5 p.m. on Wednesday there had been 224,714 visitors to Schmid’s site. By 5:30 it was up to 225,221 — almost 500 fans in half an hour!
The idea of starting the campaign for Rory started after Schmid saw Fitzpatrick’s performance in the Canucks' skills competition.
“The initial thought was to get a hard-working underrated guy into the All-Star game, kind of an underdog,” Schmid said on Wednesday.
“Rory came to mind because of his prowess in the Canucks' skills competition, where he had the most accurate shot (Fitzpatrick hit the four targets on five shots).
“Once the idea started to pick up some steam, a lot of people on the HFBoards (Hockey’s Future) wanted me to create a site. So I did.”
Born in Rochester in 1975, Fitzpatrick got his start in professional hockey with the Montreal Canadiens organization after being drafted in the second round (47th overall) in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. After spending parts of three seasons with the Canadiens organization, Fitzpatrick played in St. Louis and Nashville before moving on to the Sabres organization in 2001.
From 2001 through 2006, number 8 (with Buffalo) spent time between Rochester and Buffalo, appearing in 157 games and tallying 24 points (9g, 15a) with the Sabres. He played in 11 playoff games last spring, chipping in four assists.
Schmid estimates that he has voted for Rory between 1,500 and 2,000 times. “I started off pretty strong, but lately I've been knocked down to 50-60 times a day.”
Even Fitzpatrick's teammates have gotten into the act, as Roberto Luongo stated that he has voted for Rory “five times.” Canucks’ captain Trevor Linden is apparently a bit harder to please, claiming that he wants to see a bit more of his teammate on the ice before he decides whether or not to vote for Fitzpatrick (referring to Rory missing time this year due to a broken ankle).
Did “Fitzy” vote for himself while he was out on injury? “No, I've got enough problems turning my computer on," he said.
“I don’t know how to take it yet,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think it’s kind of funny. All the guys (on the team) are having fun with it.” AUDIO: Listen to Rory
If Schmid’s dream comes true, maybe there will be a former Sabre to go along with the current ones in the All-Star game.
This is awesome! I voted for him 3 times. I don't know if the article said this or not, but Fitzpatrick doesn't have a single point all season.
Here are some hilarious campain ads...
http://eefoof.com/movie/458
http://eefoof.com/movie/456
Former Sabre defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick currently sits in second place among defensemen in the Western Conference with 428,832 votes. Only Scott Niedermayer (447,502) had more votes than Fitzpatrick as of Tuesday evening.
So has it been Rory’s stellar play that has the fans voting in droves on the NHL’s web site? Simply put, no. The effort to get Fitzpatrick voted into the All-Star game is lead by Auburn, NY native Steve Schmid. Schmid started VoteForRory.com and asked that fans go online and vote for Fitzpatrick as a write-in candidate.
So far, the fans and players have responded in mass. At 5 p.m. on Wednesday there had been 224,714 visitors to Schmid’s site. By 5:30 it was up to 225,221 — almost 500 fans in half an hour!
The idea of starting the campaign for Rory started after Schmid saw Fitzpatrick’s performance in the Canucks' skills competition.
“The initial thought was to get a hard-working underrated guy into the All-Star game, kind of an underdog,” Schmid said on Wednesday.
“Rory came to mind because of his prowess in the Canucks' skills competition, where he had the most accurate shot (Fitzpatrick hit the four targets on five shots).
“Once the idea started to pick up some steam, a lot of people on the HFBoards (Hockey’s Future) wanted me to create a site. So I did.”
Born in Rochester in 1975, Fitzpatrick got his start in professional hockey with the Montreal Canadiens organization after being drafted in the second round (47th overall) in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. After spending parts of three seasons with the Canadiens organization, Fitzpatrick played in St. Louis and Nashville before moving on to the Sabres organization in 2001.
From 2001 through 2006, number 8 (with Buffalo) spent time between Rochester and Buffalo, appearing in 157 games and tallying 24 points (9g, 15a) with the Sabres. He played in 11 playoff games last spring, chipping in four assists.
Schmid estimates that he has voted for Rory between 1,500 and 2,000 times. “I started off pretty strong, but lately I've been knocked down to 50-60 times a day.”
Even Fitzpatrick's teammates have gotten into the act, as Roberto Luongo stated that he has voted for Rory “five times.” Canucks’ captain Trevor Linden is apparently a bit harder to please, claiming that he wants to see a bit more of his teammate on the ice before he decides whether or not to vote for Fitzpatrick (referring to Rory missing time this year due to a broken ankle).
Did “Fitzy” vote for himself while he was out on injury? “No, I've got enough problems turning my computer on," he said.
“I don’t know how to take it yet,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think it’s kind of funny. All the guys (on the team) are having fun with it.” AUDIO: Listen to Rory
If Schmid’s dream comes true, maybe there will be a former Sabre to go along with the current ones in the All-Star game.
This is awesome! I voted for him 3 times. I don't know if the article said this or not, but Fitzpatrick doesn't have a single point all season.
Here are some hilarious campain ads...
http://eefoof.com/movie/458
http://eefoof.com/movie/456