BIRO QUIETLY FORGING HIS OWN PATH TO THE NHL

Feb 15, 2022

By Suzie Cool

 

After a season that ended early due to an injury last year, Rochester Americans forward Brandon Biro came into the 2021-22 campaign with a chip on his shoulder. However, this year would start like the last one ended, missing the first three games with an injury.

 

Going into the start of the season, it was close to two months since Biro had hit the ice. The rookie forward admitted that it was a bit difficult to find his footing when he started to get back into games and the mental battle was the biggest thing to overcome.

 

“I was off the ice for probably close to two months going into the start of the season, so I think it was a little bit difficult to find my footing,” said Biro, who signed with the Buffalo Sabres as an undrafted free agent following four seasons at Penn State. “I guess, for anyone that’s really gone through an injury, there’s kind of a mental battle of when you’re coming back. You’re not really trusting what you injured, so you’re thinking about that a little bit every single game and practice. Once I started to feel a little bit better and conditioning got up to where I wanted it to be, things started clicking.”

 

After recording six points in his first 12 games of the year, Biro flipped a switch when the month of December hit. In seven games in the last calendar month of the year, the rookie forward produced six points in seven games with three goals and two multi-point efforts. Additionally, with an influx of injuries plaguing the Buffalo Sabres roster, and the implementation of the taxi squad in the National Hockey League, Biro earned his first few recalls to the taxi squad this season.

 

WATCH: BRANDON BIRO AFTER PRACTICE ON FEB. 8

 

This was the turning point for Biro’s game as he was given opportunities to step up in Rochester while getting closer to playing in the best league in the world one recall at a time.

 

“We had some guys that were injured and out because of COVID. It did open up some opportunities for myself and other guys to step up in the lineup and play different roles, get a little bit more ice time and I really wanted to take advantage of that because you never know how many opportunities you’re going to get,” said Biro.

 

Since the start of the new year, Biro has been one the team’s most consistent point-getters while also establishing himself as one of the top-scoring rookies in the American Hockey League. Amerks head coach Seth Appert made sure to mention how Biro’s not getting these call-ups because players are out of the lineup, but because he’s simply earned these opportunities.

 

“I think he’s going to earn an opportunity to play in the National Hockey League and it’s been close already as he’s had a couple of call-ups,” said Appert. “He’s not getting called up just because of COVID, injuries and all of that. He’s getting called up because he’s one of the best rookie players in the whole American Hockey League and he’s doing it without cheating for offense. He’s doing it by playing honest.”

 

In 16 games with Rochester since the start of the new year, Biro has gone on to rack up 21 points with six multi-point efforts, including two-point efforts in four of his first five games to begin the month of February. Over those 16 efforts, Biro has been held scoreless just three times and had a career-long six-game point streak that lasted from Jan. 21 to Feb. 4.

 

WATCH: BIRO POST-GAME FEB. 2

 

More impressively, Biro has piled up 33 points through 35 games, good for sixth in scoring among all AHL rookies.

 

According to Appert, Biro’s play has probably gone too far unnoticed because of the elite prospects that are currently in the Sabres pipeline.

 

“Brandon Biro is a rookie and he’s one of the top rookie scorers in the entire American Hockey League. I think that sometimes gets overlooked because of the fanfare that gets paid to the other prospects.”

 

What’s not overlooked in Appert’s eyes is how much offense Biro is producing without cheating the game.

 

“He’s quietly establishing himself as a really high-end American League player. He is producing offense without cheating the game. His competitive detail in his game – in terms of finishing checks, winning puck battles, being good defensively, being a great penalty killer – has raised so much in the last 12 months.”

 

WATCH: BIRO POST-GAME JAN. 29

 

Appert then finished by saying, “What’s happening right now is he has the puck a lot, he’s got a lot of confidence with it because of that, and then great things are happening offensively.”

 

Biro doesn’t have the same path that others do when it comes to making it to the big stage. There was no draft but the obvious end goal for the rookie forward was to always make it to the NHL. As an undrafted free agent, however, that can be a tough goal to fulfill.

 

Biro, though, never really cared about the path that he took to get to the next level and, after all, he’s made it this far and knows he’s right on the cusp of making that end goal a reality with his performance over the last couple of months.

 

“I think I’ve always tried to play with a chip on my shoulder. For me, the end goal was always the same, so it didn’t really matter the route that I took or whether I was drafted or not. That goal was never going to change. So, I’m happy with the path that I took and I’m getting decently close to getting there. Obviously, there’s still a lot of work to do to get to the NHL, but I’ve kind of found my own path and what’s worked for me to get to this point.”