First Florida player to join Lowell this season

By Ed Reed
Fort Myers News Press

Florida Everblades forward Steve Saviano thought he'd be nibbling turkey on
Thanksgiving Day with his family, but instead he may end up watching NFL games
alone in his Reading, Mass., home.

That's the price the 24-year-old has to pay for being called up by the American
Hockey League's Lowell Lock Monsters on Monday afternoon.

"My uncle has a bed and breakfast in Vermont, and my whole family is going up
there, and we have practice on Thursday," said Saviano, who had five goals and
nine assists in nine games for the Blades this season.

Saviano is the eighth Florida player called up by an AHL team since the start of
training camp, but the first grabbed by the Blades' affiliate in Lowell.

"Honestly, I feel for them so bad," Saviano said of all the roster changes. "I
know down there it's frustrating to play with a different guy every day."

To fill Saviano's roster spot, the Lock Monsters reassigned forward Kevin
Estrada, who scored no points and had six penalty minutes in eight games with
Lowell. Estrada, 23, spent the past four seasons playing for Michigan State,
notching 42 points in 135 games.
Saviano started last season with the Lock Monsters, playing in six games before
being sidelined with a concussion. He was reassigned to Florida once healthy and
spent the rest of the season with the Blades, for whom he scored 52 points in 58
regular-season games and 18 points in 17 playoff games.

"I think last year was huge for me to go through the regular season in Florida
and go through the playoffs, because I know what it's like to be a pro and to
play six games in eight nights and long bus rides. ... I feel a little better
prepared to take the next step."

Saviano went through training camp this year with Lowell and was sent to Florida
due to a numbers crunch.

"Steve's been one of the best players in the ECHL this season," Lowell coach Tom
Rowe said in a statement. "He deserves a chance to come up and compete for a
spot."

Although he does not know what his role with the Lock Monsters will be, Saviano
expects to be in the lineup for Lowell's game tonight at the Springfield
Falcons.

"Fortunately, I get an opportunity here, and I hope I make the most of it,"
Saviano said. "I'm excited to be here, but I have mixed emotions. I put a lot of
time in Florida and I want to help them win.

"But I have to do what's best for me and my career, and what's best is for me to
be here."

Originally posted on November 23, 2005


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