There obviously are a number of players who are locks to make the Buffalo Sabres. Top goal

scorer Thomas Vanek isn't going anywhere. A rough September by captain Craig Rivet would mean

nothing. An even cooler month by goaltender Ryan Miller would have no impact on his status.

But as folks in Sabreland know all too well, the team has missed the playoffs the past two

seasons. The pressure is there to improve. If some of the regulars who have been around fail

to take those steps, they could find themselves out of a job.

The competition begins today when the Sabres open training camp for the 2009-10 season.

"We've missed the playoffs two years in a row, and if somebody takes your spot, they take

your spot," coach Lindy Ruff said Friday. "I think you have to be ready to make room for

them."

The jockeying for jobs figures to be intense this month. The Sabres have 15 forwards,

including injured Adam Mair and unsigned Drew Stafford, with a legitimate chance to secure one

of 12 spots. Nine defensemen are in line for the six jobs on the blue line.

The only position that's settled is goaltender, where Miller will again be backed up by

Patrick Lalime.

"There are spots open," Ruff said. "I expect guys fighting hard. You're not going to win a

spot by dropping your gloves and beating somebody up, but I think we want to see guys

competing."

Ruff and his coaching staff have been on the ice with the team's prospects since Tuesday.

The youngsters will be in the spotlight again today in HSBC Arena with a 1 p.m. scrimmage. The

veterans will take the ice for the first time at 9:30 a.m. for conditioning testing.

It's part of the Sabres' "PuckDrop 2009," which includes free admission for fans, the sale

of individual game tickets, an adult street hockey festival, appearances by alumni and the

sale of commemorative bricks from Memorial Auditorium.

Though today is designed to have a party atmosphere, it should be workman-like on the ice

leading up the season opener Oct. 3.

"The interesting part is going to be going through the [scrimmage] games in the first two

or three days, blending these guys in," Ruff said. "These [prospects] have obviously had some

game pace; the veterans haven't. It'll be interesting to see what they can do against the

veteran players. A lot of time they can surprise you.

"At the same time, you don't evaluate in one or two days. This camp process is a three-week

process, and it's preseason games."

The schedule for the first week includes a scrimmage every day.

"If you truly want to evaluate, you get them in game situations," Ruff said. "We're going

to put them in some five-on-five, some five-on-four and some four-on-four situations where we

can evaluate truly what they can do."

Ruff is intrigued to see how the Sabres' top offseason acquisitions — forward Mike

Grier and defenseman Steve Montador — impact the team. One of the Sabres' downfalls last

season was the frequent disappearance of intensity. The newcomers have a reputation for not

allowing that.

"We finished the end of the year with being grittier," Ruff said. "In the last 10 games

[while going 7-2-1], we played a grittier style, and I think that was more advantageous. We

added Grier, we added Montador. I think those guys instantly add more grit, more size, more

physical play, more energy overall. That takes us a little bit away from the skill part of it,

but that's kind of the way the league is going."

Ruff usually uses themes or motivational tools to get the Sabres focused during camp. The

emphasis last year was to start quickly. The Sabres did, opening with a 6-0-2 record. But they

had trouble dealing with down times — evidenced by skids of 1-6-1, 1-5-1 and 3-6-1 ... and

the coach wants a more even keel throughout the dressing room this season.

"We obviously ran into a couple tough stretches we didn't get through," Ruff said. "We ran

into a couple tough injuries we weren't able to get through. Maybe not get as high as a team

as we were sometimes, but not get as low. Try to find a happy medium in there and be able to

ride it out for 82 games."

The time to learn how has arrived.