Hockey fans in Western New York have another reason to follow the Amerks this playoff season. Several local players highlight the Rochester Americans' lineup, which opens the first round Thursday night in Toronto.

Among the players with local ties is goaltender David Leggio. He's a native of Williamsville and 2002 graduate of St. Joe's.

Leggio had a career year in his second season with the Sabres organization. The 27-year-old went 28-24-2 with a .263 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. He started the last 23 games of the season.

Despite solid numbers throughout the year, he was not called up when Ryan Miller was injured in November, something that motivated the netminder.

“When someone else gets called up over you, you have to take that personally at some point. I wasn't angry or resentful in any way. At the same time, you have to take failures and use them as motivation. So I use that as motivation and make myself stronger,” Leggio said.