Tyler Ennis on Sabres rebuild: 'Tough couple of years but it's going to be worth it'

Tyler Ennis sees light at the end of the tunnel.

The 25-year-old center has seen his Buffalo Sabres go from a playoff team in 2011 to the NHL's basement over the past two years, but as training camp approaches, Ennis sees much to be excited about moving forward after a series of seemingly solid moves by general manager Tim Murray.

"I feel like the rebuild is finally coming to fruition," Ennis told the Edmonton Sun. "It's been a tough couple of years but it's going to be worth it, because we have a lot of great players and a lot of guys to be excited about, coming in."

Chief among those additions are the likes of Evander Kane, Ryan O'Reilly, and Jack Eichel, all of whom drastically change the complexion of the forward corps.

Coming off a year in which he recorded 20 goals and 46 points - two off his career highs - Ennis is setting the bar even higher for himself, realizing that an increase in talent around him heightens expectations all around.

"Those are kind of personal, I guess, I like to keep those to myself," Ennis said of his performance goals for the upcoming season. "But I think everyone does, everyone wants to have a good year, everyone wants to score a lot of goals. We have a lot of weapons this year, so I better put up some points this year."

Whether Ennis and the Sabres are ready to take the next step as early as this season is yet to be seen, but there's reason for optimism in Buffalo these days.