Barrasso aiming for net gains: NHL veteran will tutor Rats' goalies in camp.

Byline: Pete Dougherty

Sep. 26--ALBANY -- As a first-round draft choice of the Buffalo Sabres 24 years ago, Tom Barrasso made his entrance into professional hockey as an 18-year-old on an island. There were no position coaches in those days of the NHL, nowhere to turn when rough stretches hit.

He still wound up winning the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie and Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in 1983-84, igniting a 19-year career that included two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins and a silver medal in the 2002 Olympics.

"I turned pro at 18, but I didn't think I learned to play goal really until I was about 28," Barrasso said. …