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Be afraid: Brendan Lemieux wants to follow father Claude’s footsteps

2014 NHL Draft - Portraits

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 28: Brendan Lemieux of the Buffalo Sabres poses for a portrait during the 2014 NHL Draft at the Wells Fargo Center on June 28, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

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Future opponents probably don’t want to hear this, but Buffalo Sabres second-round pick Brendan Lemieux is more than fine with following in the (in)famous footsteps of his father Claude Lemieux.

If that doesn’t inspire people to keep their heads on a swivel, he also seems a little vengeful about falling to the Sabres at the 31st spot today.

“He was definitely disappointed. He was crushed last night,” Claude said to the Newark Star-Ledger.

Of course, that opens the door to the common draft storyline of having added motivation to “prove his doubters wrong.” Roll your eyes at the trope as much as you want, but it’s a scary thought to imagine an angry player who’s more than fine with emulating his notorious father, isn’t it?

Brendan Lemieux definitely didn’t shy away from his father’s legacy of controversial hits and antagonizing behavior, as Puck Daddy’s Sean Leahy reports.

“I’m proud of the way he played and how hated he was,” Brendan said. “I just love that about him. I definitely want to follow in his footsteps and I want to be that guy that can step up in the playoffs and really be that playoff performer. To me, that’s what’s most important is the postseason and that’s the kind of player I want to be. I want to come up big when it counts.”

The 18-year-old prospect certainly showed signs of that snarl during his career, especially during the 2013-14 season. He amassed 145 penalty minutes to go with 27 goals and 53 points in 65 games with the OHL’s Barrie Colts.

Much like Henrik Samuelsson to his father Ulf, it doesn’t sound like Brendan Lemieux has any issues emulating his father’s style.

He won’t wear the same duds as Claude, at least not to start. His father believes the New Jersey Devils made a mistake passing him up at the very end of the first round, yet Brendan seems most steamed about missing out on the chance to play for the Colorado Avalanche (who chose Conner Bleackley with the 23rd selection instead).

“There were a few teams there that really stung,” Brendan told Puck Daddy. “I’m definitely to love going in their arenas and really making it hard on their guys because they decided to pass me over, so I’m just going to use this as fuel.

“They gave one of the more fiery guys in the draft, I’d like to say, a lot more fire.”

Uh oh, indeed.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins