"Right now, I'm pretty excited, pretty nervous. I'm just looking forward to the experience. I still have a lot of butterflies. It goes away pretty quickly as soon as you get with the guys, get your first shift,'' Erne said. "I don't think I have to change my game. I'm going to stick with what got me here in the first place.''
Even though the sample size will be small, Tampa Bay assistant general manager Julien BriseBois said the early picture of Erne's pro game can still start to form in the next two weeks.
"I look at it as a learning experience for him,'' BriseBois said. "It gives him a chance to see where he measures up against a superior level of competition. I expect him to be able to play with these guys. How well? His play will dictate that.'
"It's go in there, show us what you got, get noticed. There's certainly a nervous energy that I would expect to be common to any player who plays his first game (in the AHL). The other thing that would be common among most players would be a great level of anticipation.''