SINCE HIS CHILDHOOD, RODRIGUES HAS REFUSED TO TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER

It’s been quite a year for Evan Rodrigues since he came to town for his first NHL training camp last September. He’s played his first professional season, gradually improving as the year progressed in Rochester, and scored his first NHL points with a goal and an assist in a two-game stint with Buffalo at the end of the season.

But for all that’s happened, Rodrigues begins this season with the exact same mindset that he had as a first-year pro one year ago. He’s still out to prove that he can play in the NHL, and he’s again made it his sole mission to make the Buffalo roster.

Those are high hopes for any player who hitched on as an undrafted free agent out of college. But Rodrigues has never taken no for an answer, especially not on the ice – even when he was told me might never skate again.

At age 10, Rodrigues developed a knee infection that only worsened as time passed. He was hospitalized for four weeks. He and his mom began to ask their doctor when he would be able to walk again and, more importantly, skate.

“They told me, ‘Oh, we have to worry about walking first before you can start skating,'” Rodrigues said.

“I’m pretty sure there were a few tears, but it’s almost like you’re so young that you don’t really understand it yet … That was definitely a scary time in my life.”

Luckily, it turned out there had been a mishap in Rodrigues’ medication that prevented the infection from healing. His long stay at the hospital was …

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