Beat coverage of the Buffalo Sabres from the Olean Times Herald
Summer Edition
BUFFALO – Before Sabres prospect Sean Malone knew it, his short taste of the NHL, the finishing touch on his whirlwind season, was over.
On April 6, the West Seneca native played his 115th and final game with Harvard, a 2-1 loss to Minnesota Duluth in the semifinal of the NCAA Tournament. Two days later, Malone debuted with the Sabres, skating 12 minutes, 12 seconds in their 3-0 road loss to the Florida Panthers.... Read the full article
ROCHESTER – Barely a year ago, after 14 seasons with the Americans as an AHL player and assistant coach, Chris Taylor was let go, the victim of new head coach Dan Lambert’s desire to field his own staff.
On Thursday, the Amerks, the Buffalo Sabres’ top affiliate, introduced Taylor as the 32nd head coach in franchise history.
A fired coach, of course, rarely returns to his old team, let alone in a larger role so ... Read the full article
CHICAGO – Instead of coming here Saturday and watching the final six rounds with other NHL Draft prospects, Dylan Seitz said he plans to “stay comfortable” at home in Eden, N.Y.
Like any 18-year-old, Seitz is excited and nervous – “It’s always in the back of my mind,” he said – for the day.
“I’m probably not even going to watch it,” he told the Times Herald by phone Sunday. “I’ll probably go do something ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – The Sabres have signed West Seneca’s Sean Malone to a two-year, entry-level contract, the team announced this morning.
Update: Malone will make his NHL debut tonight at center against the Panthers, according to reports out of Florida.
Malone, a forward the Sabres drafted in the sixth round, 159th overall, in 2013, played four years at Harvard University.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Malone, 21, compiled 42 goals, 99 points and a plus-31 rating in 115 ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – By late Saturday morning, as the seven-round NHL Draft crept toward the end, East Aurora’s Austin Osmanski and his 50 or 60 supporters started getting nervous.
At one point, Osmanski, 18, joked to his father, Kevin, who was sitting beside him, they should leave. But deep down, the defenseman was really worried he wouldn’t be selected by anyone, let alone the hometown Sabres.
Osmanski responded to his aunt’s attempt to lighten the mood ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – When development camp began Monday, there was an unfamiliar face on the ice putting the Sabres prospects through drills inside the First Niagara Center.
Who was it?
During the first session, the Sabres officially announced Dan Lambert’s hire as the third assistant on coach Dan Bylsma’s staff.
The 45-year-old Lambert coached the Kelowna Rockets last year, leading the junior club to a Western Hockey League championship and a Memorial Cup appearance in his ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – The thousands of Sabres fans who visit the First Niagara Center this week to watch the team’s prospects should leave with at least one special, indelible memory. For the first time up close on home ice, they’ll get to see slick center Jack Eichel.
Sure, it’s only a summer development camp. But watching Eichel in Sabres gear just two weeks after he was drafted second overall will likely never be forgotten.
Of course, ... Read the full article
Winger Hudson Fasching is one of three Buffalo Sabres prospects left at Team USA’s National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid. J.T. Compher and Anthony Florentino are still participating. The U.S. cut Connor Hurley and Sean Malone on Tuesday.
Based on his past exploits, Fasching, a power forward at the University of Minnesota, should be a lock to make this year’s world junior squad. The 19-year-old, fresh off a 14-goal, 30-point freshman season, had two ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Early during Sabres development camp, J.T. Compher, proud University of Michigan student-athlete, noticed Hudson Fasching, his roommate from the University of Minnesota, brought a Big Ten shirt.
“I threw it on the ground,” a smiling Compher said. “I didn’t want to see that out of his suitcase again.”
Their rivalry started last season, when Compher’s Wolverines lost three of their four conference meetings to Fasching’s Golden Gophers, who captured the first-ever ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – As a sixth-round pick, center Sean Malone faces some long odds to crack the NHL someday. But the West Seneca native has been developing rapidly since the Sabres selected him 159th overall in 2013.
The 19-year-old earned Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year honors last season. He’ll be participating in Team USA’s world junior camp next month in Lake Placid.
In the Dan Hickling photo above, Malone nearly scores on goalie Nathan ... Read the full article
