Sabres sign ECHL affiliation agreement with Cincinnati

For three seasons in the early 1970s, Buffalo Sabres prospects developed with the Cincinnati Swords. Players like Rick Dudley, Bill Hajt and Craig Ramsay graduated to the NHL from the AHL affiliate.

Now, more than 40 years later, Buffalo will again send some prospects to Cincinnati. The Sabres have signed an affiliation agreement with the city’s ECHL team, the Cyclones, the team announced today.

The Sabres had an ECHL affiliation agreement with the Elmira Jackals before the franchise folded earlier this year.

The best prospects, of course, will still go to the Sabres’ top affiliate, the AHL Rochester Americans.

Only three Sabres draft picks – forwards Vaclav Karabacek and Justin Kea and defensemen Brycen Martin – played in Elmira in 2016-17. The only Jackal who played for the Sabres, goalie Jason Kasdorf, appeared before Buffalo sent him to the minors.