WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Training Camp Edition
Victor Olofsson scored 28 goals last season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In the same spot five months earlier, as winger Victor Olofsson talked about his late-season benching, it felt like he had played his last game for the Sabres.
But a trade never materialized, and as he sat at his locker in the dressing room following Monday’s session of training camp, Olofsson, 28, spoke optimistically of the upcoming season.
“I’m super happy to be back,” said Olofsson, whose Sabres host the Boston Bruins on ... Read the full article
Kyle Okposo missed Friday’s practice. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – During the summer, captain Kyle Okposo told the Sabres a special opportunity had materialized for him to speak at the Global Africa Business Initiative’s “Unstoppable Africa” conference in New York.
The event organized by the United Nations Global Compact was being held Friday, so Okposo needed to be excused from the second day of training camp. The Sabres, of course, had no problem letting him go.
“Everybody recognized the opportunity,” Okposo said following ... Read the full article
Connor Clifton plays a rugged style that irritates opponents. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton heard his new teammate, Rasmus Dahlin, feared him during his days with the Boston Bruins, and couldn’t believe it.
“He said that?” Clifton asked a reporter following Thursday’s opening session of training camp in KeyBank Center.
Dahlin sure did. He detested playing against Clifton, who relishes showcasing an aggressive, physical style that riles opponents.... Read the full article
Erik Johnson skates during Friday’s session of training camp. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Erik Johnson knows his time here could be short. The defenseman joined the Sabres on a one-year contract. At 35, he has entered perhaps the final phase of his terrific career.
Right now, the 17-year veteran might be more coveted for his experience and leadership than his skill.
Johnson’s still an asset on the ice, mind you. He averaged more than 17 minutes on it each game last season. In the first two ... Read the full article
Kyle Okposo skates during Thursday’s opening session of training camp. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – It took nearly 12 years for the Sabres to reach this point. They endured failed rebuilds, regime changes and what felt like constant turmoil.
On Thursday, for the first time since 2011, the Sabres opened training camp feeling like they’re a legitimate contender for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
“Now it’s time,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said prior to the first session of camp in KeyBank Center. “Look, I think ... Read the full article
Rasmus Dahlin scored 15 goals last season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In the week leading up to training camp, contract talks for Sabres defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power became “more intense, more frequent,” general manager Kevyn Adams said.
Still, nothing was completed before camp opened Thursday.
“I was on the phone with both of their agents for a long time late last night,” Adams said prior to Thursday’s opening session in KeyBank Center. “… No update on where we’re at. I don’t think ... Read the full article
Matt Savoie was injured Monday. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres center Matt Savoie is week to week after suffering an upper-body injury in Monday’s Prospects Challenge finale, general manager Kevyn Adams said.
“We’re also going to be really patient and make sure that he’s full go before we let him out there,” Adams said this morning in KeyBank Center, where training camp opens today. “But good news overall.”
Savoie, the ninth overall pick in 2022, is expected to compete for an NHL ... Read the full article
(From left) Devon Levi, Lukas Rousek and Victor Olofsson are three intriguing participants in training camp. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The deepest and most talented Sabres team since the rollicking post-lockout days of the mid-2000s will hit the ice today shouldering the expectation it can end the franchise’s embarrassing 12-year playoff drought.
Coming off a season in which they fell one win short of the postseason, the Sabres begin training camp with three sessions at KeyBank Center.
They have a whopping 64 players on their camp roster: seven goalies, 21 defensemen and 36 ... Read the full article
Nikita Novikov signed his entry-level contract in May. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – The Sabres’ leading scorer in the Prospects Challenge wasn’t Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen, Matt Savoie or another talented young forward.
No, try defenseman Nikita Novikov, who registered five assists, including three in Friday’s 6-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens in LECOM Harborcenter.
The Russian, 20, compiled three assists and five points in 62 games with the Kontinental Hockey League’s Moscow Dynamo all of last season.
The 6-foot-4, ... Read the full article
Matt Savoie is expected to compete for an NHL job in training camp. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – For Monday’s Prospects Challenge finale, the Sabres gave some of their more established young players a well-deserved afternoon off.
However, center Matt Savoie, arguably the Sabres’ biggest prospect, dressed for his third consecutive game. Twenty-seven seconds after taking the opening faceoff, he skated into a Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jagger Joshua and left the game.
Savoie, who’s competing for an NHL job this season, suffered an upper-body injury and is expected to miss ... Read the full article
