WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
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Matthew Savoie talks to the media after Buffalo drafted him ninth overall on July 7 in Montreal. ©2022
The arrangement was unusual. Matthew Savoie would spend most of the 2019-20 season practicing with the Winnipeg Ice, learning the rigors of major junior hockey at the tender age of 15. But the phenom would be permitted to play just half of the team’s games.
Savoie, the ninth overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres on July 7, had applied to Hockey Canada for exceptional status, which would’ve allowed the ultra-talented center to join the Ice ... Read the full article
Buffalo prospect Noah Ostlund has enjoyed a terrific preseason in Sweden. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
The night before Djurgardens’ recent exhibition game, Sabres prospect Noah Ostlund and his teammate, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, bet each other who would score the first “Michigan,” a lacrosse-style goal, this season.
The goal made famous by the Wolverines’ Mike Legg in the 1996 NCAA Tournament involves skill, timing and some luck. A player must lift the puck off the ice behind the net and quickly whip it over an unsuspecting goalie’s shoulder.
“(Ostlund) went out and ... Read the full article
Buffalo prospect Jiri Kulich could begin this season in the AHL. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
Three first-round picks – centers Matthew Savoie and Jiri Kulich and winger Isak Rosen – are among the 27 youngsters listed on the Buffalo Sabres’ roster for the upcoming Prospects Challenge rookie tournament.
The roster, released Monday, also includes Russian winger Aleksandr Kisakov, a second-round pick in 2020, and winger Flip Cederqvist, a fifth-round selection in 2019 coming off a 14-goal season in the Swedish Hockey League.
The Sabres open the tournament Thursday against the ... Read the full article
Ryan Miller performed dynamically at the 2010 Olympics. ©2022, Dan Hickling
Over the last three months, the honors celebrating former Sabres goalie Ryan Miller’s decorated career have started rolling in.
On Thursday, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame announced Miller, 42, as one of its 2022 inductees. In early June, the Sabres revealed they will retire Miller’s No. 30 and induct him into their hall of fame this season. Days before, he had been announced as one of the 2022 Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame ... Read the full article
Rasmus Dahlin and other established Sabres are scheduled to practice Sept. 22. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres veterans will report for their training camp physicals on Sept. 21 and have their first on-ice sessions of the new season Sept. 22 at KeyBank Center, the team announced Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Sabres rookies will practice next Wednesday at LECOM Harborcenter in advance of next Thursday’s Prospects Challenge rookie tournament opener against the Montreal Canadiens.
In other news, the Sabres will appear on national broadcasts 12 times during the upcoming season.... Read the full article
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played nine games with Buffalo last season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday re-signed goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, their final restricted free agent, to a two-year, $1.675 million contract.
General manager Kevyn Adams has said Luukkonen, a prospect labeled as the Sabres’ goalie of the future, is likely ticketed for the Rochester Americans again this year. The Sabres plan to utilize veteran Craig Anderson and newcomer Eric Comrie as their netminding tandem.
Luukkonen, 23, has battled injuries over his three-year pro career, and ... Read the full article
Ryan Miller sported the “Goathead” jersey early in his career. ©2022, Janet Schultz
The Buffalo Sabres are bringing back the popular black and red “Goathead” jersey for 12 home games this season, the team announced Wednesday.
Fans, of course, feel nostalgic about that logo and color scheme, which the Sabres wore from 1996 until 2006, when they switched back to a blue and gold motif.... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has one year left on his current contract. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
Talent is just one part of the equation that convinced the Buffalo Sabres to award Tage Thompson a seven-year, $50 million contract extension.
The deal, announced early Tuesday evening, raised some eyebrows. Yes, Thompson, 24, is coming off a breakout 38-goal season in which he morphed into the Sabres’ top scoring threat and No. 1 center. Still, he hadn’t scored more than eight goals in a campaign prior to last year.
The 6-foot-7 Thompson also ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson scored a career-high 38 goals last season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday rewarded Tage Thompson for his breakout 38-goal season, signing the center to a seven-year, $50 million contract extension.
Thompson, 24, is entering the final season of a three-year, $4.2 million deal. He could’ve become a restricted free agent following the 2022-23 campaign.
The Sabres, of course, view Thompson, their leading scorer last season, as one of their cornerstones of the future.... Read the full article
Kyle Okposo scored 21 goals last season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Having lived here year-round since 2019, veteran Sabres winger Kyle Okposo possesses a unique understanding of the community’s devotion to its sports teams.
“I understand the dynamics of how the town operates and how much sports means to everybody in this town,” Okposo said Saturday during “Sabres Night” at Sahlen Field, where he and teammates Owen Power, Jeff Skinner and Malcolm Subban signed autographs for an hour prior to the Bisons game. ... Read the full article