WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Kent Johnson (19) was the BCHL’s MVP with the Trail Smoke Eaters in 2019-20. ©2021, Mike Hockley, Trail Smoke Eaters
Barely a year before Jeff Tambellini would start coaching Kent Johnson, he was introduced to the ultra-talented forward during a summer skate in 2017.
Some pro hockey players from Vancouver would occasionally invite teenagers from the local Power Edge Pro training group to join them. So Tambellini, then a 33-year-old preparing to possibly play his 14th pro season, found himself on the same ice as Johnson, a skinny 14-year-old from nearby Burnaby, British Columbia.... Read the full article
J-J Peterka played for two pro teams, including Red Bull Munich, in 2020-21. ©2021, GEPA, Red Bull
The Buffalo Sabres have signed J-J Peterka, one of their top forward prospects, to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced today.
Peterka, 19, is expected to attend Buffalo’s training camp next season.
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Peterka enjoyed a busy 2020-21 season, playing for two pro teams and representing Germany in two tournaments after the Sabres moved up to draft him in the second round, 34th overall.
Peterka spent most of the campaign with Red ... Read the full article
The Sabres could ask Jeff Skinner to waive his no-movement clause. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams knows all about the expansion draft, having been picked in it 20 years ago this month by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In 2000, Adams was a 25-year-old forward fresh off playing 52 regular-season games and another 12 playoff contests for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After spending most of the previous three seasons in the minors, he had finally arrived in the big leagues.
Adams remembers Toronto GM Pat Quinn ... Read the full article
Owen Power could be the No. 1 overall pick. ©2021, Chicago Steel
Kevyn Adams said his heart was racing before Wednesday’s NHL Draft Lottery. The Buffalo Sabres general manager looked intense. At one point, Terry Pegula texted him and told him to smile.
Leading up to the announcement, Adams said all the adversity the Sabres endured during a hellish season in which they finished dead last was flashing through his mind. He was also thinking about how much the top pick would mean to owners Terry ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel played his last game March 7. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
After Sabres captain Jack Eichel suffered a season-ending neck injury March 7, doctors wanted him to go through a conservative rehab and be reevaluated after 12 weeks.
Sunday ended that period, so general manager Kevyn Adams plans to begin gathering information on the progress Eichel has made in his recovery from a herniated disc.
Eichel, who was non-committal in April about his future in Buffalo, wants to undergo a surgery that has never been performed ... Read the full article
Owen Power spent two seasons with the Chicago Steel before joining Michigan. ©2021, Chicago Steel
The Buffalo Sabres won tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery and will pick first overall July 23.
This is the second time in four years the Sabres own the top pick. After they won the lottery in 2018, they selected defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
The Sabres, by virtue of their last-place finish this season, had the highest odds for the No. 1 pick, just 16.6%. The NHL only conducted two draws this year, meaning the Sabres could ... Read the full article
Before his freshman season at Michigan, Kent Johnson scored 41 goals in 52 games for the Trail Smoke Eaters in 2019-20. ©2021, Mike Hockley, Trail Smoke Eaters
The Buffalo Sabres, by virtue of their embarrassing last-place finish this season, have the highest odds to secure the top pick in tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery, just 16.6%.
The league has changed this year’s lottery to two draws, meaning the Sabres can fall no lower than the third pick. Of course, given the large swath of talent available early in this year’s draft, where the Sabres pick might not matter much.
There’s no consensus first ... Read the full article
Buffalo drafted Marcus Davidsson 37th overall. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
The Buffalo Sabres did not give 2017 second-round pick Marcus Davidsson an entry-level contract by today’s 5 p.m. deadline, making the center a free agent.
The Sabres selected Davidsson 37th overall in ex-general manager Jason Botterill’s first draft, 17 picks before they took goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who played his first four NHL games in April.
Davidsson is the only player from the Sabres’ 2017 draft class they did not sign. Their other selections ... Read the full article
Oskari Laaksonen recorded 17 points in 28 games as a rookie with Rochester. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
Buffalo Sabres defense prospect Oskari Laaksonen has earned a spot on the AHL North Division All-Star Team following his rookie season with the Rochester Americans, the league announced Wednesday.
Laaksonen, 21, compiled two goals and 17 points in 28 games. His 15 assists led the Amerks. The Finn ranked fourth among AHL rookie defensemen in points.
The Sabres drafted Laaksonen in the third round in 2017, 89th overall. He played parts of four seasons in ... Read the full article
Rasmus Asplund scored seven goals in 28 games this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Sabres winger Rasmus Asplund targeted 2021 from the get-go. By his third season in North America, the Swede wanted to be ready to stick in Buffalo.
Sure enough, Asplund, 23, accomplished his goal, playing the final 21 games of the year under interim Sabres coach Don Granato.
Considering Asplund was a spare part until April, his emergence ranks as one of the season’s biggest surprises.
Yes, Asplund, one of Buffalo’s top-rated prospects, was expected ... Read the full article