Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres prospect Dylan Cozens named Eastern Conference Player of the Year

A dynamic junior season in which Buffalo Sabres prospect Dylan Cozens scored 38 goals and 85 points in 51 games has earned him Western Hockey League Eastern Conference Player of the Year honors.

Cozens, a Lethbridge Hurricanes center, is a finalist for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, an award given annually to the player who enjoyed the WHL’s best regular season. The winner will be named May 20.

Sabres winger Sam Reinhart won the trophy ... Read the full article

Former Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko signs with Blue Jackets

Former Buffalo Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko has landed with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Following three seasons in the KHL starring for CSKA Moscow, Grigorenko today signed a one-year contract worth $1.2 million, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.

The 25-year-old Russian last played in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche in 2016-17.... Read the full article

Five ‘Sabres Classics’ from 2006 series against Hurricanes to air next week

Five more “Sabres Classics” – this time games from Buffalo’s wild Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 – will be rebroadcast on MSG next week.

After defeating the Ottawa Senators, the Sabres fell one game short of reaching the Stanley Cup final, losing an ultra-tight seven-game series to the Hurricanes.

The games are being aired because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to suspend its season indefinitely March 12.... Read the full article

Sabres let go media relations head Chris Bandura, two other VPs

Chris Bandura, the Buffalo Sabres’ vice president of media relations, was one of 21 employees Pegula Sports and Entertainment dismissed Tuesday.

While PSE did not name Bandura in a press release announcing the layoffs as well as an additional 104 furloughs and temporary executive salary reductions within the organization because of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Buffalo News reported he was let go.

PSE also fired John Sinclair, the Sabres’ vice president of tickets and service, ... Read the full article

Four ‘Sabres Classics’ from 2006 series against Senators to air next week

Four more “Sabres Classics” – this time Buffalo’s memorable second-round playoff victories over the hated Ottawa Senators in 2006 – will be rebroadcast on MSG next week.

The Sabres, the NHL’s biggest surprise coming out of the lockout, stunned the Senators in that Eastern Conference semifinal, downing their fierce rival in just five games.

The games are being aired because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to suspend its season indefinitely March 12.... Read the full article

Four ‘Sabres Classics’ from 2006 series against Flyers to air next week on MSG

Four more “Sabres Classics” – this time Buffalo’s first-round playoff victories over the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006 – will be rebroadcast on MSG next week.

Following a shaky ending to the regular season, the upstart Sabres quickly sent a strong message to the NHL they would be Stanley Cup contenders by disposing of the Flyers in six games.

The games are being aired because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to suspend its season indefinitely ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner make huge donations to COVID-19 response

Buffalo Sabres stars Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner have joined owners Terry and Kim Pegula in making large donations to the local COVID-19 response.

Eichel announced Wednesday he has purchased 5,000 protective face shields from Bauer, whose hockey gear he has worn during his NHL career, that will be distributed to hospitals throughout Western New York.

Skinner, meanwhile, has donated $53,000 to the Western New York COVID-19 Community Response Fund, an organization formed by 18 ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jack Eichel says hockey has ‘kind of been put on the back burner’

Jack Eichel has spent the past two weeks hunkered down in his Buffalo home waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sabres captain usually fills his days by working out, watching television, listening to music, reading and playing video games.

When it becomes safe, Eichel, 23, would like to resume the schedule. The center has stayed in contact with Sabres general manager Jason Botterill, coach Ralph Krueger, teammates and trainers since the NHL suspended the ... Read the full article

Sabres might possess special talent in newcomer Dominik Kahun

BUFFALO – It was in 2016, after Keith Aucoin returned home following a championship season overseas, when he called a friend in the scouting business and asked if he had heard of a young, undersized center turning heads in Germany.

The 20-year-old’s name? Dominik Kahun.

The scout knew nothing about Kahun, who had grabbed Aucoin’s attention during their first year as teammates with Red Bull Munich.

“I’m like, ‘Well, you guys might want to ... Read the full article

Five ‘Sabres Classics’ from 2005-06 season to air next week on MSG

Five more “Sabres Classics” – this time regular-season games from 2005-06, one of the most memorable campaigns in franchise history – will be rebroadcast on MSG next week.

That season, of course, the Sabres morphed into a powerhouse after the NHL lockout ended, roaring to the Eastern Conference final. Co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury led what was arguably the league’s deepest and most exciting lineup.

The games are being aired because the COVID-19 pandemic ... Read the full article