Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Cody McCormick fails physical, out indefinitely

BUFFALO – Sabres forward Cody McCormick, who was hospitalized with blood clots in January, failed his training camp physical and is out indefinitely, the team announced this morning.

McCormick, 32, blocked a shot Jan. 3 and played three more games before doctors found blood clots had spread to his lungs. He couldn’t skate the final months of last season because he was taking medication.

In other news, the Sabres also announced an upper-body injury will ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Evander Kane sets lofty goal

BUFFALO – The way Sabres winger Evander Kane sees it, after scoring 30 times four seasons ago, he firmly established his goal-scoring prowess.

“Thirty is just kind of a set number,” Kane said Thursday after training camp opened inside the First Niagara Center. “I’ve already scored 30. So maybe I want to score 40 or 50.”

Yes, Kane, seven months removed from shoulder surgery, has set the bar extremely high for his first season with ... Read the full article

Sabres brimming with optimism

BUFFALO – In Denver, a city with almost 400,000 more people and four major league teams, Ryan O’Reilly blended in. Fans rarely recognized the new Sabres center on the street.

“I guess the market wasn’t the same as it is here, the excitement around,” O’Reilly said Thursday inside the First Niagara Center after the Sabres reported to training camp for physicals.

In hockey-mad Buffalo, O’Reilly, a June 26 acquisition from the Colorado Avalanche, keeps getting ... Read the full article

Sabres see progress, feel excitement for new season

BUFFALO – In Denver, a city with almost 400,000 more people and four major league teams, Ryan O’Reilly blended in. Fans rarely recognized the new Sabres center on the street.

“I guess the market wasn’t the same as it is here, the excitement around,” O’Reilly said this morning inside the First Niagara Center after the Sabres reported to training camp for physicals.

In hockey-mad Buffalo, O’Reilly, a June 26 acquisition, keeps getting stopped by fans.... Read the full article

Even with roster mostly set, Sabres training camp has intriguing storylines

BUFFALO – For a team that just endured a brutal 54-point season and might have nine new faces in the lineup opening night, the Sabres should enjoy a remarkably quiet training camp, their first under new coach Dan Bylsma.

There are, of course, still some intriguing storylines to follow. Second overall pick Jack Eichel’s first days in the NHL promise to be exciting. Sam Reinhart, the franchise’s other top prospect, will be fighting for a ... Read the full article

Sabres release training camp roster and early schedule

BUFFALO – Sabres veterans report for training camp physicals Thursday and have their first on-ice session of the 2015-16 season – aka, “The Jack Eichel era” – Friday. Here’s the complete schedule for the first week the team released today.

A roster is below. All sessions are at the First Niagara Center unless noted.

Thursday

Players testing and physicals.

Friday

Session one: 9-9:45 a.m.

Scrimmage: 10-10:45 a.m.

Session two: 11-11:45 a.m.

Session three: 12-1:30 p.m.... Read the full article

Sabres rookie Jack Eichel wows with overtime winner against Bruins

BUFFALO – Jack Eichel had just played about half of the final 25 minutes of regulation and overtime, and following a long shift in his own zone, coach Randy Cunneyworth asked the Sabres rookie if he had anything left. The 18-year-old phenom figured he could muster one final skate.

“I figured I could go out there and see what I could do,” Eichel said modestly following his highlight-reel winning goal with 37 seconds left in ... Read the full article

Patrick Kaleta determined to return to Sabres

BUFFALO – Instead of sporting a black NHLPA jersey or turning his Sabres sweater inside out again to conceal the crest, Patrick Kaleta dressed properly for his informal skate Monday, with the logo he has worn so proudly for nine seasons displayed on his chest.

A one-year AHL contract brought Kaleta, a free agent for 10 weeks, back to the organization he loves dearly on Saturday. The Sabres also gave the popular winger a professional ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Dan Catenacci often overshadowed

BUFFALO – As last year dragged on and the losses and recalls piled up, at least one bright spot emerged for the depleted Rochester Americans, forward Dan Catenacci, an often overlooked Sabres prospect.

In his second professional season, Catenacci, 22, developed into one of the AHL club’s lone offensive threats, scoring 12 of his 15 goals in his final 38 games.

Catenacci, a third-round pick in 2011, 77^th overall, is rarely mentioned among Buffalo’s ... Read the full article

Jack Eichel wows early in Sabres’ win against Devils

BUFFALO – It took just one 25-second shift, his first wearing a Sabres uniform, for rookie Jack Eichel to create his first highlight.

There will likely be many more over the coming years.

Seconds into Sabres’ 6-2 rookie camp exhibition win against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, Eichel snagged the puck in his own zone with clear ice ahead, and the announced crowd of 5,505 inside the First Niagara Center began to buzz.

An ... Read the full article