Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Brian Gionta on Sabres’ captaincy: ‘By no means am I expecting it’

BUFFALO – To most observers, it’s a formality. At some point before the season begins Oct. 9, the Sabres will name Brian Gionta their new captain.

Awarding Gionta the prestigious ‘C’ makes sense. The 35-year-old, the rebuilding club’s oldest and most experienced player, just served four seasons as Montreal’s captain. He won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2003.

By any measure, the winger’s the Sabres’ most qualified candidate.

Still, Gionta, who signed a ... Read the full article

Bruins invite Sabres buyout Ville Leino to training camp

Mark your calendars, Sabres fans. When Boston visits Buffalo on Oct. 18, Ville Leino could be a member of the Bruins.

The Bruins, the 2011 Stanley Cup champions and one of the NHL’s elite teams for years, have invited Leino to training camp on a tryout.

The Sabres, of course, bought out the final three seasons of Leino’s six-year, $27 million contact in June. The Finn, who scored zero goals last season, is on Buffalo’s ... Read the full article

Mike Grier to coach team at All-American Prospects Game

BUFFALO – USA Hockey has named popular former Sabres winger Mike Grier and Ed Olczyk the coaches for the upcoming All-American Prospects Game.

Grier played 1,060 NHL games, including 241 with the Sabres over parts of four seasons. He retired in 2011.

The 39-year-old represented the U.S. in international competitions as a player. He was an on-ice instructor at the USA Hockey Boys’ Select 17 Player Development Camp in July.

Olczyk played 1,031 NHL games ... Read the full article

Jack Eichel headlines All-American Prospects roster

BUFFALO – Jack Eichel, a slick center many project to be the No. 2 draft pick next year, headlines the 42-man roster USA Hockey released today for the upcoming All-American Prospects Game.

The Sept. 25 tilt at the First Niagara Center features the top U.S. players eligible for the 2015 draft.

Eichel, a Boston University freshman, could be one of the top American prospects ever. He’s expected to be drafted behind center Connor McDavid, whose ... Read the full article

Connor McDavid impressed with Sabres, can see himself playing in Buffalo: ‘It’s a great organization’

BUFFALO – The sight was enough to make any Sabres fan dream and drool: 17-year-old phenom Connor McDavid inside the First Niagara Center, talking about playing here someday.

For good measure, he was even photographed with a Sabres banner behind him.

If you ask the junior superstar, he’ll acknowledge that, yes, he can envision himself wearing blue and gold come 2015.

“It’s a great organization,” the slick center said Thursday after touring the rink, where ... Read the full article

Phenom Connor McDavid has thought about playing for Sabres

BUFFALO – If you ask him, 17-year-old phenom Connor McDavid will acknowledge that, yes, he can envision himself playing for the Sabres in two seasons.

“Yeah, that’s something that’s crossed your mind, I guess,” the slick center said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center, where his Erie Otters will face the Niagara IceDogs in a Oct. 22 Ontario Hockey League game. “You can’t worry about that right now.”

Right now, McDavid, who’s been dubbed ... Read the full article

Sabres could still get prized prospect in 2015 after draft lottery changes

The draft lottery changes the NHL unveiled today might not hurt the Buffalo Sabres, owners of three 2015 first-round picks, next year. The league’s worst team can’t fall below the second pick.

The odds of nabbing that No. 1 pick, however, have fallen from 25 percent to 20, according to the league.

Still, the Sabres, a team many have pegged to finish last, will get Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, the consensus top two prospects, ... Read the full article

Sabres reassign Kevin Devine, promote Randy Cunneyworth

BUFFALO – Kevin Devine has been reassigned to director of player personnel, one of several front office changes the Sabres announced today.

Devine served as assistant general manager under former GM Darcy Regier.

In addition, Randy Cunneyworth has been named player development coach. Cunneyworth, Rochester’s former coach, mostly worked in player development with the AHL club last season. Dennis Miller, the old player development coach, is still with the organization, a team spokesman said.

Meanwhile, ... Read the full article

Sabres to host OHL game next season with Connor McDavid’s Erie Otters

For one night at least, Connor McDavid, the top 2015 NHL draft prospect, is coming to Buffalo.

The Sabres announced this afternoon the team will be a hosting an Ontario Hockey League game with the Erie Otters, McDavid’s club, at the First Niagara Center next season.

Of course, Sabres fans want more than a glimpse of McDavid, the slick 17-year-old sensation many regard as the best prospect since Sidney Crosby. But given the slew of ... Read the full article

Sabres targeting other big events for Buffalo after landing NHL Scouting Combine

BUFFALO – To Colin Campbell, who’s spent his life in hockey as a player, coach and executive, this city has a special place in the game.

“Buffalo, for a lot of hockey people, is almost like an Original Six team,” Campbell, the senior executive vice president of NHL Hockey Operations, said Monday in announcing the Sabres had landed the NHL Scouting Combine. “It’s been here for a long time, a lot of history here ... Read the full article