Bill Hoppe - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres prospect Nikita Zadorov’s future could be decided soon

BUFFALO – The complicated situation involving Sabres defenseman Nikita Zadorov, a healthy scratch all six games this season, could be resolved in the next 48 hours, the Russian’s agent said Sunday night.

The Sabres have essentially been stashing the 19-year-old prospect on their roster.

Here’s the issue: Zadorov, as a European, can’t be sent back to the London Knights, his junior team, because he doesn’t have a release from the Russian club that owns his ... Read the full article

Sabres start fast, still can’t score in loss to Bruins

BUFFALO – Six games looks like a large enough sample size to judge the 2014-15 Sabres. The current edition is terrible, perhaps every bit as bad as last year’s hapless squad that finished dead last in the NHL.

Saturday’s ugly 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins before 18,685 fans inside the First Niagara Center dropped them to 1-5 this season.

The feeble Florida Panthers beat the Sabres 1-0 on Friday, so they finished a ... Read the full article

Top Sabres prospect Sam Reinhart sits against Bruins

BUFFALO – In less than a week, top Sabres prospect Sam Reinhart went from centering some high-scoring wingers to playing fourth-line minutes between grinders.

So it wasn’t shocking the Sabres scratched the struggling 18-year-old for Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins inside the First Niagara Center.

Reinhart has zero goals, two shots and a minus-1 rating in his first five NHL games.

“Why do you sit out anybody?” Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. “It’s ... Read the full article

Sabres to scratch top prospect Sam Reinhart tonight

BUFFALO – The Sabres will scratch top prospect Sam Reinhart for the first time tonight against the Boston Bruins.

It wasn’t hard to see this move coming. The slick center, the No. 2 pick in June, has been skating limited minutes on the fourth line. Reinhart played only seven minutes, nine seconds in Friday’s 1-0 loss to Florida.

The 18-year-old has zero goals, two shots and a minus-1 rating in his first five NHL games.... Read the full article

Sabres start sluggishly again, get blanked by Panthers

BUFFALO – Fresh off their first win this season, against the winless Florida Panthers, the hapless Sabres imploded again early Friday, allowing a team with three goals all season to dominate them.

The Panthers outshot the Sabres 16-3 during a wretched first period. The Sabres finally put their first even-strength shot on goalie Roberto Luongo at about the 16-minute mark.

The Sabres, thanks to Jhonas Enroth’s strong goaltending, escaped the opening 20 minutes tied. ... Read the full article

Sabres speedster Torrey Mitchell showcasing simple style

BUFFALO – Despite having some of the best wheels on the Sabres, speedy winger Torrey Mitchell showcases a simple, straightforward style as a third- or fourth-liner.

The 29-year-old is a no-frills checker.

“I try not to do too much,” Mitchell said Friday prior to the Sabres’ 1-0 loss to the Florida Panthers inside the First Niagara Center.

Mitchell, of course, was talking about knowing his limitations. While the Quebec native moves quickly, he’s not a ... Read the full article

Flashback: Randy Moller’s wild Panthers goal calls

With play-by-play man Randy Moller and the Florida Panthers in town, I thought I’d flashback to one of my favorite stories of the last five years, Moller talking about his, shall we say, unique style of calling a goal. This story ran April 1, 2010. Give it a read. I’ve posted plenty of audio below.

BUFFALO – One minute, 51 seconds into the Sabres’ 6-2 win Wednesday, Florida Panthers winger Jeff Taffe grabbed a pass ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Sam Reinhart ready to face friend Aaron Ekblad

BUFFALO – Naturally, Sabres center Sam Reinhart, the No. 2 pick in June, wants to play against Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the No. 1 pick, tonight.

The prospects don’t have much of a rivalry, though.

“Not the fact the fact that we’re one and two, it’s the fact that I know him very well,” Reinhart said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “We’re pretty good friends.”

The two once roomed together at ... Read the full article

Sabres assistant coach Bryan Trottier enjoying new NHL life

BUFFALO – Two men who had spent their entire lives in hockey never met until a chance encounter almost 19 years ago outside Memorial Auditorium.

It was 1995-96, Ted Nolan’s first year as Sabres coach. Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was walking outside the Aud in a snowstorm when Nolan spotted him.

Nolan pulled over and offered a lift.

“We had a five-minute chat,” Trottier, one of ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Patrick Kaleta back practicing, anxious to return

BUFFALO – Patrick Kaleta’s face was mangled.

“Broke a bunch of things in there,” the oft-injured Sabres winger said Thursday following practice inside the First Niagara Center.

Kaleta said doctors inserted three plates and 14 screws after a shot hit him in the face during a Sept. 28 preseason game in Toronto. The 28-year-old has experienced blurred vision and migraines.

Still, less than three weeks after the scary incident, the Angola native is on the ... Read the full article