WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Chris Taylor has made Rochester his home since 1999. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
The call lasted less than a minute. Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams simply informed Chris Taylor he was being fired as Rochester Americans coach, offering no details into the sudden dismissal.
Taylor was stunned. Following a successful three-year run in which the Amerks reestablished themselves as an AHL heavyweight, the Sabres let him go Tuesday with no explanation.
“It was very short, fast, why they felt that they wanted a clean slate,” Taylor told ... Read the full article
Chris Taylor played and coached with Rochester. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
In 2017, former general manager Jason Botterill and his assistant, Randy Sexton, took an unusual first step in rebuilding the Buffalo Sabres’ struggling AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
Barely a year after the Sabres’ previous regime had let Chris Taylor go as an assistant coach from the Amerks, Botterill and Sexton, who also served as Rochester’s GM, rehired him as head coach.
The move made sense. Taylor, who was fired again Tuesday, spent his ... Read the full article
Randy Sexton (left) and Jason Botterill spent three years with the Sabres. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
If the NHL could’ve held its draft as scheduled next week, Jason Botterill would likely still be employed as the Buffalo Sabres’ general manager. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to postpone the annual event until the fall.
The extra time gave Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula an opportunity to discuss and plan the team’s future – “Really start digging in,” Kim Pegula said on a Zoom call Tuesday to discuss Botterill’s firing ... Read the full article
Chris Taylor spent three years as Rochester’s coach. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
In his three years as Rochester Americans coach, Chris Taylor helped re-energize the Buffalo Sabres’ moribund AHL affiliate.
For the first time in years, the Amerks morphed into a consistent winner. Players, meanwhile, regularly raved about the affable Taylor and his staff.
When the Sabres needed an assistant to fill in behind the bench early this season, they elevated Taylor, who is often talked about as a future NHL coach.
But on Tuesday, hours after ... Read the full article
Sabres owner Terry Pegula (left) and Kevyn Adams, his new general, have known each other a long time. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
If the NHL could’ve held its draft as scheduled next week, Jason Botterill would likely still be employed as the Buffalo Sabres’ general manager. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to postpone the annual event until the fall.
The extra time gave Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula an opportunity to discuss and plan the team’s future – “Really start digging in,” Kim Pegula said on a Zoom call Tuesday to discuss Botterill’s firing ... Read the full article
Jason Botterill spent three seasons as general manager. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
In a stunning move this morning, the Buffalo Sabres fired general manager Jason Botterill after three seasons and replaced him with Kevyn Adams, who had been serving as the team’s senior vice president of business administration.
“This morning, we informed Jason Botterill he will no longer be the general manager of the Sabres,” Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula said in a statement. “This decision was made after many candid discussions with Jason during ... Read the full article
Kevyn Adams passed on other opportunities to run the Jr. Sabres. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – When the Sabres dismissed Kevyn Adams in 2013 following a short run as an assistant coach, he said he kept asking himself the same question.
“How do I make the biggest difference over this next chapter of my career?” Adams would say.
Not surprisingly, Adams had options to stay in hockey. Adams, whose playing days ended in 2008, earned loads of respect carving out an 11-year NHL career, mostly as a fourth-liner with ... Read the full article
Matt Ellis skates in his final NHL game April 11, 2015. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – As last season unfolded, popular former Sabres forward Matt Ellis sensed the inevitable end to his long and unlikely career.
At times, Ellis, 35, said he felt like a spare part with the Rochester Americans, a victim of age and a changing game. AHL veteran rules often forced him to sit out as a healthy scratch. The adversity, he believes, tested his character and how badly he wanted to keep playing.
“There ... Read the full article
Ron Rolston spent about two months searching for an assistant. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Nearly two months had passed since the rebuilding Sabres fired assistant coaches Kevyn Adams and James Patrick. The replacement process, coach Ron Rolston acknowledged, “dragged on.” Two men he offered a job to turned it down.
“We wanted to make sure that we did the right thing,” Rolston said Tuesday inside the First Niagara Center while discussing Joe Sacco’s hiring as an assistant coach. “We wanted to make sure we were patient ... Read the full article
Ron Rolston has been looking for a new assistant coach. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The Sabres have hired former Colorado Avalanche coach Joe Sacco an assistant, the team announced this afternoon.
General manager Darcy Regier said earlier today Sabres coach Ron Rolston had “zeroed in on a candidate.”
When some outlets began reporting Sacco had been hired, the Sabres officially announced the move.
Sacco coached the Avs for four seasons, going 130-134-30 before getting fired after a 16-25-7 finish in 2012-13. The 44-year-old, a veteran of 738 ... Read the full article