WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Isak Rosen played 80 total games for Rochester as a rookie last season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – Isak Rosen said he needed to experience a season like last year, his first in North America. The Sabres prospect showcased durability, playing a whopping 99 total games over a dizzying 10-month stretch.
A year earlier in his native Sweden, he suffered a season-ending hand injury, and he played just 39 times. Staying healthy in 2022-23 allowed him to display consistent development throughout a campaign in which he played in two World Junior ... Read the full article
Matt Savoie played two games with Rochester during the Calder Cup Playoffs. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Matt Savoie paused for a moment and collected his thoughts before he answered the question.
Savoie, 19, has established himself as a dominant junior star over the past two seasons, scoring 92 goals and a whopping 226 points in 156 total games, including the playoffs.
Clearly, the center’s ready for pro hockey. But the Canadian Hockey League’s agreement with the NHL prohibits him from playing in the AHL this season. He ... Read the full article
Vaclav “Vinny” Prospal played for seven NHL teams, including the New York Rangers. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
About six years ago, a mutual friend put Seth Appert and Vaclav “Vinny” Prospal in contact with each other.
Appert, now the Rochester Americans’ coach, was working at the U.S. National Team Development Program. Prospal, a veteran of 1,108 NHL games as a player, was coaching in the Tampa Scorpions youth organization.
As they chatted about hockey and player development, Appert realized how Prospal, who on Monday was named one of Rochester’s assistant coaches, embraced ... Read the full article
Nathan Paetsch smiles last week during development camp. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres today named former NHL players Nathan Paetsch and Vinny Prospal as assistant coaches on Seth Appert’s staff with the Rochester Americans.
They replace Mike Weber and Michael Peca, both of whom recently left the AHL team to take assistant coaching jobs in the NHL.
The Sabres also announced the coaching staffs in Buffalo and Rochester have received contract extensions. Sabres coach Don Granato earned an extension prior to last season.
Paetsch, 40, ... Read the full article
Coach Seth Appert shakes hands with Toronto assistant coach coach John Snowden on May 17 following Rochester’s series-clinching win. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – Instead of getting into a deep discussion of Xs and Os with job candidates or having them diagram plays, Rochester Americans coach Seth Appert prefers to conduct more personal interviews.
“I’m a people-oriented, relationship-oriented person,” the loquacious Appert said Sunday following the first session of Sabres development camp at LECOM Harborcenter.
Appert, whose two assistant coaches, Michael Peca and Mike Weber, both recently left for NHL jobs, said he wants to talk to ... Read the full article
Victor Olofsson scored 28 goals last season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
NASHVILLE – In the case of Sabres winger Victor Olofsson, both sides are willing to accept blame for his disappointing season.
Despite scoring a career-high 28 goals, Olofsson sat out seven late-season games as a healthy scratch, including five critical contests down the stretch.
“He knows he could’ve maybe performed at certain times,” Adams said Tuesday in the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.
On the other hand, Adams said “maybe we need to make sure that we’re ... Read the full article
Michael Peca spent two seasons with Rochester. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans must find two new assistant coaches.
Michael Peca, who has been instrumental in developing JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn and some of the Buffalo Sabres’ other forward prospects, has taken a job on coach Peter Laviolette’s staff with the New York Rangers, according to Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek.
Peca, a popular former Sabres captain and center, has strong ties to Laviolette, who was named the Rangers’ new coach last week.
Mike Weber greets some fans before Rochester’s game April 15. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
Given the Rochester Americans’ recent success, some of their coaches would inevitably draw interest from NHL teams.
On Wednesday, the St. Louis Blues hired Mike Weber, who was in charge of the defense and penalty kill on Seth Appert’s staff, as an assistant coach.
Weber, 35, joined the Amerks as an assistant coach prior to the 2020-21 season following a three-year stint as an assistant with the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires.
Hershey’s Riley Sutter shakes hands with Malcolm Subban following Friday’s 1-0 win over the Americans. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
ROCHESTER – The reality Seth Appert would never coach this group of Americans again hit him hard in the moments after Friday’s season-ending 1-0 loss to the Hershey Bears.
This group, Appert said, took time to find its way. In late February, the Amerks were mired in sixth place. In the beginning of the season, they lost their starting goalie and two established talents expected to be big contributors.
“Success and this high a level ... Read the full article
Rochester coach Seth Appert, shown here standing behind center Mason Jobst, knows his players will benefit from a long playoff run. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – Before the Americans staved off elimination by defeating the Hershey Bears on Wednesday, coach Seth Appert asked his assistants and some veterans how many times they had competed in a conference finals or championship.
Michael Peca, who played 13 seasons and captained the Buffalo Sabres to the Stanley Cup final in 1999, told him three. Mike Weber, who played 10 years, said he never advanced that far. Defenseman Matt Bartkowski, a ... Read the full article
