WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
December Edition
Buffalo drafted Josh Bloom in the third round in 2021. ©2022, Saginaw Spirit
The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Josh Bloom, a third-round pick in 2021, to a three-year, entry-level contract that will begin next season, the team announced today.
The 6-foot-2, 182-pound Bloom, 18, will ink an amateur tryout and finish this season with the Rochester Americans.
He is the second prospect from the 2021 draft class the Sabres have signed, joining defenseman Owen Power, the first overall pick.... Read the full article
©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Three years into his NHL career, Sabres winger Victor Olofsson is already sporting his third number.
The Swede recently switched to No. 71 after having No. 68 for two seasons. He also briefly wore No. 41 for his first six NHL games late in the 2018-19 season.
Why did Olofsson pick new digits? When he broke into the NHL, No. 71, one of his favorite numbers, was worn by Evan Rodrigues, a forward ... Read the full article
Jerry Forton ran his first NHL Draft as Buffalo’s director of amateur scouting. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – You had to go back five years and 34 picks to find the last time the Sabres drafted a Russian.
Before they selected winger Prokhor Poltapov 33rd overall Saturday, they hadn’t drafted a Russian since winger Vasily Glotov in the seventh round in 2016.
Poltapov’s selection was harbinger. The Sabres used three straight picks on Russians and took four overall Saturday.
Later in the second round, the Sabres drafted winger Aleksandr Kisakov with ... Read the full article
The Sabres have nine picks today. ©2021, NHL
BUFFALO – The Sabres drafted Russian winger Prokhor Poltapov with the first pick of the second round, 33rd overall, this morning at the NHL Draft.
The 5-foot-11, 174-pound Poltapov, 18, recorded 25 goals and 52 points in 61 games last season with Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, a junior team in the MHL. Poltapov also registered two goals and seven points in seven contests for Team Russia at the World Under-18 Hockey Championship.
He also played one ... Read the full article