WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Training Camp Edition
(From left) Devon Levi, Lukas Rousek and Victor Olofsson are three intriguing participants in training camp. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The deepest and most talented Sabres team since the rollicking post-lockout days of the mid-2000s will hit the ice today shouldering the expectation it can end the franchise’s embarrassing 12-year playoff drought.
Coming off a season in which they fell one win short of the postseason, the Sabres begin training camp with three sessions at KeyBank Center.
They have a whopping 64 players on their camp roster: seven goalies, 21 defensemen and 36 ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn scored 14 goals as a rookie. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
NASHVILLE – Following a 14-goal rookie season, Buffalo Sabres winger Jack Quinn was expected to become a significant contributor in the upcoming campaign.
But the start of his sophomore season will be delayed months after he tore his Achilles tendon while training earlier this week. He underwent successful surgery Wednesday.
Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams wouldn’t speculate on a timeline for Quinn’s return, only saying it was “significant” and he will make a full recovery. ... Read the full article
Rasmus Dahlin (left) and Owen Power are two of Buffalo’s cornerstones. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Following the season, some of the Sabres’ decision makers sat down with defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power and told them how much they believe in them and what they mean to the franchise.
“There was an excitement from both of them and a clear message to me that they both want to be here long-term,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said Wednesday during a news conference in KeyBank Center to discuss the ... Read the full article
JJ Peterka scored 12 goals as a rookie for Buffalo. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
In the second period of Team Germany’s 5-0 victory Tuesday, JJ Peterka roared through the neutral zone before splitting two Team France defenders and slickly scoring his fourth goal of the World Championship.
Peterka, who recently completed his rookie season with the Buffalo Sabres, has enjoyed a stellar tournament, recording a team-high nine points and a plus-eight rating in seven games. Right now, the winger’s tied for third in tournament scoring.
The Sabres, of course, ... Read the full article
Casey Mittelstadt shook off a slow start and enjoyed a career season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – There was a time it felt like Casey Mittelstadt wouldn’t be around to experience a revival here. As the talented forward struggled to reach his potential and earn a spot in the lineup, the Sabres seemed to keep hitting rock bottom.
Another team might’ve jettisoned Mittelstadt, the eighth overall pick in 2017, years ago for a shiny new asset.
But the Sabres refused to give up on him and he rewarded them by ... Read the full article
Dylan Cozens scored a career-high 31 goals this season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres center Dylan Cozens scored 31 goals despite missing about three or four opportunities a game to generate more chances, coach Don Granato said.
So consider the potential that Cozens, 22, still possesses coming off a breakout season. Granato told him last month there’s a whole lot more he can do.
“He told me that he doesn’t think I’m anywhere close to the player I can be,” Cozens said April 16 as the ... Read the full article
Zemgus Girgensons can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – General manager Kevyn Adams wants to give captain Kyle Okposo and alternate captain Zemgus Girgensons, the Sabres’ longest-tenured player, time to decompress following a long season.
When the time is right, Adams plans to talk to the veterans, both of whom can become unrestricted free agents this summer, about returning to the Sabres.
“I want them back,” he said during Wednesday’s end-of-season news conference in KeyBank Center.
Okposo, 35, and Girgensons, 29, helped ... Read the full article
Alex Tuch scored a career-high 36 goals this season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Alex Tuch is almost six years older than his brother, Luke, so they’ve never had an opportunity to play together on the same hockey team.
That, however, is about to change.
Tuch, 26, said Saturday that he and his brother will be representing Team USA at the World Championship in Latvia. The tournament opens May 12 in Finland and Latvia.
Rasmus Dahlin had one goal and three points Saturday afternoon. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Go ahead, try to pick Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin’s most impactful play in Saturday afternoon’s thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Was it his game-tying power-play score in the second period, his first goal in nearly 11 weeks? His dazzling backhand pass that created center Casey’s Mittelstadt’s tying goal later in the period? Before he dished the puck, he generated highlight footage by zooming down the slot and slickly undressing two ... Read the full article
Alex Tuch scored two goals Friday. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Following a fast start in his return from a two-week absence, Sabres winger Alex Tuch had endured one of his quietest stretches this season, registering just a single assist over a four-game stretch.
Meanwhile, Tage Thompson, Tuch’s center, had been uncharacteristically quiet this month, at least by his high standards, scoring only two goals in 10 outings.
Their struggles, of course, contributed heavily to the Sabres’ recent woes – a four-game losing streak ... Read the full article
