WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Calder Cup Playoffs Edition
Matt Ellis (pictured) moved behind the bench when Don Granato was promoted. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
As the Buffalo Sabres’ interim coach, Don Granato worked with a staff he inherited.
When general manager Kevyn Adams fired coach Ralph Krueger and assistant coach Steve Smith on March 17, he moved Matt Ellis, his director of player development, and Dan Girardi, a development coach, behind the bench.
Ellis replaced Granato, who ran the power play as an assistant under Krueger. Girardi, meanwhile, took over Smith’s role in charge of the defense.... Read the full article
J-J Peterka began his second pro season in Austria. ©2021, Gepa, Red Bull
Sometimes Don Jackson’s excitement got the best of him and he became too focused on helping Buffalo Sabres forward prospect J-J Peterka develop for the NHL.
“It seems like I was thinking about him more as a Buffalo Sabre more than I was him winning a championship in Munich,” said Jackson, Peterka’s coach with Red Bull Munich the past two seasons.
Jackson’s words, of course, were a bit tongue-in-cheek. It’s just that prospects of Peterka’s ... Read the full article
Don Granato missed Thursday’s game. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
When interim Buffalo Sabres Don Granato learned on Thursday his COVID-19 test had returned positive, he said he was in disbelief.
“Quite honestly, I didn’t believe it in the sense of, I said, ‘It’s not right, it didn’t feel right,’” Granato, who received his second vaccination last week, said on a Zoom call this morning. “And I say that because I believe the protocols that have been in place have given me a level ... Read the full article
Don Granato missed Thursday’s game. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis cleared the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol and joined the Buffalo Sabres following Friday’s practice in Boston.
The Sabres announced shortly before Thursday’s 4-0 road loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins that Granato, 53, and Ellis, 39, had entered protocol and were self-isolating.
General manager Kevyn Adams filled in for Granato and the Sabres also promoted Rochester Americans coach Seth Appert to fill in for Ellis.... Read the full article
Taylor Hall signed a one-year, $8 million contract with Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Nothing at this point, 32 games into perhaps the most miserable season in the franchise’s 51-year history, would surprise the Buffalo Sabres.
So when they learned interim coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis had entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol just hours before Thursday’s game, it wasn’t a big deal.
“In a season of unfortunate and terrible events, we’re just ready for it,” winger Taylor Hall said on a Zoom call following the Sabres’ 4-0 ... Read the full article
Don Granato has coached the Sabres three games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Ninety minutes before his NHL head coaching debut, Kevyn Adams was more focused on stepping behind the bench than trying to process the chaos that has transpired in his first season as Buffalo Sabres general manager.
“I can’t even really get into all that,” Adams said on a Zoom call prior to the Sabres’ 16th consecutive loss, a 4-0 setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Can you blame Adams? The season from hell refuses to let ... Read the full article
Don Granato took over the Sabres last week. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Interim Buffalo Sabres coach Don Granato and assistant Matt Ellis have entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol and will be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team announced late this afternoon. General manager Kevyn Adams will coach the team.
Granato and Ellis are self-isolating, according to the team. Adams said they’re asymptomatic. Entering COVID-19 protocol doesn’t mean the person has tested positive.
The coaches, of course, were in close contact with the players, ... Read the full article
Kevyn Adams said Ralph Krueger “believed to his core” he could turn the Sabres around. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
In explaining why he fired Ralph Krueger, Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams appealed to his players’ pride.
Adams wanted to keep Krueger, a coach he said his players believed in and “really, really love.” The rookie GM stood by him for weeks, allowing the Sabres to implode and their losing streak to balloon to 12 games.
But Wednesday morning, hours after the Sabres’ 3-2 road loss to the New Jersey Devils, Adams knew ... Read the full article
Don Granato has extensive experience as a head coach. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
For the time being, Don Granato, a 53-year-old hockey lifer who has spent the last 27 years coaching or scouting in pro, college and junior, is leading the hapless Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres on Wednesday named Granato their interim coach after firing Ralph Krueger in the midst of a 12-game losing streak.
Granato, who joined Krueger’s staff as an assistant last season, will be behind the bench tonight against the Boston Bruins at KeyBank ... Read the full article
Ralph Krueger coached the Sabres less than two seasons. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres fired coach Ralph Krueger this morning in the midst of a stunning stretch in which the hapless team has lost 12 consecutive games and 16 of 18 since its COVID-19 pause ended.
Don Granato, an assistant under Krueger, will serve as the Sabres’ interim coach, general manager Kevyn Adams said. The Sabres also fired Steve Smith, Krueger’s top assistant.
Matt Ellis, the Sabres’ director of player development, and Dan ... Read the full article
