NHL Draft - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Top Sabres pick Jack Quinn developed rapidly during 52-goal draft season

Growing up, Jack Quinn liked to think of himself as a multi-sport athlete. The high-scoring winger the Buffalo Sabres drafted eighth overall Tuesday did not simply focus on hockey. He also enjoyed playing baseball and golf.

“I didn’t really train for hockey, really, I just played it,” said Quinn, who scored 52 goals in 62 games last season for the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s.

Not surprisingly, Quinn struggled to make any progress in hockey. ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Virtual NHL Draft forces changes; Buffalo will pick best player

Instead mingling with his counterparts on the arena floor, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams stayed in Buffalo on Tuesday and ran his first NHL Draft from KeyBank Center with his cellphone close by.

In regular times, the eyes of media members and spectators are often fixated on the floor, the hub of activity during the NHL Draft. The site of two GMs chatting can ignite intense speculation and sometimes means a trade is brewing.

When ... Read the full article

Sabres draft high-scoring winger Jack Quinn with No. 8 pick

The Buffalo Sabres have selected winger Jack Quinn, who scored 52 goals with the Ottawa 67’s last season, eighth overall at the NHL tonight.

The 6-foot, 167-pound Quinn is the first pick under new Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams.

Quinn, who often draws comparisons to Boston Bruins sniper David Pastrnak, ranked seventh among draft-eligible North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

Quinn, 19, is a bit of a late bloomer. He scored only ... Read the full article

NHL Draft, free agency will be critical tests for Sabres GM Kevyn Adams

The smile on Kevyn Adams’ face said everything. What promises to be the oddest offseason in NHL history is about to kick into high gear, and the Buffalo Sabres’ rookie general manager couldn’t hide his excitement.

During a 30-minute Zoom call Monday, Adams, 45, rarely stopped grinning. After preparing nearly four months throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to reshape the Sabres, Adams and his staff will be busy this week.

Following the NHL Draft – the ... Read the full article

Lake View’s Declan McDonnell on NHL Draft radar

At the beginning of his rookie season, NHL Central Scouting listed Lake View’s Declan McDonnell as a “player to watch.”

McDonnell, 18, doesn’t possess notable size or blazing speed. As the winger was beginning his career with the Kitchener Rangers, he mostly played a third-line role and did not skate on special teams.

But 5-foot-10, 171-pound McDonnell forced scouts to pay attention to him.

“He found a way (to contribute), his name was on the ... Read the full article

Williamsville’s Trevor Kuntar motivated by snubs, happy at Boston College

Trevor Kuntar couldn’t stay put in the crease. Never mind his father, Les, played goalie professionally for six seasons. Never mind everyone on the team had to take a turn in net.

In his lone appearance as a goalie, Kuntar’s penchant for carrying the puck took over. Even dressed in the heavy equipment, the Williamsville native kept grabbing it and skating up the ice.

“I just wouldn’t stay in my net, so that was the ... Read the full article

NHL postpones scouting combine in Buffalo, draft and awards show

The NHL has postponed three events in June – the scouting combine in Buffalo, the draft in Montreal and the awards show in Las Vegas – because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced today.

The rescheduled dates for the three events and the NHL Draft Lottery will be announced later.

The combine, which has been held at LECOM Harborcenter and KeyBank Center since 2015, was scheduled to take place June 1 to 6.... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Ryan Johnson learned game from NHL father

BUFFALO – For 11 years, Craig Johnson coached his son, Ryan, staying with the youngster from his first strides on the ice through high school.

So when Ryan, the 31st overall pick by the Sabres on Friday, left California for the junior Sioux Falls Stampede last year, it marked the first time he had been away from his father, who played 557 games as an NHL forward.

“It wasn’t hard to let him go,” Craig ... Read the full article

Jason Botterill believes Sabres’ young talent terrific selling point

VANCOUVER – Shortly before the Sabres’ higher-ups traveled to the NHL Draft, Sam Reinhart told Jason Botterill he wanted to join them during their stay in his hometown.

So one night, Reinhart met the general manager, coach Ralph Krueger and Terry and Kim Pegula for dinner.

Then on Friday, Reinhart, a winger the Sabres selected second overall in 2014, warmly greeted center Dylan Cozens after the team’s top pick left the draft floor inside Rogers ... Read the full article

Sabres believe they selected talented prospects at NHL Draft

VANCOUVER – Among the highlights of new Buffalo Sabres prospect Aaron Huglen on YouTube is a clip of what general manager Jason Botterill called “the Mike Legg goal.”

Last year at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, an under-18 tournament, Huglen pulled off one of hockey’s toughest moves, scoring a goal by quickly lifting the puck and wrapping it into the net.

Legg, Botterill’s teammate at Michigan, made the lacrosse-style goal famous in 1996.

“There’s a wow factor ... Read the full article