WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Brendan Guhle will play his fourth preseason game tonight. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Brendan Guhle is no longer the impressive rookie getting a long look before going back to junior. Suddenly, the Sabres defense prospect, the 51st overall pick in June, has a real chance to be on the opening-night roster in nine days.
“Definitely there’s an opportunity,” said Guhle, who will play his fourth preseason game tonight. “There’s some injuries now, whatnot. I’m not looking too far ahead of myself.”
Four notable defensemen – ... Read the full article
Johan Larsson finished last season as the Sabres’ top center. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Dan Bylsma wanted to count them all first. So before the coach talked about the impressive center depth the Sabres have quickly assembled, he rattled off each one on the roster.
When Bylsma stopped, he had named eight: Ryan O’Reilly, No. 2 overall pick Jack Eichel, Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson, David Legwand, Sam Reinhart and Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno, two wingers with experience down the middle.... Read the full article
Cal O’Reilly had never played with his brother, Ryan. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
TORONTO – Growing up about 140 miles away in Goderich, Ont., Buffalo Sabres center Cal O’Reilly witnessed some epic meltdowns when he beat his younger brother, Ryan, in hockey games.
“When he would lose, he would start throwing stuff – sticks and anything he could get his hands on,” Cal O’Reilly said Friday prior to the Sabres’ 6-4 preseason win against the Maple Leafs, the brothers’ first appearance together as teammates at any level ... Read the full article
Dan Catenacci grew up outside Toronto. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
TORONTO – Instead of being in Canada’s largest city for an NHL exhibition game tonight, Buffalo Sabres prospect Brendan Guhle figured he’d likely be playing his first junior game this season about 3,000 kilometers away – hey, check the dateline – in Saskatchewan for the Prince Albert Raiders.
But the defenseman, the 51st pick in June, will play his third straight preseason game tonight against the Maple Leafs inside the Air Canada Centre.
“Good ... Read the full article
Brendan Guhle will play his second preseason game tonight. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The odds, of course, are still very low Brendan Guhle will stick around. In the coming days, the Sabres will likely send the defense prospect, the 51st pick in June, back to his junior club following an impressive training camp.
But Sabres coach Dan Bylsma left the door open just a crack for the 18-year-old.
“At least through one exhibition game and practice so far, he’s shown the ability that he could ... Read the full article
David Legwand played his first NHL game in 1999. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The other day, veteran Sabres center David Legwand, a 35-year-old starting his 16th NHL season, asked rookie Jack Eichel when he was born.
“He said, ‘I was born in ’96,’” Legwand recalled Saturday. “I said, ‘I was drafted in ’98.’ That makes me really old.”
How old is Legwand? He played against Sabres coach Dan Bylsma, who turned 45 on Saturday and retired in 2004.
“He’s old enough that did happen,” Bylsma ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel will almost certainly stop wearing No. 41 early next month. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – To rookie Jack Eichel, he hasn’t secured a spot on the Sabres yet.
That’s why the slick center, one of the biggest prospects in recent memory, initially hesitated to accept teammate Matt Moulson’s invitation to live with his family. That’s why Eichel, 18, hasn’t switched from No. 41, a development camp number he was given by the equipment staff, to No. 15, a number he picked.
Everyone in Buffalo seems to be ... Read the full article
Brian Gionta sees the Sabres progressing. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In Denver, a city with almost 400,000 more people and four major league teams, Ryan O’Reilly blended in. Fans rarely recognized the new Sabres center on the street.
“I guess the market wasn’t the same as it is here, the excitement around,” O’Reilly said Thursday inside the First Niagara Center after the Sabres reported to training camp for physicals.
In hockey-mad Buffalo, O’Reilly, a June 26 acquisition from the Colorado Avalanche, keeps getting ... Read the full article
Ryan O’Reilly gets stopped by fans around Buffalo. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In Denver, a city with almost 400,000 more people and four major league teams, Ryan O’Reilly blended in. Fans rarely recognized the new Sabres center on the street.
“I guess the market wasn’t the same as it is here, the excitement around,” O’Reilly said this morning inside the First Niagara Center after the Sabres reported to training camp for physicals.
In hockey-mad Buffalo, O’Reilly, a June 26 acquisition, keeps getting stopped by fans.... Read the full article
Jack Eichel (left) with Chris Masters, his Jr. Bruins coach. ©2015, Chris Masters
SUNRISE, Fla. – In the beginning, Jack Eichel’s development was slow. The greatest hockey prospect the United States has produced in perhaps a quarter century was simply a very talented child, one of the best around New England at 8 or 9 years old.
But he wasn’t a phenom.
“Since he was little, it’s been a slow progression from a very good player to an elite in his area, in New England and the USA ... Read the full article