WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
July Edition
Kevyn Adams knows he must make moves. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu
LAS VEGAS – In trading the 11th overall pick in tonight’s NHL Draft to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for the 14th and 42nd selections, general manager Kevyn Adams acquired more assets that could help him aggressively reshape the Sabres in the coming days.
After Thursday’s deal, the Sabres have nine picks this weekend at The Sphere, including two second-round selections (42nd and 43rd). They’ve also assembled a stable of strong prospects over the ... Read the full article
Macklin Celebrini talks Friday at the NHL Scouting Combine in LECOM Harborcenter. ©2024, Micheline Velvuolu
BUFFALO – College hockey is a man’s game. Sure, there are plenty of teenagers, but of the 64 NCAA Division 1 teams, just one, Boston College, had an average age under 21, according to College Hockey News.
By any standard, Macklin Celebrini, the presumptive first overall pick by the San Jose Sharks at the NHL Draft on June 28, enjoyed a dynamic freshman season in 2023-24.
The ultra-talented center scored 32 goals and 64 ... Read the full article
Cole Eiserman could be an intriguing choice for Buffalo if it keeps the 11th overall pick. ©2024, Micheline Veluvolu, IIHF-HHOF
The Buffalo Sabres stayed put in Tuesday’s NHL Draft Lottery, receiving the 11th overall pick.
The San Jose Sharks, who possessed the highest odds for the first selection, 18.5 percent, won the lottery and the right to select Boston University superstar Macklin Celebrini.
Mike Grier, a popular former Sabres winger, is San Jose’s general manager.... Read the full article
Ryan Miller’s No. 30 was retired by Buffalo last season. ©2023, Dan Hickling
Former Buffalo Sabres stars Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek are back in the NHL working for an old teammate, San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier.
Miller, 43, will scout draft-eligible goalies and assist Evgeni Nabokov in goaltender development, the Sharks announced Friday.
Meanwhile, Vanek, 39, will be an amateur scout in Minnesota.... Read the full article
Jason Pominville scored 19 goals in just 18 games for Rochester in 2005-06. ©2023, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – No one, it seems, except for perhaps Jason Pominville himself, could believe the Buffalo Sabres did it.
Sure, the team was stacked up front in 2005 as the NHL emerged from the lockout. But why would they waive Pominville, one of their top prospects? He was out of options, and if they wanted to assign him to the Americans again, he would have to clear.
Every other team would have a chance to ... Read the full article
Mike Grier played for San Jose in between his stints in Buffalo. ©2022, Dan Hickling
Popular former Sabres winger Mike Grier made history today, becoming the first Black general manager in NHL history when the San Jose Sharks hired him to replace Doug Wilson, who resigned in April.
Grier, 47, spent three full seasons and the end of another with the Sabres, becoming one of their most respected veterans. The Sabres haven’t made the playoffs 2010-11, his last season.
The American played three seasons with the Sharks in between his ... Read the full article
J.P. Dumont enjoyed a terrific series against Philadelphia in 2006. ©2020, Micheline Veluvolu
Four more “Sabres Classics” – this time Buffalo’s first-round playoff victories over the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006 – will be rebroadcast on MSG next week.
Following a shaky ending to the regular season, the upstart Sabres quickly sent a strong message to the NHL they would be Stanley Cup contenders by disposing of the Flyers in six games.
The games are being aired because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to suspend its season indefinitely ... Read the full article
Drew Stafford often skates on the fourth line. ©2019, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Former Sabres winger Drew Stafford still remembers the first time he saw Mike Grier.
It was the mid-1990s, more than a decade before they became teammates with the Sabres for two seasons. Stafford would sometimes help his uncle, Barry, the Edmonton Oilers’ equipment manager, as a stick boy. Grier, meanwhile, was just beginning his 14-year NHL career as a winger.
“I was like, ‘This is the largest human being I’ve even seen ... Read the full article
Drew Stafford has received limited action this season. ©2019, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Former Sabres winger Drew Stafford still remembers the first time he saw Mike Grier.
It was the mid-1990s, more than a decade before they became teammates with the Sabres for two seasons. Stafford would sometimes help his uncle, Barry, the Edmonton Oilers’ equipment manager, as a stick boy. Grier, meanwhile, was just beginning his 14-year NHL career as a winger.
“I was like, ‘This is the largest human being I’ve even seen ... Read the full article
Brian Gionta (left) receives a silver stick from Sabres general manager Tim Murray on Monday. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Tyler Ennis said undersized NHL players – a “brotherhood,” he called them – share “an unspoken bond.”
Small players, of course, have the odds stacked against them. Only they can truly understand what they endured to make the league.
Fifteen or 20 years ago, it was even tougher for them to crack the NHL. That’s why Ennis, who’s listed at 5-foot-9, grew up idolizing diminutive stars, including 5-foot-7 Sabres captain Brian ... Read the full article
