Offseason Edition
Ryan Miller is Buffalo’s all-time wins leader. ©2021, Dan Hickling
Ryan Miller felt he owed something to Buffalo. Having arrived as a 22-year-old fresh out of Michigan State, the ex-Sabres goalie experienced a lot of firsts in the city.
“Buffalo is always going to have a big part of my heart,” an emotional Miller said on a Zoom call Thursday to announce his retirement at the conclusion of this season. “I feel like I really grew up there.”
So Miller, the Sabres’ all-time wins leader, ... Read the full article
Kevyn Adams passed on other opportunities to run the Jr. Sabres. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – When the Sabres dismissed Kevyn Adams in 2013 following a short run as an assistant coach, he said he kept asking himself the same question.
“How do I make the biggest difference over this next chapter of my career?” Adams would say.
Not surprisingly, Adams had options to stay in hockey. Adams, whose playing days ended in 2008, earned loads of respect carving out an 11-year NHL career, mostly as a fourth-liner with ... Read the full article
Alex Tuch battles Buffalo’s Josh Gorges on Saturday afternoon. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – When Alex Tuch mentioned the number of fans who would be watching him play Saturday afternoon, no one was sure if the Syracuse native was joking.
“Maybe a little bit more than 400,” the Vegas Golden Knights rookie winger said Friday.
Cheering sections for local players and even some from further locales are common at KeyBank Center. Following games, family and friends often congregate around the Zamboni entrance and wait for their hero ... Read the full article
Patrick Kaleta is keeping the door open to playing again. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – For the last “crazy” little while, Patrick Kaleta said, when fans spot him around town, they greet the former Sabres agitator with the same questions.
“People see me, they say, ‘What are you doing here? Your team is practicing. Your team is playing,’” Kaleta told the Times Herald on Monday.
The affable Kaleta, who played 348 games with the Sabres, said he smiles and tells them he has a new job with ... Read the full article
Taylor Fedun is a productive AHL defenseman. ©2016, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – Had Taylor Fedun been healthy enough to participate in training camp, then perhaps the Sabres would’ve recalled the high-scoring defenseman earlier this season.
But Fedun, who made his Sabres debut Thursday, fractured his foot in April playing with the Utica Comets, the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate. The Princeton product didn’t begin skating again until the day before training camp started, Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said.
So while Fedun, 28, participated in meetings with ... Read the full article
Casey Nelson struggled in limited action. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Had Taylor Fedun been healthy enough to participate in training camp, then perhaps the Sabres would’ve recalled the defenseman earlier this season.
But Fedun, who will make his Sabres debut tonight, fractured his foot in April. He didn’t skate again until the day before training camp started, coach Dan Bylsma said.
After finally joining Sabres practices Oct. 1, Fedun said he was still behind a week or two following his assignment Rochester Americans ... Read the full article
Nick Baptiste scored 13 goals last season. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Nick Baptiste understands coming off consecutive 40-goal junior seasons, his rookie campaign with the Rochester Americans looks a bit underwhelming.
“Whenever you go from 40 goals to 13, it’s obviously a pretty steep decline,” Baptiste said Friday after rookie camp opened inside HarborCenter. “But it’s a different league. It’s pro hockey. You’re playing against 30-year-old men versus 18-year-old boys. It’s a lot different.”
For two years, Baptiste, 21, was quietly one ... Read the full article
Patrick Kaleta spent all of last season in Rochester. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – As a 30-year-old grinder still searching for a contract, Patrick Kaleta understands his 10-year career could already be over. The passionate former Sabres winger talks openly about the inevitable end and how he is prepared for his post-playing life.
“I’m lucky enough that I love hockey and I’ll die for the sport,” Kaleta said Wednesday after skating inside HarborCenter. “I’ll die playing the sport, especially for my team. That’s how much my team ... Read the full article
Patrick Kaleta has played only 26 games with Rochester. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
ROCHESTER – Patrick Kaleta smirked before pausing 10 seconds. The popular former Buffalo Sabres winger kept searching for the right word to describe his first full AHL season since 2006-07, his rookie year.
The oft-injured agitator, a veteran of 348 NHL games, never found one.
“Kind of hard to put a word on it,” Kaleta said Friday inside the Blue Cross War Memorial. “But with what I can kind of control playing-wise, I did what ... Read the full article
Ryan O’Reilly was named team MVP Friday. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In his first season as coach, Dan Bylsma has experienced so much excitement surrounding the Sabres he wonders how crazy it would feel if his team becomes a contender again.
The Sabres, of course, will miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Still, to a rabid fan base yearning for postseason hockey, the progress the Sabres have made this season – they’ve improved 25 points with newcomers Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly and ... Read the full article
