WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Stretch Run Edition
Buffalo drafted Tyson Kozak in 2021. ©2022, Megan Connelly, Portland Winterhawks
The Buffalo Sabres on Friday signed forward Tyson Kozak, a seventh-round pick in 2021, 193rd overall, to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Kozak, 19, spent all of last season with the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks, setting career highs with 32 goals, 37 assists and 69 points in 66 contests while serving as captain. He also registered a team-high seven game-winning goals.
The 5-foot-11, 173-pound Kozak has compiled 48 goals and 109 points in 152 career ... Read the full article
Buffalo drafted Ryan Johnson (left) and Erik Portillo in 2019. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Right now, Ryan Johnson acknowledged he’s leaning toward returning to Minnesota for his senior season. Still, the defense prospect hasn’t ruled out turning pro. He plans to use this week’s development camp to evaluate the Sabres.
“I could kind of see where the organization is,” said Johnson, a first-round pick in 2019, 31st overall.
Johnson, who turns 21 on July 24, said if he goes back to college, he could eventually sign with ... Read the full article
Matt Murray won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
MONTREAL – The Buffalo Sabres must keep looking for another goalie.
A potential deal between the Sabres and Ottawa Senators involving Matt Murray was nixed because Buffalo is on the goalie’s 10-team no-trade list, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The Senators would’ve retained some of Murray’s salary and given the Sabres the seventh overall pick in tonight’s NHL Draft in exchange for the 16th selection, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.
“The reality is we worked ... Read the full article
Kevyn Adams is excited for his third NHL Draft as general manager. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – A year ago, the Sabres saw value in Russian prospects, so they drafted four of them, including three straight in the second and third rounds.
Taking a single Russian would’ve been notable; the Sabres hadn’t selected one in five years. Grabbing so many, especially early, indicated general manager Kevyn Adams would operate differently than his predecessors.
The world, of course, has changed a lot over the past year. Russia’s invasion of the ... Read the full article
Buffalo drafted Isak Rosen 14th overall in 2021. ©2022, Leksands IF
The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Isak Rosen, a first-round pick in 2021, 14th overall, to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Tuesday.
Rosen, 19, spent most of the 2021-22 season with Leksands IF, a Swedish Hockey League team, compiling two goals and four points in 28 games. He also registered four goals and nine points in eight outings for Leksands’ junior club.
The 5-foot-11, 159-pound Rosen played two games for Team Sweden’s ... Read the full article
Buffalo drafted Olivier Nadeau in 2021. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Olivier Nadeau, a fourth-round pick in 2021, 97th overall, to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Sunday.
Nadeau, 19, set career highs across the board this season, recording 35 goals, 43 assists and a team-high 78 points in 65 games for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Shawinigan Cataractes. His 17 power-play goals were tied for fourth in the league.
The 6-foot-2, 204-pound Nadeau also registered two goals, ... Read the full article
Kevyn Adams drafted four Russians last year. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres have signed winger Aleksandr Kisakov, a second-round pick in 2021, 53rd overall, to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Wednesday.
Kisakov, 19, led Dynamo Moskva, a junior MHL team in his native Russia, with 56 points and ranked second with 26 goals in 2021-22. He had a team-high seven points, all assists, in six playoff contests.
The 5-foot-10, 150-pound Kisakov also earned a four-game recall to Dynamo’s parent club in the ... Read the full article
Jerry Forton ran his first NHL Draft as Buffalo’s director of amateur scouting. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – You had to go back five years and 34 picks to find the last time the Sabres drafted a Russian.
Before they selected winger Prokhor Poltapov 33rd overall Saturday, they hadn’t drafted a Russian since winger Vasily Glotov in the seventh round in 2016.
Poltapov’s selection was harbinger. The Sabres used three straight picks on Russians and took four overall Saturday.
Later in the second round, the Sabres drafted winger Aleksandr Kisakov with ... Read the full article
The Sabres have nine picks today. ©2021, NHL
BUFFALO – The Sabres drafted Russian winger Prokhor Poltapov with the first pick of the second round, 33rd overall, this morning at the NHL Draft.
The 5-foot-11, 174-pound Poltapov, 18, recorded 25 goals and 52 points in 61 games last season with Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, a junior team in the MHL. Poltapov also registered two goals and seven points in seven contests for Team Russia at the World Under-18 Hockey Championship.
He also played one ... Read the full article
