WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Training Camp Edition
Kevin Adams has been deliberate in constructing the Sabres. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – This offseason, general manager Kevyn Adams is having different conversations with his counterparts as he works to improve the Sabres.
Having watched his team record 91 points and fall two points short of a playoff spot in 2022-23, he said he’s examining “every possible scenario.”
That wasn’t the case as the Sabres went through a two-year rebuild. But after enjoying their best season in 12 years, they’re a different mode this summer.
Malcolm Subban focuses on the action in Sunday afternoon’s game. ©2023, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – Americans goalie Malcolm Subban chose to talk more about the team than himself.
Subban performed splendidly in Sunday afternoon’s 4-0 win over the Syracuse Crunch, making 31 saves in the Amerks’ first shutout in the Calder Cup Playoffs in 19 years. At 29, he has enjoyed a terrific comeback season, playing a career-high 43 games, including all four playoff contests, for the Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate.
Following a subpar outing in Friday’s 8-5 ... Read the full article
Eric Comrie played 19 games in his first season in Buffalo. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Nothing could ruin Eric Comrie’s season. Not the goalie’s first significant injury. Not losing the starting job or falling to fourth on the Sabres’ depth chart.
He played just eight of the final 65 games after going down in mid-November. In one of his appearances, he allowed 10 goals. Following rookie goalie Devon Levi’s arrival, he did not play in the final nine contests.
Comrie, 27, faces an uncertain future. Levi, ... Read the full article
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen began the season in Rochester before being recalled to Buffalo. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In his four-year pro career, Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has never played a postseason game.
The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs two straight years. Last year, Luukkonen suffered an injury late in the regular season and missed the Rochester Americans’ 10-game playoff run.
This year, the Sabres did not make Luukkonen, who started the season in Rochester, available to the Amerks, who open the playoffs Friday.
Devon Levi compiled a 5-2-0 record for Buffalo after leaving college. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In his first days in the NHL, Sabres goalie Devon Levi looked so impressive that coach Don Granato kept riding the neophyte.
Levi, 21, turned heads in his debut March 31, so after starting Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen the next night, Granato utilized the newcomer for five consecutive do-or-die games before the Sabres were eliminated from playoff contention.
The Sabres’ reliance on Levi for a stretch of critical late-season contests raised some eyebrows. The ... Read the full article
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen won 17 games as a rookie. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – As the Sabres fought furiously for their first playoff berth in 12 years, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen figured he’d be called upon for a critical late-season game.
Luukkonen, after all, led the team in wins as a rookie this season. He played 33 contests, emerging as the starter following his recall in mid-November. He performed so well the Sabres kept three goalies on the roster for nearly three months.
The Finn won huge games ... Read the full article
Tage Thompson has scored 46 goals this season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – At the beginning of the season, fresh off a breakout 38-goal campaign, Sabres star Tage Thompson wanted duplicate last year’s career-best output.
“If I could get around the same as I got last year, it would be successful and (I’d) be pretty happy with that,” Thompson said prior to Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center, the Sabres’ home finale.
Well, Thompson, 25, hit the 30-goal mark Jan. 3, ... Read the full article
Craig Anderson, who joined Buffalo last season, is the NHL’s oldest player. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Pierre Groulx remembers Craig Anderson looked a bit unorthodox in his crease. Instead going down in the butterfly like many modern goalies, he might stand up to stop a shot. The two-pad stack was part of his repertoire.
“He was more of the old school style,” said Groulx, who first served as Anderson’s goalie coach with the Florida Panthers from 2006 to 2008. “… He was one of those guys that read the ... Read the full article
Devon Levi makes a save Friday. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – You must go back 11 years and about 820 games to find the last time the Sabres played a late-season contest as meaningful as tonight’s against the Florida Panthers.
Having gone 4-0-1 in their last five outings, the surging Sabres, given up for dead barely two weeks ago, have roared back into the thick of the playoff chase.
“We have gotten back to our identity,” Sabres coach Don Granato said following Monday’s practice ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn has enjoyed a strong rookie season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The subtle plays Sabres rookie Jack Quinn often makes belie his limited experience and showcase his growing maturity.
To wit: Sabres coach Don Granato said the winger has learned how to utilize his 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame and absorb a hit by taking his stick off the puck.
He said Quinn, who gives up size to many opponents, might move a foot while the puck could slide about two feet. Still, it’s within reach.... Read the full article
