WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Training Camp Edition
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
Rochester coach Seth Appert, shown here standing behind center Mason Jobst, knows his players will benefit from a long playoff run. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – Before the Americans staved off elimination by defeating the Hershey Bears on Wednesday, coach Seth Appert asked his assistants and some veterans how many times they had competed in a conference finals or championship.
Michael Peca, who played 13 seasons and captained the Buffalo Sabres to the Stanley Cup final in 1999, told him three. Mike Weber, who played 10 years, said he never advanced that far. Defenseman Matt Bartkowski, a ... 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
Victor Olofsson has scored 21 goals this season. ©2023, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – At times this season, Sabres winger Victor Olofsson has battled adversity and the perception he’s too one-dimensional.
For stretches, he has struggled at even strength and lost ice time, doing little to dispel the belief he’s simply a power-play guy who possesses a lethal shot.
Still, 45 games into the campaign, Olofsson has already registered a career-high 21 goals.... Read the full article
Ryan Miller will be the last Sabres player to wear No. 30. ©2023, Dan Hickling
BUFFALO – Growing up, Sabres legend Ryan Miller said he usually wore No. 30. Mike Gilmore, a Michigan State goalie he liked, sported it. So did some of the NHL’s best netminders at the time.
But when Miller reached junior hockey in 1997, an older goalie for the Soo Indians had the digits.
“There’s not a chance I’m getting that number,” Miller said Thursday after the Sabres retired his No. 30 and inducted him into ... Read the full article
The Sabres celebrated Ryan Miller by winning Thursday’s game. ©2023
BUFFALO – It was only fitting, right? On a night the Sabres honored Ryan Miller by retiring his No. 30 and inducting him into their Hall of Fame, the goalies stole the show in the home team’s thrilling 3-2 overtime victory.
At one end, rookie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, the Sabres’ best young netminder since Miller in the early 2000s, made several game-saving stops. Meanwhile, New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin made 19 of his 42 saves ... Read the full article
Ryan Miller had to learn how to limit his workload in practice. ©2023, Dan Hickling
BUFFALO – Having played with Dominik Hasek in Detroit, Matt Ellis learned firsthand how his legendary work ethic helped make him perhaps the greatest goalie in history.
When Ellis arrived here in 2008, he quickly noticed that goalie Ryan Miller, whose No. 30 was retired by the Sabres prior to Thursday’s 3-2 overtime win against the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center, possessed a similar drive to be the best.
“The thing that jumped ... Read the full article
Ryan Miller won the Vezina Trophy in 2009-10. ©2023, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Over the past year, the Sabres have thrived off the energy the raucous home crowd creates for special occasions. Think of Jack Eichel’s return and “RJ Night.”
Expect them to get a boost tonight against the New York Islanders after the Sabres retire legendary goalie Ryan Miller’s No. 30 and induct him into their Hall of Fame.
The ceremony, of course, promises to be very emotional.... Read the full article
Ryan Miller played 48 games as a rookie in 2005-06. ©2023, Janet Schultz
BUFFALO – Martin Biron remembers worrying about himself, not the arrival of Ryan Miller or any looming goalie battle, when the NHL lockout ended in 2005.
In 1999, the Sabres had used a fifth-round pick on a lanky American – “Took a flier on him,” former goalie coach Jim Corsi told the Times Herald – who would develop into a dynamic prospect.
“We drafted this young man, he was so skinny he had to run ... Read the full article
Kyle Okposo models Buffalo’s new third jersey. ©2022, Buffalo Sabres
Having grown up a rabid Buffalo Sabres fan in the early 2000s, the team’s black and red “Goathead” jersey holds special meaning for winger Alex Tuch.
“Definitely my favorite jersey (of all-time),” a smiling Tuch said Monday after the Sabres unveiled a new black and red jersey modeled after the uniforms they wore from 1996 to 2006.
The Sabres, of course, also recently introduced a blue and gold Reverse Retro alternate white jersey with the ... Read the full article
