WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Calder Cup Playoffs Edition
Tage Thompson has scored 12 goals this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Coach Don Granato knew it would happen again. COVID-19 has been clobbering the NHL, forcing hundreds of players into protocol over the past several weeks, including 11 Sabres.
“When’s it going to happen to the next guy the way it’s going around the league and around the world?” Granato said following Monday’s practice. “It happens today.”
On Monday, shortly after prospect Jack Quinn joined the Sabres, top center Tage Thompson, the team’s leading ... Read the full article
Anders Bjork has scored four goals this season. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Over his first 44 games with the Sabres, winger Anders Bjork has struggled to maintain consistency, mostly showcasing flashes of his talent.
Bjork, 25, scored opening night before beginning a 10-game goalless stretch. After scoring in back-to-back contests, he endured a 12-game goal drought in which he was scratched twice.
Sabres coach Don Granato said Bjork must learn to regularly imprint his identity as a player – “His is speed and quickness,” he ... Read the full article
Jacob Bryson has missed two games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Coach Don Granato breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday, as zero Sabres entered the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Henri Jokiharju, who was held out of Tuesday’s practice as the team awaited test results, skated in Wednesday’s session, giving the Sabres a full defense corps.
“It was a relief on many fronts, just even to run a better practice with six full D,” Granato said of no one entering protocol. “But … they go into ... Read the full article
JJ Peterka played his first two NHL games last week. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
Fresh off his first two NHL appearances, Buffalo Sabres prospect JJ Peterka returned to the AHL brimming with confidence. In two weekend outings, the German recorded two goals and five points for the Rochester Americans.
On Monday, the AHL recognized Peterka’s standout performances, naming him its Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday.
Hours after the Sabres returned Peterka, 19, to the Amerks on Saturday, he registered one goal and three points in ... Read the full article
Don Granato caught a flight to Boston on Saturday morning. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
Don Granato’s Saturday began in the predawn hours in Buffalo. The coach knew he was close to clearing the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. So receiving good test results meant he join the Sabres in Boston for their matinee.
“I was waiting literally minute by minute in hopes of being here,” Granato said on a Zoom call prior to the Sabres’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Bruins at TD Garden.
When Granato received clearance, he hopped on ... Read the full article
Don Granato missed two games. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres coach Don Granato has left the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol and will be behind the bench for this afternoon’s road game against the Boston Bruins.
In addition, wingers Vinnie Hinostroza and Jeff Skinner will return to the lineup after leaving protocol Friday and practicing.
Granato, who missed two games after testing positive Sunday, said he feels “really good.”
Ethan Prow played in Germany last season before joining Buffalo’s organization. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sabres defenseman Ethan Prow spent much of his 20s toiling in the AHL, posting gaudy numbers and never earning even a cup of coffee in the NHL.
In 2018-19, Prow morphed into one of the league’s elite offensive defensemen, registering 18 goals and 50 points. The next year, after changing organizations, he recorded nine goals and 32 points during a shortened campaign.
A call to the big leagues never materialized, and last season, ... Read the full article
Alex Tuch, shown here in November, is fulfilling a dream by playing for Buffalo. ©2021
BUFFALO – The result doesn’t matter. That the undermanned Sabres lost 4-3, even to the reeling New Jersey Devils, wasn’t surprising. The rebuilding team has six players in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol and played its first game in 12 days.
Wednesday was about the debuts of Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, JJ Peterka and what their presence represents for the Sabres’ future.
After a decade of futility, the Sabres finally seem to be adding the right ... Read the full article
Ethan Prow has spent most of his career in the AHL. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Make that four. In addition to forwards Peyton Krebs, JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch, it appears another player, defenseman Ethan Prow, will be making his Sabres debut tonight.
Like Peterka, Prow, 29, has never played in the NHL. Ironically, Peterka and Prow were teammates last season with Red Bull Munich, a Deutsche Eishockey Liga team.
The Sabres this morning recalled Prow to the taxi squad and Casey Fitzgerald to the active roster because ... Read the full article
JJ Peterka is one of Buffalo’s top prospects. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In the Sabres’ recent history, games as significant as tonight’s can be counted on one hand. How often have three highly regarded young players – in this case, forwards Peyton Krebs, JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch – all made their debuts together?
Their presence illustrates that after a decade of futility, maybe – just maybe – a franchise known for dysfunction is starting to get things rights.
In less than a year, the ... Read the full article
