WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Calder Cup Playoffs Edition
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby began his North American career in Hershey. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – After the Washington Capitals demoted Axel Jonsson-Fjallby earlier this week, he began preparing for his fourth season with the Hershey Bears.
Jonsson-Fjallby, who had to clear waivers to join the AHL team, traveled to Pennsylvania and found an apartment Monday. He and his girlfriend were driving to pick up furniture when he learned the Sabres had claimed him off waivers.
“At first, I couldn’t really believe it,” an excited Jonsson-Fjallby said Tuesday in ... Read the full article
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played two preseason games. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – On the surface, goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s preseason looks disappointing. Instead of forcing the Sabres to keep him, they demoted the Finn to the minors 10 days before opening night.
Luukkonen, 22, compiled a 0-2-0 record in two starts, allowing five goals in each game.
Still, coach Don Granato said Luukkonen, one of seven players the Sabres sent to the Rochester Americans on Tuesday, enjoyed “a great camp.”
“In a progressive way,” Granato ... Read the full article
Dustin Tokarski played 13 games for Buffalo last season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Very quietly, Sabres goalie Dustin Tokarski has enjoyed a stellar training camp, allowing just one goal in nearly 53 minutes of preseason action.
Tokarski, 32, has outplayed newcomer Aaron Dell in the competition for the backup job behind Craig Anderson.
Tokarski will start tonight’s road exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Penguins before Dell relieves him. Another strong outing by Tokarski could cement a roster spot.
Earlier today, the Sabres sent top goalie ... Read the full article
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is considered Buffalo’s goalie of the future. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Top goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was among six players the Sabres sent to the Rochester Americans this morning.
The Sabres also assigned forwards Matej Pekar, Ryan MacInnis, Sean Malone and Linus Weissbach and defenseman Oskari Laaksonen to their AHL affiliate.
The Amerks open training camp today. The Sabres, meanwhile, play a road preseason game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.... Read the full article
Mark Pysyk spent his first four NHL seasons in Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Sometimes, Mark Pysyk said, it seems like he only left the Sabres a week ago. Other times, however, he acknowledged it feels like it has been a long time.
The Sabres, who signed a one-year, $900,000 contract to return, left in 2016. Only one teammate from the affable defenseman’s first run here, center Zemgus Girgensons, is still with the team.
“I see him walking around, the way he plays, his body takes a ... Read the full article
J-J Peterka scored late in Tuesday’s win. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres prospect J-J Peterka couldn’t stop smiling.
Yes, he had only experienced a preseason victory. And his late goal in Tuesday’s come-from-behind, 5-4 shootout triumph doesn’t officially count in the record books.
Still, for Peterka, linemate Jack Quinn and the other youngsters who buoyed the Sabres to an unlikely win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the exhibition opener likely holds a lot of meaning.
The Sabres roared back in the third period, erasing a ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn will play right wing tonight. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In a year or two, after wingers J-J Peterka and Jack Quinn acclimate to pro hockey, they could flank center Dylan Cozens on the Sabres’ No. 1 trio.
But right now, the intriguing line is simply an experiment for tonight’s preseason opener in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. Instead of putting the talented youngsters beside veterans, Sabres coach Don Granato wants them to learn on their own.
While Cozens, 20, played 41 NHL ... Read the full article
©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Three years into his NHL career, Sabres winger Victor Olofsson is already sporting his third number.
The Swede recently switched to No. 71 after having No. 68 for two seasons. He also briefly wore No. 41 for his first six NHL games late in the 2018-19 season.
Why did Olofsson pick new digits? When he broke into the NHL, No. 71, one of his favorite numbers, was worn by Evan Rodrigues, a forward ... Read the full article
Rasmus Dahlin feels good about Buffalo’s future. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin sees something special in the Sabres’ latest rebuild. The roster upheaval created an opportunity for their young core players to transform the team.
Jake McCabe, Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Ristolainen and Linus Ullmark – four pieces of the old nucleus – are gone. Jack Eichel will likely be the next to leave.
So Dahlin, Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt and some other Sabres in their early 20s now form the ... Read the full article
Zemgus Girgensons is the longest-tenured Sabre. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Over the years, Zemgus Girgensons grew close to Rasmus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart, two of his many ex-Sabres teammates.
Girgensons and Ristolainen joined the NHL together as teenage rookies in 2013. Reinhart arrived two years later.
Before the Sabres traded them in July, they became a part of Girgensons’ everyday life. In his first days back at the rink this season, he still expects to see them.
“I walk around and I think ... Read the full article
