WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Free Agency Edition
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
Mattias Samuelsson is expected to compete for a spot in Buffalo this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – A lower-body injury will sideline Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson for this afternoon’s Prospect Challenge game against the Boston Bruins, according to the team.
Samuelsson, 21, hobbled off the ice after blocking a shot late in Friday’s 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils and did not return. Following the game, coach Seth Appert said they believed Samuelsson would be OK.
Meanwhile, center Jack Quinn will also miss this afternoon’s contest at Harborcenter. Quinn, ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn played 15 games as a rookie with Rochester. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Jack Quinn acclimated to center right away as a rookie, recording two assists in his debut. Had the Sabres prospect not undergone season-ending hernia surgery in April, he would’ve closed the AHL campaign pivoting a line.
“He … was very, very good at it,” Rochester Americans coach Seth Appert said of Quinn’s two-game stint at center.
So Quinn, the eighth overall pick last year as a right wing, will be playing center during ... Read the full article
J-J Peterka arrived in Buffalo on Saturday. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Finally, after 10 months of waiting, Sabres prospect J-J Peterka was set to leave Germany and travel here to prepare for his first NHL training camp.
In normal times, of course, Peterka, 19, probably would’ve visited Buffalo two or three times over the last year. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the winger to stay home.
“I was so curious about it, so excited the whole last year,” a smiling Peterka said following Wednesday’s ... Read the full article
Buffalo drafted Jack Quinn last year. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres will be hosting the Prospects Challenge rookie tournament again from Sept. 17 to 19 at LECOM Harborcenter, the team announced today.
Last year, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Sabres to cancel the tournament.
The Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils will also be participating in the round-robin tournament. The Pittsburgh Penguins have dropped out.
Tickets for the games cost $10 and can be purchased at Sabres.com/Prospects.
Jack Quinn played 15 games for Rochester this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
During Jason Karmanos’ tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Sabres’ new associate general manager said he was “intimately involved” in the NHL Draft.
So Karmanos arrived in Buffalo last month with strong knowledge of the Sabres’ prospect base.
“I’m excited they’re here, because these are guys that I liked on my own and that our previous staff liked,” Karmanos said on a Zoom call Monday.
Karmanos, who was fired as Pittsburgh’s assistant GM on ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn played 15 games this season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – Before Sabres prospect Jack Quinn left the Rochester Americans earlier this week to undergo season-ending hernia surgery, coach Seth Appert said the rookie’s teammates gravitated to him and wanted to say goodbye.
In a normal year, Quinn, the eighth overall pick in 2020, wouldn’t have been eligible to play in the AHL. But the Ontario Hockey League’s COVID-19 pause created a unique opportunity for teenagers like Quinn to develop against men in ... Read the full article