WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
February Edition
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
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen missed Wednesday’s game in Rochester. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Top goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s highly anticipated NHL debut could take place this weekend, Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said.
The Sabres have become woefully thin in net, losing Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton to injuries after trading Jonas Johansson.
If Luukkonen hadn’t suffered a lower-body injury with the Rochester Americans, the Sabres likely would’ve recalled him before Thursday’s 5-2 road win over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Center. The Finn missed ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn has played 11 games with Rochester. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
In scoring his second goal as a pro, Buffalo Sabres prospect Jack Quinn showcased some of the slick skills that made him the eighth overall pick in 2020.
On Saturday, Quinn utilized his speed to beat a Syracuse Crunch defender down the right wing before his hard backhander from the edge of the slot cemented the Rochester Americans’ 5-3 road win.
But Quinn’s willingness to cut to the net and go to the so-called “dirty ... Read the full article
Steven Fogarty has an opportunity to stick in Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – There was no wild celebration. Not even a fist pump.
When Sabres winger Steven Fogarty scored his first NHL goal on Wednesday, he reacted as if he had done it 100 times. A smiling Fogarty simply raised his stick, pointed to defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and shared a few fist bumps with his teammates.
By the time he started skating back to the bench, his grin had disappeared.
“It just happened so quick and ... Read the full article
Jack Quinn was a difference-maker Thursday. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – Seth Appert’s gut told him rookie Jack Quinn deserved an opportunity to follow C.J. Smith in the shootout.
After starting his pro debut slowly, Quinn, 19, grew comfortable as Thursday’s game progressed. Late in the third period, the Sabres prospect created Steven Fogarty’s tying power-play goal for the Americans.
So when Appert needed a second shooter after Smith scored, he wanted to utilize Quinn, an ultra-talented winger Buffalo drafted eighth overall last year.... Read the full article
Will Borgen just played his first two NHL games since 2018-19. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In his first shifts in nearly a year, Sabres defenseman Will Borgen said he was breathing heavy.
Nothing, of course, can replicate game action, and Borgen, 24, hadn’t experienced any since March 11 as a member of the Rochester Americans.
“Just not used to the speed, controlling my energy,” Borgen said of the early moments of Monday’s 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders at KeyBank Center.
But Borgen, who had spent the ... Read the full article