Rochester Americans - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Report: Sabres loan Rasmus Asplund to Swedish team

The Buffalo Sabres have loaned center prospect Rasmus Asplund to Västerås IK, a second-tier team in his native Sweden, according to HockeyNews.se.

The move gives Asplund, 22, an opportunity to play while he waits for the 2020-21 North American season to begin. He can return to the Sabres whenever training camp opens.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the NHL and AHL to target early December as a possible start date instead of October.... Read the full article

Coach Seth Appert confident Amerks can develop talent for Sabres and win

After 11 years at RPI, Seth Appert said he started to slip. The coach of a small college is responsible for the entire program, meaning he is essentially a CEO.

“There’s so much you do that isn’t coaching that can grind you down that you don’t even realize,” Appert said on a Zoom call Tuesday, shortly after the Rochester Americans announced him as their new head coach.

Appert recruited more kids than the premier NCAA ... Read the full article

Sabres loan prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to Finnish team

The Buffalo Sabres have loaned top goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to HC TPS, a Finnish Elite League team.

The move gives Luukkonen, 21, an opportunity to practice and play while he waits for the 2020-21 North American season to begin. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the AHL to target Dec. 5 as a possible start date instead of October.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Luukkonen shuttled between the AHL and ECHL as a rookie in 2019-20, playing ... Read the full article

Report: Sabres hire Seth Appert to coach Amerks

The Buffalo Sabres have hired Seth Appert, who coached the last three seasons in USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, as the Rochester Americans’ new head coach, according to The Buffalo News.

Appert, 46, spent 11 years as R.P.I.’s coach before joining the NTDP in 2017.

Kevyn Adams fired former Amerks coach Chris Taylor and his staff hours after taking over as Sabres general manager June 16. Taylor, who was hired by former Sabres ... Read the full article

Impressive AHL season earns Sabres prospect Brett Murray NHL contract

Forward Brett Murray has parlayed his strong rookie season with the Rochester Americans into a contract from the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres today announced the 6-foot-5, 236-pound Murray has signed a two-year, entry-level deal. Murray, 22, played on an AHL contract with the Amerks last season, scoring nine goals and 24 points in 55 games.

“Brett acclimated very well to the AHL and showed continued improvement throughout the season,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said ... Read the full article

Former Sabre Sean Malone ready for fresh opportunity with Predators

If the Buffalo Sabres hadn’t cleaned house last month, firing 22 people, including the AHL coaching staff he had built a strong relationship with over three seasons, center Sean Malone would’ve considered re-signing in the organization.

Kevyn Adams, Jason Botterill’s replacement, is the Sabres’ fourth GM since they drafted the West Seneca native in the sixth round in 2013.

“It’s hard to keep climbing up the ladder when you’re starting over new every ... Read the full article

West Seneca’s Sean Malone signs two-way contract with Predators

Forward Sean Malone’s time in the Buffalo Sabres organization has ended.

The West Seneca native has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators for the 2020-21 season, the team announced today.

Malone, 25, spent the last three seasons with the Rochester Americans, compiling 28 goals and 65 points in 169 games. The Harvard graduate played one game with the Sabres, jumping straight to the NHL shortly after his college career ended in 2017.... Read the full article

Sabres fired Amerks coach Chris Taylor with no explanation

The call lasted less than a minute. Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams simply informed Chris Taylor he was being fired as Rochester Americans coach, offering no details into the sudden dismissal.

Taylor was stunned. Following a successful three-year run in which the Amerks reestablished themselves as an AHL heavyweight, the Sabres let him go Tuesday with no explanation.

“It was very short, fast, why they felt that they wanted a clean slate,” Taylor told ... Read the full article

Sabres’ decision to fire Amerks coach Chris Taylor looks foolish

In 2017, former general manager Jason Botterill and his assistant, Randy Sexton, took an unusual first step in rebuilding the Buffalo Sabres’ struggling AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

Barely a year after the Sabres’ previous regime had let Chris Taylor go as an assistant coach from the Amerks, Botterill and Sexton, who also served as Rochester’s GM, rehired him as head coach.

The move made sense. Taylor, who was fired again Tuesday, spent his ... Read the full article

Disconnect with Pegulas costs Jason Botterill job as Sabres GM

If the NHL could’ve held its draft as scheduled next week, Jason Botterill would likely still be employed as the Buffalo Sabres’ general manager. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to postpone the annual event until the fall.

The extra time gave Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula an opportunity to discuss and plan the team’s future – “Really start digging in,” Kim Pegula said on a Zoom call Tuesday to discuss Botterill’s firing ... Read the full article