Rochester Americans - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres’ Rasmus Ristolainen back in Buffalo, but for how long?

BUFFALO – Rasmus Ristolainen rarely says much. On a good day, if you see the Sabres defenseman, he might answer a question by offering a couple vanilla sentences.

So if Ristolainen talks to the media today after training camp opens, we probably won’t learn much about his conversations with the Sabres over the summer or how he spent the last five months.

Does Ristolainen, 24, feel like he needs a change of scenery? Did he ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Casey Fitzgerald showcases speed, fighting skills

BUFFALO – After watching his son, Casey, unleash some wild haymakers Monday afternoon, Tom Fitzgerald congratulated the Sabres prospect on his first pro fight.

“He just said, ‘Good scrap, you didn’t get that from me, you got that from your mother,’” Casey Fitzgerald said of his father, who played 1,097 NHL games. “I got a good laugh from that. It was good to see him after, have him here.”

Tom Fitzgerald fought just seven times ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s recovery ‘right on track’

BUFFALO – Top Sabres goalie prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is “right on track” in his recovery from hip surgery, assistant general manager Randy Sexton said.

“He’s making great progress,” Sexton said prior to Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins in the Prospects Challenge rookie tournament.

Still, Luukkonen will miss training camp. When the Finn underwent surgery in April, the Sabres said he would make a full recovery in six months.

They intend on sticking ... Read the full article

Prospect Brett Murray’s commitment to conditioning impresses Sabres

BUFFALO – Not long ago, the Sabres made a deal with Brett Murray, a prospect whose commitment to conditioning wasn’t up to pro standards.

“What we told him was, ‘Look, you have to make the commitment. If you make a commitment and we see it in development camp, we’ll bring you to the rookie tournament,’” Sabres assistant general manager Randy Sexton said prior to Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins inside Harborcenter.

The ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Matej Pekar tenacious presence in return to ice

BUFFALO – Matej Pekar couldn’t stop smiling. After eight months anxiously waiting on the sideline, the Sabres prospect was just hours away from playing a game again.

“It definitely feels like forever,” Pekar said prior to Friday’s 6-4 win over the New Jersey Devils in the Prospects Challenge opener. “I haven’t played a game since January.”

On Jan. 10, the affable Pekar, 19, broke his collarbone with the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts, ending his ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Matej Pekar ready for first game action in eight months

BUFFALO – Matej Pekar couldn’t stop smiling. After eight months anxiously waiting on the sideline, the Sabres prospect will finally play a game again tonight.

“It definitely feels like forever,” Pekar said this morning after the Sabres prepared for their Prospects Challenge opener against the New Jersey Devils inside Harborcenter. “I haven’t played a game since January.”

On Jan. 10, the affable Pekar, 19, broke his collarbone with the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts, ending ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect Victor Olofsson ready to battle for roster spot

BUFFALO – A splendid rookie season in which winger Victor Olofsson scored 30 goals in the AHL and earned a promotion to the Sabres raised expectations this year.

How many former seventh-round picks are expected to not only secure an NHL roster spot after one year, but also contribute offense on a scoring line? Not many.

Following four seasons in the Swedish Hockey League, Olofsson, 24, acclimated to North American hockey right away in 2018-19, ... Read the full article

Henri Jokiharju impressed Sabres GM Jason Botterill before up-close look

BUFFALO – Sabres general manager Jason Botterill knew of Henri Jokiharju’s talents before he watched the defenseman up close during Team Finland’s run to a gold medal at the World Championship in the spring.

So even if Botterill hadn’t run Team Canada’s entry in Slovakia, the Sabres still might’ve dished winger Alexander Nylander to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Jokiharju on July 9.

“It certainly helps things out to see a player play on ... Read the full article

Sabres re-sign Remi Elie to one-year, two-way contract

BUFFALO – The Sabres have re-signed winger Remi Elie to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000, the team announced today.

Elie and the Sabres settled after this morning’s arbitration hearing.

The Sabres utilized Elie sparingly after claiming him off waivers from the Dallas Stars on Oct. 2, playing him only 16 times before sending him to the AHL in the winter. After recording one assist with the Sabres, the former second-round pick compiled eight goals ... Read the full article

Amerks sign Cheektowaga’s Frank Hora to AHL contract

The Rochester Americans have signed defenseman Frank Hora and forward Shaw Boomhower to one-year AHL contracts, the Buffalo Sabres’ affiliate announced today.

Hora, a Cheektowaga native, spent last season with the ECHL’s Reading Royals, compiling two goals, 17 points and 36 penalty minutes in 70 games.

The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Hora, who attended Buffalo’s development camp in 2016, also made one AHL appearance with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.... Read the full article