Rochester Americans - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Taylor Hall returns to practice; Sabres add three players from Amerks

BUFFALO – Winger Taylor Hall, who was added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol-related absences list on Feb. 2, is practicing with the Sabres this morning inside KeyBank Center.

The Sabres still have eight players in the league’s COVID protocol. They’re scheduled to host the New York Islanders on Monday.

Hall, 29, is practicing at left wing beside center Eric Staal and Sam Reinhart. Jeff Skinner, meanwhile, is at left wing with top center Jack ... Read the full article

Sabres send C.J. Smith to Amerks, recall goalie again

The Buffalo Sabres assigned forward C.J. Smith from the taxi squad to the Rochester Americans this afternoon and recalled goalie Dustin Tokarski to the taxi squad.

This is the third straight day Smith and Tokarski have been involved in transactions.

The Sabres likely sent Smith, 26, to the Amerks so he can play in tonight’s road game against the Cleveland Monsters. They assigned him to the AHL on Wednesday, and he recorded an assist in ... Read the full article

Eric Staal’s experience shows Sabres’ Jack Quinn can develop with Amerks

BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Jack Quinn, the eighth overall pick last year, will be making his pro debut soon, Rochester Americans coach Seth Appert told WGR.

Quinn, 19, had to quarantine following his arrival last week from the Sabres, who began battling COVID-19 problems shortly before they sent him to the AHL. The winger missed two games.

The Amerks play a road contest Friday against the Cleveland Monsters.

Quinn spent the early part of ... Read the full article

Sabres recall C.J. Smith from Amerks, make another goalie move

BUFFALO – The Sabres recalled forward C.J. Smith to their taxi squad this morning and assigned goalie Dustin Tokarski from the taxi squad to the Rochester Americans.

The Sabres sent Smith, 26, to Rochester on Wednesday, and he recorded an assist for the Amerks in his season debut, a 4-3 win overtime win against the Syracuse Crunch.

Smith, who has 13 games of NHL experience, is practicing this morning inside KeyBank Center.... Read the full article

Sabres make goalie move, send C.J. Smith to Amerks

The Buffalo Sabres recalled goalie Dustin Tokarski to their taxi squad this afternoon and assigned forward C.J. Smith from the taxi squad to the Rochester Americans.

Tokarski, 31, was briefly on the taxi squad earlier this season. The veteran played in the Amerks’ season opener Friday, making 31 saves in a 3-2 loss to the Utica Comets.

Smith will likely play his first game this season at any level tonight for the Amerks, who host ... Read the full article

Sabres notes: Don Granato could move from behind bench

BUFFALO – When the Sabres play a game again, the chances of assistant coach Don Granato being behind the bench appear to be slim.

Granato, 53, missed nearly two months at the beginning of last season after he was hospitalized with severe pneumonia. He needed a ventilator and had a blood infection, according to The Buffalo News.

The Sabres have nine players on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol-related absences list. Coach Ralph Krueger, meanwhile, tested positive ... Read the full article

Sabres set to practice this afternoon

The Buffalo Sabres, who have nine players on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol-related absences list, will practice this afternoon for the first time in eight days.

The Sabres’ facilities have been closed since Tuesday, when the NHL postponed four games. The league postponed two more contests Monday.

Stay tuned for more details. General manager Kevyn Adams will speak to the media at 1 p.m. The Sabres are scheduled to practice at 1:15 p.m.... Read the full article

North Buffalo native Patrick Polino happy to begin pro career with Amerks

Four days before Rochester’s season opener, the Sabres recalled Jean-Sebastien Dea and C.J. Smith, taking two of the Americans’ top forwards for their taxi squad.

Later in the week, Jack Quinn, a winger Buffalo sent down, had to begin quarantining because he was with the Sabres when their COVID-19 problems began. Meanwhile, another forward the Amerks recently added, Remi Elie, was completing a mandatory quarantine following his arrival in Rochester.

Before the ... Read the full article

Amerks’ Arttu Ruotsalainen scores, looks like special prospect for Sabres

ROCHESTER – Having played 19 times earlier this season, Buffalo Sabres prospect Arttu Ruotsalainen has a strong advantage over most AHL players, many of whom haven’t experienced any game action for nearly a year.

Ruotsalainen, 23, enjoyed regular duty in his native Finland, morphing into perhaps Liiga’s biggest star. He left his team, Ilves, in December having scored a league-high 16 goals.

Not surprisingly, Ruotsalainen stood out in his North American debut Friday, scoring a ... Read the full article

Making of a coach: How Amerks’ Seth Appert went from college goalie to AHL

Seth Appert remembers feeling scared walking up the stairs that day almost 26 years ago inside Ferris State’s hotel.

A night earlier, as Miami was annihilating his school in a CCHA playoff game in Oxford, Ohio, Appert had approached his coach, Bob Daniels, during the second intermission.

Appert, a junior backup goalie, suggested to Daniels that Jeff Blashill, who had been pulled early from the blowout, should replace him. If Blashill re-entered the game, Appert ... Read the full article