WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Jack Eichel pins the Sabres’ woes on the players. ©2019, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – In less than five seasons with the Sabres, defenseman Zach Bogosian has already played for three coaches.
“Three coaches in this amount of years, you’ve got to really take a long, hard look (at yourself),” Bogosian said Monday, a day after the Sabres fired Phil Housley following an awful second half.
Not long ago, the Sabres were a model of coaching stability. Lindy Ruff lasted through three ownership regimes over 16 years. When ... Read the full article
Evan Rodrigues has enjoyed a productive stretch. ©2019, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Sabres center Evan Rodrigues figured David Quinn would stay put at Boston University until the coach guided the Terriers to a national championship.
Quinn’s success at the NCAA level, of course, generated plenty of interest from the NHL. Still, Rodrigues, whose dynamic exploits nearly helped BU win a title in 2015, enjoys a close relationship with Quinn.
“You can always go into his office and talk about anything to him,” Rodrigues said prior ... Read the full article
Jeff Skinner has scored 29 goals this season. ©2019, Hickling Images
Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner will be playing for the Atlantic Division in the upcoming NHL All-Star Game.
Skinner, the NHL’s second-leading goal scorer with 29, earned a spot today as part of the “Last Men In” online voting the NHL conducted for the last week.
More than 11.5 million votes were cast, including more than 2 million Thursday, the final day of voting, according to the league.... Read the full article
Jason Pominville is the only Sabre left from the 2006-07 team. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Martin Biron said he remembers it like it happened yesterday. After the Sabres’ stunning run of 10 consecutive wins to open the 2006-07 season ended, coach Lindy Ruff walked in the dressing room, looked around and grabbed a marker.
“Everybody’s heads were down, everybody was mad, everybody was angry that we had lost a game, right?” the former goalie said of the 5-4 shootout loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Oct. 28, 2006 ... Read the full article
The team presented Jason Pominville a silve sabre before the game. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Celebrations like the one the Sabres threw for Jason Pominville’s 1,000-game milestone often mean a long, distinguished career is entering its final stage.
These days, with 30 being considered old by NHL standards, very few players possess longevity like Pominville’s. Even fewer keep producing offense like they’re still in their mid-20s.
But right now, Pominville, a winger who has compiled 285 goals and 710 points over his NHL seasons, looks like he’s still ... Read the full article
Jason Pominville celebrates a goal last week. ©2018, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Of all the places it could’ve been played, it turns out Jason Pominville will hit the prestigious 1,000-game mark tonight in Ottawa, the site of the winger’s signature moment, the dynamic short-handed overtime goal against the powerhouse Senators that pushed the underdog Sabres into the 2006 Eastern Conference final.
“(I) had some great, great moments there, probably my best moment as a player there,” Pominville said earlier this week inside KeyBank Center. “The ... Read the full article
Remi Elie made his Sabres debut Saturday. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – In his 91-game NHL career, Remi Elie has compiled seven goals and 21 points. The Dallas Stars utilized him as a checker, a role he continued Saturday as a fourth-line winger in his Sabres debut.
But in Elie, 23, Phil Housley sees a youngster who possesses the talents to morph into a scorer. Since the Sabres claimed him on waivers Tuesday, the coach has been praising the former second-round pick.
“When he gets ... Read the full article
Kevyn Adams passed on other opportunities to run the Jr. Sabres. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – When the Sabres dismissed Kevyn Adams in 2013 following a short run as an assistant coach, he said he kept asking himself the same question.
“How do I make the biggest difference over this next chapter of my career?” Adams would say.
Not surprisingly, Adams had options to stay in hockey. Adams, whose playing days ended in 2008, earned loads of respect carving out an 11-year NHL career, mostly as a fourth-liner with ... Read the full article
Casey Mittelstadt hasn’t played a game in weeks. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Right away, center Casey Mittelstadt’s new teammates reached out and welcomed the slick prospect to the Sabres.
So shortly after Mittelstadt signed his entry-level contract Tuesday, center Jack Eichel took him to lunch. Hours later, winger Sam Reinhart had dinner with Mittelstadt, his new linemate.
Mittelstadt, 19, will make his NHL debut tonight against the Detroit Red Wings inside KeyBank Center. In a miserable season widely regarded as the franchise’s worst ever, ... Read the full article
Sean Malone played one NHL game last season. ©2017, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Before Sabres prospect Sean Malone knew it, his short taste of the NHL, the finishing touch on his whirlwind season, was over.
On April 6, the West Seneca native played his 115th and final game with Harvard, a 2-1 loss to Minnesota Duluth in the semifinal of the NCAA Tournament. Two days later, Malone debuted with the Sabres, skating 12 minutes, 12 seconds in their 3-0 road loss to the Florida Panthers.... Read the full article
