WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
JJ Peterka skates during Monday’s practice. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The Sabres on Monday finalized their 23-man regular-season roster, sending goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and defenseman Lawrence Pilut to the minors and placing forward Riley Sheahan on injured reserve with a muscle injury.
That means wingers JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn, both of whom enjoyed dynamic rookie seasons with the Rochester Americans last year, have made the big club.
While Peterka did not stand out during training camp, the Sabres are confident he ... Read the full article
Lawrence Pilut is one of several defensemen Buffalo signed during the summer. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – The Sabres have likely known for months which seven defensemen will comprise their opening night roster.
Jacob Bryson, Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju, Casey Fitzgerald, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson entrenched themselves on the blue line last season. In signing Ilya Lyubushkin in free agency, the Sabres added a gritty veteran presence they lacked.
But what about the rest of the defense corps? Given the rugged nature of the position, defensemen are always at ... Read the full article
JJ Peterka could start the season in Buffalo. ©2022, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – After reassigning 23 players over the weekend, the Sabres nearly have their regular-season roster set.
On Monday, 28 players – 15 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goalies – practiced inside KeyBank Center. The Sabres held one session for the first time in training camp.
They must finalize their 23-man roster by 5 p.m. next Monday.
The Sabres, who have two preseason games left, starting with tonight’s home contest against the Carolina Hurricanes, have ... Read the full article
Riley Sheahan spent the 2020-21 season in Buffalo. ©2022, Micheline Veluovolu
The Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday added forward depth, bringing back veteran Riley Sheahan on a one-year, two-way contract worth $950,000 in the NHL.
Sheahan, 30, played 53 games for the Sabres in 2020-21 after parlaying a training camp tryout into a one-year contract. He will likely compete for a spot on the Sabres’ fourth line during camp, perhaps at center.
The Notre Dame product often skated as a fourth-line winger during his first stint in ... Read the full article
Linus Ullmark enjoyed a stellar season on a bad team in 2020-21. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The days of the Sabres trying to lure big-name free agents to Buffalo are over. When the market opens today, they’ll likely be bit players, focusing on filling some of their many holes and adding depth while attempting to re-sign goalie Linus Ullmark.
Ullmark’s departure would be a massive blow to the Sabres. The Swede, their backbone and MVP, earned nine of the team’s 15 wins last season in only 20 outings.
They don’t ... Read the full article
Buffalo drafted Brett Murray in 2016. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres rookie Brett Murray experienced an unconventional path to the NHL, moving backwards before taking small steps forward.
Three years ago, Murray, who made his NHL debut in Thursday’s 8-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, left Penn State and returned to junior. Before last season, after making a stronger commitment to his conditioning, he received an AHL contract.
Murray, a fourth-round pick in 2016, 99th overall, parlayed a solid rookie campaign with the ... Read the full article
Anders Bjork has played 13 games with Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – In a 14-minute stretch Tuesday, Sabres newcomer Anders Bjork erased the New York Islanders’ lead, scoring two goals.
First, Bjork redirected defenseman Colin Miller’s point shot past Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin late in the second period. Then Bjork scored from the right circle 10:56 into the third period, tying a game the Sabres would win 4-3 in a shootout.
What do both goals have in common? Bjork, 24, created them by tenaciously ... Read the full article
Linus Ullmark hasn’t played since April 13. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – After a lower-body injury sidelined goalie Linus Ullmark 15 games, he returned in late March and quickly morphed into the Sabres’ backbone again.
Then on April 13 in Boston, Ullmark, in his eighth appearance back, suffered a lower-body ailment stretching to make a save in the opening minutes. At first, he tried to play through the pain.
“When the pain never subsided and it was getting worse and worse, I couldn’t find any ... Read the full article
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen left Saturday’s game after the second period. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
After a solid few weeks, the Buffalo Sabres have started reminding everyone why they’ve occupied the NHL’s basement for months.
Saturday’s afternoon’s ugly 6-2 setback to the Boston Bruins was their fourth consecutive loss and fifth in the last six games.
In an outing reminiscent of the Ralph Krueger era, the Sabres looked disjointed all over the ice, allowing the Bruins to throttled them.
On top of their dismal performance, rookie goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen suffered ... Read the full article
Drake Caggiulla has started finding a groove in Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Having played for four teams in three seasons, Buffalo Sabres winger Drake Caggiula understands how fleeting opportunities can be in the NHL.
Caggiula, a prized college free agent in 2016, has bounced around since the Edmonton Oilers traded him in December 2018, playing for the Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes before the Sabres claimed him off waivers April 9.
The North Dakota product lasted only 27 games with the Coyotes after signing a one-year contract.... Read the full article
