Taylor | Buffalo Hockey Beat

Ex-Sabres, Amerks defenseman Nathan Paetsch retires after 17 seasons

Former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Nathan Paetsch, who also spent parts of seven seasons with the Rochester Americans over three stints, has retired, the AHL club announced today.

The popular Paetsch, 37, played 870 games over 17 pro seasons, including 157 contests with the Sabres. He compiled 23 goals and 100 points in 258 career games with the Amerks.

Paetsch, who would sometimes moonlight as a forward, embraced a new role when he returned to ... Read the full article

Devils hire former Amerks coach Chris Taylor as assistant

The New Jersey Devils have hired former Rochester Americans head coach Chris Taylor as an assistant on Lindy Ruff’s staff, the team announced today.

Taylor played for Ruff over parts of four seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. Ruff, who was hired by New Jersey on July 9, also added Dave Rogalski as goalie coach to complete his staff.

Ruff named Mark Recchi and Alain Nasreddine his first assistants in September.

New Buffalo general manager Kevyn ... Read the full article

Ex-Sabres Adam Mair, Mike Weber ready for new challenge with Amerks

When the Buffalo Sabres named ex-Americans coach Chris Taylor an interim NHL assistant a year ago, Adam Mair moved from his role as a development coach to Rochester’s bench.

Mair, 41, said he had always aspired to become a bench coach, and the seven weeks he spent assisting interim coach Gord Dineen “confirmed the passion that I sought out to achieve right when I stopped playing.”

“Being on the bench was the best way for ... Read the full article

Amerks hire former Sabres Adam Mair, Mike Weber as assistant coaches

The Rochester Americans have hired former Buffalo Sabres forward Adam Mair and defenseman Mike Weber as assistant coaches on Seth Appert’s staff, the AHL affiliate announced today.

“Adam and Mike are perfect fits to help establish a winning culture and develop our players in the American Hockey League,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said in a statement. “They share the same philosophies as Seth in their approach to the game and will be valuable resources ... 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

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

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 strong relationships 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 year,” ... 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