BUFFALO – Right away, coach Lindy Ruff stopped the drill. The Sabres had gone offside, and even in the first session of training camp, that’s a no-no.
So Ruff told his players to get it right and gathered them for a quick chat. Later in Wednesday’s practice, he called for more puck support and halted another drill.
General manager Kevyn Adams and players have been preaching accountability, and on the first day of his second stint as Buffalo’s coach, Ruff illustrated he will demand it.
“Accountability is all about habits, and you can’t let anything go,” Sabres center Tage Thompson said following the session. “I think you let one thing go, then you let another thing go, it starts to develop into bad habits.”
For more than an hour on the KeyBank Center ice, Ruff put the Sabres’ main group – with their upcoming trip to Europe, the team’s regulars will be skating together – through a high-tempo practice usually reserved for later in camp.
“I thought everyone brought it today, including Lindy,” Sabres winger Alex Tuch said.
Ruff, the winningest coach in franchise history, was all business. He refused to feel nostalgic on the day he ran his first Sabres practice since Feb. 20, 2013.
Adams rehired Ruff in April to challenge and push an underachieving team that fell well short of expectations last season. That’s his sole focus. Prior to Wednesday’s session, instead of soaking in the familiar surroundings, he said having “one heck of a practice” was in his mind.
“It’s just work right now,” Ruff said. “I’ve moved on from that point and making sure that we’re trying to cover off almost every detail so we can put ourselves in a great place to do what we want to do.”
So far, Ruff likes the early returns.
“They worked incredibly hard today,” he said. “… They gave me everything they had.”
While no one used the word Wednesday, the Sabres certainly feel a sense of urgency to end their NHL-record 13-year playoff drought. Most of their core players are nearing or in their prime. They possess top-level talent at every position.
Simply making the postseason would lift the black cloud that hangs over the organization.
“The opportunity that we have is pretty special because, overall as a group, they’re at a great age in their careers,” Adams said prior to the first session. “A lot of these guys (have) experience where they’ve been in the league a while now but still in prime years. They’re hungry. They put in some good work this summer. The time is now, and I think they feel that.”
When the Sabres reported Tuesday, Adams said he and Ruff challenged players to raise their “personal standard.” They can’t waste time, especially learning from a new coach with a new system and standards.
Another slow start could doom them. Last season, they did not reach .500 until Nov. 1 and stayed below it most of the season. Teams out of a playoff spot in late November or Christmastime historically don’t move into one.
“We have to be ready for Day One,” Tuch said. “I think in years past when we haven’t been and that’s where later on in the season when we needed to make that push, you’re kind of regretting your first 10 games. You wish you had a better start and you can’t do that during the year if you want to make the playoffs.”
The Sabres leave Tuesday for Germany and play an exhibition game against Red Bull Munich, a team in Deutsche Eishockey Liga, next Thursday. They open the regular season Oct. 4 and 5 against the New Jersey Devils in Prague, Czechia.
“I expect us to quickly grasp the system that Lindy is putting in place,” Adams said. “We are treating today as not Day One of training camp, basically as the season starting, and you’ll see a little bit of a different camp because of going to Europe and because of the new coaching staff.”
That new coaching staff and the depth Adams added during the summer should make camp interesting. Yes, most of the roster appears to be set. Still, Ruff won’t hesitate to call out and bench players for mistakes. Ice time is his biggest weapon.
“There’s a lot of internal competition,” Adams said. “… There’s depth now at all positions. I think we’ve put ourselves in a good spot in terms of building the roster out and depth and prospects, but then just in terms of our players on our team right now, there’s going to be serious competition for ice time.”
Adams said he likes “that no one’s comfortable in that locker room right now.”
“They know they have to compete starting at 9 o’clock for ice time,” he said.