WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Brendan Warren talks to teammate Michael Houser on March 30. ©2025, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – Brendan Warren had nothing going on in his hockey career. The Americans winger couldn’t even find a place to skate.
Two NHL teams that had held his rights passed on signing him. After finishing an underwhelming tenure at the University of Michigan, he briefly latched on with the Indy Fuel, an ECHL team.
At the end of training camp in 2019, the Fuel cut him.
So Warren, a third-round pick by the Arizona ... Read the full article
Rochester’s Noah Ostlund tries to bring the puck in front of Laval goalie Cayden Primeau on Wednesday. ©2025, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – The Laval Rocket has won seven of its nine meetings with the Americans this season, including Wednesday’s opener in the AHL North Division final.
The Amerks, of course, have ranked among the AHL’s heavyweights all season, boasting a deep and skilled lineup. However, Laval, having finished first overall, is the class of the AHL, which it proved again in Game 1 of the best-of-five series in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Rocket erased ... Read the full article
Devon Levi posted back-to-back shutouts to help Rochester advance in the Calder Cup Playoffs. ©2025, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – Buffalo Sabres prospect Devon Levi can’t tell you how many shutouts he has recorded this season or the gaudy save percentage he registered during the Americans’ first-round sweep that leads the Calder Cup Playoffs.
“I don’t know my shutouts,” Levi told the Times Herald following Friday’s practice in Blue Cross Arena. “I don’t know my save percentage, either.”
For the record, the goalie has compiled nine shutouts, including an AHL-best seven during the ... Read the full article
Konsta Helenius registered three points in Rochester’s first-round playoff series. ©2025, Micheline Veluvolu
ROCHESTER – In the not-so-distant past, Buffalo Sabres prospect Konsta Helenius would’ve been anywhere but in front of the net battling an opponent.
“First half of the year … he would be somewhere in the corner, hiding in the second or third row, hiding in the weeds, you know?” Americans assistant coach Vinny Prospal told the Times Herald following Friday’s practice in Blue Cross Arena.
But Helenius, who turns 19 on Sunday, has matured throughout ... Read the full article
Eric Staal played 32 games for Buffalo. ©2025, Micheline Veluvolu
Hiring former NHL center Eric Staal as his special assistant marks the second time Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has turned to his friend and former teammate.
In his first trade as GM in 2020, Adams acquired a graying Staal from the Minnesota Wild. The move, of course, did not work out, and Adams traded the respected veteran months later in the midst of an 18-game winless skid.
Still, perhaps the roughest stretch of ... Read the full article
Boston College’s James Hagens is one the top prospects in the NHL Draft. ©2025, Boston College Athletics
The Buffalo Sabres moved back two spots to the ninth overall selection in Monday’s NHL Draft Lottery.
The New York Islanders, who had the 10th-highest odds for the first selection, just 3.5 percent, won the lottery and the right to select perhaps defenseman Matthew Schaefer or center Michael Misa first overall.
The Sabres, thanks to their disappointing 79-point finish, had 6.5 percent odds for the top pick.... Read the full article
Michael Misa scored 62 goals in 65 games this season. ©2025, Eric Young, Saginaw Spirit
There’s a belief that instead of using his first-round pick to draft a prospect next month, Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams might trade it to pry away some established talent from one of his counterparts.
In his first five years, Adams has resisted the temptation to deal one of his coveted early selections before the NHL Draft.
Ten months ago, however, he sent center Matt Savoie, the ninth overall pick in 2022, to ... Read the full article
Alex Tuch scored 36 goals this season. ©2025, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Over the final 30 games this season, Sabres winger Alex Tuch ranked among the NHL’s elite offensive threats, scoring a whopping 20 goals.
From Feb. 4 until April 17, that gaudy total tied for the most in the league with Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, the most prolific goal scorer in history.
That’s elite company, for sure.
Tuch, who turns 29 on May 10, showcased remarkable consistency during that torrid stretch, never enduring ... Read the full article
James Reimer got hot down the stretch. ©2025, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – James Reimer’s superb goaltending down the stretch for the Sabres showed he possesses the talent to return for his 16th season.
Even at 37, an advanced age, he ranked among the NHL’s hottest netminders, compiling a gaudy 8-2-0 record from March 23 until the season ended, including a career-long seven-game winning streak. His win total during that torrid stretch was tied for first in the league with Los Angeles Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper, ... Read the full article
Kale Clague’s four points are tied for the lead in the Calder Cup Playoffs. ©2025, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – Technically, Americans defensemen Kale Clague had played a playoff game in pro hockey before last weekend.
In 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the AHL to play a truncated schedule, it did not hold the Calder Cup Playoffs. However, some Pacific Division teams held a small postseason tournament at the Anaheim Ducks’ practice facility with no fans in attendance.
Clague, 26, played one game for the Ontario Reign after the Los Angeles Kings ... Read the full article