WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Calder Cup Playoffs Edition
Sam Reinhart (right) played nine NHL games last season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
SUNRISE, Fla. – Recent history says Jack Eichel, the mega-prospect the Buffalo Sabres will select second overall Friday at the NHL Draft, could become a franchise talent.
Just take a look at the list below.
It can be argued 15 of the last 16 No. 2 picks have been strong hits. The list includes 50-goal scorers, perennial NHL All-Stars and even future Hall of Famers. Only Sam Reinhart, a center the Sabres selected second a ... Read the full article
Callum Booth could be drafted high this weekend. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Until he was 9 years old, NHL Draft prospect Callum Booth was just a regular skater on his youth team. He idolized Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavlier and loved the No. 4 his hero wore.
Then one day, tired of getting lit up, his team’s goalie “just gave up,” Booth recalled earlier this month at the NHL Scouting Combine. The coaches scrambled to find a replacement right before the playoffs. Booth was ... Read the full article
Joe Cecconi could be a fourth- or fifth-round pick. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
Regina Cecconi remembers the first week she took her son, Joe, to an instructional hockey program at Niagara University. He was 4 years old, and she wasn’t quite ready to commit herself to the busy life of a hockey mom.
“I said, ‘Oh my gosh, if they think I’m going to start all my weekends at the ice rink, they’re crazy,’” Cecconi said.
Within two years, Cecconi was serving in all sorts of capacities – ... Read the full article
Picking Jack Eichel will be the easy part for Tim Murray. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Tim Murray has joked he’ll make the easiest decision of his career before he walks to the NHL Draft podium Friday night inside the BB&T Center and, in his typical straightforward delivery, utters six words into the microphone: “The Buffalo Sabres select Jack Eichel.”
But after securing a potentially franchise-changing talent, the general manager might have an arduous two days ahead of him in Sunrise, Fla.
The Sabres have eight picks – 2, ... Read the full article
Tim Murray isn’t scared off by Ilya Samsonov’s KHL contract. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Despite all of Ilya Samsonov’s talents, the NHL Draft’s No. 1 rated European goalie looks like a risky pick. The 18-year-old already has a three-year contract with Mettalurg Magnitogorsk, a KHL team in his native Russia.
But Samsonov’s deal doesn’t bother Sabres general manager Tim Murray, who wants to find a goalie at this weekend’s NHL Draft. The Sabres recently met with Samsonov, a prospect Murray believes can develop properly in the KHL, ... Read the full article
Sabres general manager Tim Murray is offering Mikhail Grigorenko a two-way contract. ©2015, Margaret Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – General manager Tim Murray knows 21-year-old center Mikhail Grigorenko is frustrated the Sabres are offering a two-way contract. The restricted free agent dislikes the deal so much he’s reportedly fielding offers from the KHL, a league in his native Russia.
“I hear rumors,” Murray said Thursday during a news conference inside the First Niagara Center to discuss next week’s NHL Draft.
Clearly, the Sabres and Grigorenko’s camp have vastly different opinions of the ... Read the full article
Dave Barr played 614 NHL games before his coaching career. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Dan Bylsma let it slip. Instead of waiting for the press release to come out, the new Sabres coach announced the first two assistants to his staff – veteran NHL coach Terry Murray and Dave Barr – during a news conference Thursday.
“We didn’t save the release for this afternoon,” Bylsma joked inside the First Niagara Center.
Former Sabres coaches Ted Nolan and Ron Rolston had trouble finding assistants the last two years ... Read the full article
The Sabres need to find a goalie soon. ©2015, Margaret Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – If general manager Tim Murray gets his way, the Sabres will pry a young backup from another team soon to help fill their goaltending void.
“I’m confident that we can find something that can work here just by talking to other teams,” Murray said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “There are people available. That’s the avenue we’re pursuing right now.”
The Sabres only have one NHL goalie, Chad Johnson, a career ... Read the full article
Mikhail Grigorenko wants a one-way contract. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – General manager Tim Murray knows 21-year-old center Mikhail Grigorenko is frustrated the Sabres are offering a two-way contract. The restricted free agent dislikes the deal so much he’s reportedly fielding offers from the KHL, a league in his native Russia.
“I hear rumors,” Murray said this morning inside the First Niagara Center.
Clearly, the Sabres and Grigorenko’s camp have vastly different opinions of the youngster, the No. 12 pick in 2012.
“We feel ... Read the full article
Dan Bylsma added his first two assistants today. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Dan Bylsma let it slip. Instead of waiting for the press release to come out, the new Sabres coach announced the first two assistants to his staff – veteran NHL coach Terry Murray and Dave Barr – during a news conference this morning.
“We didn’t save the release for this afternoon,” Bylsma joked inside the First Niagara Center.
Murray, Sabres general manager Tim Murray’s uncle, spent 15 seasons as an NHL head coach. ... Read the full article
