Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Phenom Connor McDavid has thought about playing for Sabres

BUFFALO – If you ask him, 17-year-old phenom Connor McDavid will acknowledge that, yes, he can envision himself playing for the Sabres in two seasons.

“Yeah, that’s something that’s crossed your mind, I guess,” the slick center said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center, where his Erie Otters will face the Niagara IceDogs in a Oct. 22 Ontario Hockey League game. “You can’t worry about that right now.”

Right now, McDavid, who’s been dubbed ... Read the full article

Sabres could still get prized prospect in 2015 after draft lottery changes

The draft lottery changes the NHL unveiled today might not hurt the Buffalo Sabres, owners of three 2015 first-round picks, next year. The league’s worst team can’t fall below the second pick.

The odds of nabbing that No. 1 pick, however, have fallen from 25 percent to 20, according to the league.

Still, the Sabres, a team many have pegged to finish last, will get Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel, the consensus top two prospects, ... Read the full article

Sabres reassign Kevin Devine, promote Randy Cunneyworth

BUFFALO – Kevin Devine has been reassigned to director of player personnel, one of several front office changes the Sabres announced today.

Devine served as assistant general manager under former GM Darcy Regier.

In addition, Randy Cunneyworth has been named player development coach. Cunneyworth, Rochester’s former coach, mostly worked in player development with the AHL club last season. Dennis Miller, the old player development coach, is still with the organization, a team spokesman said.

Meanwhile, ... Read the full article

Sabres to host OHL game next season with Connor McDavid’s Erie Otters

For one night at least, Connor McDavid, the top 2015 NHL draft prospect, is coming to Buffalo.

The Sabres announced this afternoon the team will be a hosting an Ontario Hockey League game with the Erie Otters, McDavid’s club, at the First Niagara Center next season.

Of course, Sabres fans want more than a glimpse of McDavid, the slick 17-year-old sensation many regard as the best prospect since Sidney Crosby. But given the slew of ... Read the full article

Sabres targeting other big events for Buffalo after landing NHL Scouting Combine

BUFFALO – To Colin Campbell, who’s spent his life in hockey as a player, coach and executive, this city has a special place in the game.

“Buffalo, for a lot of hockey people, is almost like an Original Six team,” Campbell, the senior executive vice president of NHL Hockey Operations, said Monday in announcing the Sabres had landed the NHL Scouting Combine. “It’s been here for a long time, a lot of history here ... Read the full article

Sabres want NHL Scouting Combine to be one of many major events in Buffalo

BUFFALO – Before the NHL Scouting Combine could move here, commissioner Gary Bettman told Colin Campbell, one of his top lieutenants, the league had to allow all 30 teams a crack at the event

“We had a lot of interest,” Campbell, the senior executive vice president of NHL Hockey Operations, said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center.

Eventually, the NHL whittled its list down to two cities, Buffalo and Pittsburgh.

“Buffalo was heads and ... Read the full article

Reports: Sabres land NHL Scouting Combine

BUFFALO – The Sabres have a “major announcement” planned for Monday afternoon, and multiple outlets are reporting the team has secured an agreement to host the NHL Scouting Combine next year.

The team bid on the combine earlier this year. The new Harbor Center facility, which opens this fall, would be the site.

Colin Campbell, the senior executive vice president of NHL Hockey Operations, will be attending the news conference. So will Sabres president ... Read the full article

Photo: Sabres prospect Sam Reinhart with Team Canada

Sam Reinhart hasn’t stopped much this “offseason.” Before the Buffalo Sabres selected him second overall June 27, the slick prospect spent the spring preparing for the NHL Entry Draft. Following his whirlwind draft experience, Reinhart participated in Buffalo’s summer development camp three weeks ago.

Reinhart’s back on the ice again, skating at Team Canada’s world junior camp this week in Quebec. The 18-year-old captained the Canadians and scored a goal in a 6-2 ... Read the full article

Photo: Sabres prospect Hudson Fasching with Team USA at Lake Placid

Winger Hudson Fasching is one of three Buffalo Sabres prospects left at Team USA’s National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid. J.T. Compher and Anthony Florentino are still participating. The U.S. cut Connor Hurley and Sean Malone on Tuesday.

Based on his past exploits, Fasching, a power forward at the University of Minnesota, should be a lock to make this year’s world junior squad. The 19-year-old, fresh off a 14-goal, 30-point freshman season, had two ... Read the full article

Photo: Darcy Regier scouting for Coyotes

After the Buffalo Sabres fired Darcy Regier in November, the former general manager laid low. He never gave a single interview. No one saw him around town.

Now, a month after getting hired as a senior vice president and Don Maloney’s assistant general manager in Arizona, Regier’s visible again. He even looks a little different!

Here’s Regier scouting junior prospects for the Coyotes with Maloney earlier this week in Montreal. Maloney’s giving him an, ... Read the full article