Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Sabres take Sam Reinhart with No. 2 pick

PHILADELPHIA – Not surprising, the Buffalo Sabres selected slick center Sam Reinhart with the No. 2 pick tonight at the NHL Entry Draft inside the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sabres desperately need elite talent up, and Reinhart, a star with the Western Hockey League’s Kootenay Ice, could be a franchise forward someday.

The Florida Panthers selected stud defenseman Aaron Ekblad No. 1 overall. Ekblad’s the first defender taken first since the St. Louis Blues took ... Read the full article

Sabres GM Tim Murray doesn’t like possible NHL Draft Lottery changes

PHILADELPHIA – Some notes from Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray’s chat with the media today prior tonight’s NHL Entry Draft:

– Murray said changes are probably coming to the NHL Draft Lottery next year, which could hurt the Sabres greatly. The NHL Board of Governors discussed the alterations Thursday.

The odds of the league’s worst team getting the No. 1 pick will drop from 25 percent to about 19 or 20 percent, Murray ... Read the full article

Slick draft prospect Sam Reinhart could be sure thing for Sabres with top pick

PHILADELPHIA – If the past tells us anything, some of these shiny NHL Entry Draft prospects, the ones expected to save their team’s sagging fortunes after getting picked early tonight, will be busts at the next level.

“We know that one or two of them aren’t going to have an impact in the National Hockey League,” Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray said last week. “It’s which one or two. We hope we know which ... Read the full article

Second pick has paid huge dividends in recent years

PHILADELPHIA – How good are the Buffalo Sabres’ odds of nabbing a franchise talent with the No. 2 pick tonight? Take a look at the list below.

It can be argued the last 15 picks have been strong hits. The list includes 50-goal scorers, perennial NHL All-Stars and even future Hall of Famers.

In their 44-year history, the Sabres have never owned the second pick. Twice they’ve had the No. 1 pick, 1970, when they ... Read the full article

Sabres’ recent drafts have yielded some strong talents and notable misses

Since most NHL Entry Drafts don’t start paying dividends for a few years, here’s a look at the Buffalo Sabres’ first-round picks from 2006-11 and some notable hits and misses. Fourteen of Buffalo’s 43 draft choices over that time have made the NHL.

The Sabres have eight picks this weekend in Philadelphia, including the No. 2 selection.

2011

First-round pick: center Joel Armia, 16^th overall

Armia endured a rough season in 2013-14, his ... Read the full article

Sabres legend Dominik Hasek almost left North America before Hall of Fame career got going

It was 1992, and Dominik Hasek was beginning to regret his decision to play in North America. After leaving his native Czechoslovakia, he was a 27-year-old backup goalie shuttling between the Chicago Blackhawks and the International Hockey League, stuck behind Ed Belfour, one of the NHL’s best.

“I was thinking about going back to Europe because I was in the minors, I was playing for (the) Indianapolis Ice,” Hasek recalled Monday, hours after being named ... Read the full article

Legendary Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek elected to Hockey Hall of Fame

Legendary Buffalo Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek headlines the six-person 2014 Hockey Hall of Fame class announced today.

Joining the six-time Vezina Trophy winner are defenseman Rob Blake, forwards Peter Forsberg and Mike Modano, coach Pat Burns and referee Bill McCreary.

Hasek, of course, was a no-brainer in his first year on the ballot. Some consider the 49-year-old, who spent nine seasons in Buffalo, the greatest goalie ever.

“The Dominator” won two Hart Trophies with the ... Read the full article

Sabres’ 2014-15 schedule features lots of early action, visits from old friends

BUFFALO – The Sabres’ 2014-15 schedule will get busy in a hurry, with the Oct. 9 season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets inside the First Niagara Center starting a stretch of 11 games in 22 days. They then play 14 games in November, their most active month.

Two home games against superstar Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, a Dec. 9 visit from the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and an April 3 ... Read the full article

NHL Draft profile: Leon Draisaitl wants to become face of German hockey

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – In Germany, soccer reigns supreme. The sport’s popularity can’t be matched. Hockey, meanwhile, competes for attention with basketball and even handball, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff once said.

Germany didn’t even qualify for Olympic ice hockey this year.

But in center Leon Draisaitl, the country has produced one of the game’s slickest prospects. The 18-year-old will likely become the highest-drafted German ever Friday at the NHL Entry Draft in Philadelphia.

With ... Read the full article

Sabres’ 2014-15 schedule features two visits from Penguins, more back-to-back sets

BUFFALO – Two home games against superstar Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, a Dec. 9 visit from the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and an April 3 contest against South Buffalo native Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks are among the highlights of the 82-game 2014-15 Sabres schedule released today.

The Sabres open at home Oct. 9 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, starting a busy stretch of 11 games in 22 days.

They ... Read the full article