The Buffalo Sabres today named former NHL players Nathan Paetsch and Vinny Prospal as assistant coaches on Seth Appert’s staff with the Rochester Americans.
They replace Mike Weber and Michael Peca, both of whom recently left the AHL team to take assistant coaching jobs in the NHL.
The Sabres also announced the coaching staffs in Buffalo and Rochester have received contract extensions. Sabres coach Don Granato earned an extension prior to last season.
Paetsch, 40, has spent the last two season as a developmental coach with the Sabres, working with the organization’s defense prospects.
He spent 11 years in Buffalo’s organization as a player, including six with the Amerks. He played 157 games with the Sabres, mostly as a defenseman, compiling seven goals and 42 points. He also played 10 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
He won two Calder Cups with the Grand Rapids Griffins before returning to the Amerks in 2017 and playing three final seasons.
Prospal, 48, enjoyed a 16-year NHL playing career as a winger, scoring 255 goals and 765 points in 1,108 games with seven teams. The Czech had a career year with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2005-06, registering 25 goals and 80 points in 81 games. He retired following the 2012-13 season.
He played four years in the AHL before beginning his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers.
He recently spent three seasons (2018 to 2021) as head coach of HC Ceske Budejovice of the Czech Extraliga, winning league titles in 2018-19 and 2019-20. He was named the league’s top coach in 2020-21.
