NHL

NHL and other hockey related posts.

Escape the Sabres with a Hockey Road Trip

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

Judging by the yawning sections of seats throughout KeyBank Center these days, it’s no secret that the Sabres aren’t exactly a hot ticket. You can’t blame fans for staying away from 13 (going on 14) years without postseason action, especially when the Sabres have been so inconsistent on home ice. 

If you’re looking to scratch your hockey itch, a road trip may be just what you need. Western New York locals can always partake in Niagara and Canisius University home games without venturing too far from home. Not only are those games affordable, but both teams tend to have one or two good weekend visitors per year that are well worth the price of admission. But the real gems lie slightly further away, though many can be accomplished in a day trip. 

Niagara Ice Dogs

I can’t give a strong enough recommendation for an Ice Dogs title. It’s a quick trip over the border and not only is their arena gorgeous, but it’s located right in the center of St. Catharines, meaning you won’t need to venture far for food or drink before or after the game. It’s an extremely manageable trip and a great junior arena to boot. Scope out their schedule for a good matchup (Porter Martone and the Brampton Steelheads are in town in March) and find your way up for a game. They even have a few weekend matinees on the schedule that would be well worth taking advantage of. 

Continue reading →

Over Thought: Rumor Season is Upon Us

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Overthought is a semi-regular series that takes a look at some of the more interesting and notable tidbits shared by Elliotte Friedman in his weekly 32 Thoughts column. Each edition will feature some unique thoughts on the state of the Sabres or league as a whole before digging in on some of the notes from Freidman’s weekly column.

One piece of the post mortem on Hockey Canada and the World Junior Championship that I found particularly interesting was the focus on their decision to lean into role players over skill. Canada has some of the deepest skill to draw from for the WJC but opted for a more well rounded roster. Many have pointed out that they would’ve been better off leaning into their skill for a short tournament. I believe something to the effect of “In a short tournament, skill can grit but grit can’t skill” was said with respect to their roster.

It made me think about the final choices made by the Team USA roster for the 4 Nations Face Off. While the players who rounded out the US roster are still proven producers at the NHL level, they do draw some parallels to what happened with the Canadian WJC team. Brock Nelson, Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider are more than capable NHLers, but will the Americans regret not having Clayton Keller or Cole Caufield once the tournament is rolling? It’s something I referred to when the rosters came out, but as this is a bit of fan service that will tease interest for next year’s Olympics, there was a perfect opportunity for the various decision makers to be more creative with their choices. It didn’t need to be a Very Serious tournament, yet the rosters were built as such. As we just saw in an event with actual stakes, trying to find a perfect fit for every role vs. finding the best possible players didn’t work out for the Canadians. Hopefully the US. doesn’t fall victim to the same issue.

Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 13.15 – Sabres and Wings Cooking Up A Deal?

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

The rumors of the Sabres and Wings scouting each other have sparked rumors that a deal between the two clubs could be coming. We spend some time talking about what the two teams could be working on and which players could be involved. From big ticket trades to lower stakes swaps, we try and work out what could be on the horizon. 

Beforee getting to the trade discussion, we open the show with a chat about the UNLV vs. Denver game and UNLV’s impreessive upset of the defending NCAA champs. Our conversation touches on what the win meant for UNLV and the ACHA along with highlighting some key differences between the two levels that shouldn’t be forgotten when discussing the outcome of the game. 

You can find The Instigator Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts:

iTunes
Spotify
Stitcher
iHeartRadio
TuneIn
Google Play

Overthought – A Missed Opportunity on the 4 Nations Rosters

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Overthought is a semi-regular series that takes a look at some of the more interesting and notable tidbits shared by Elliotte Friedman in his weekly 32 Thoughts column. Each edition will feature some unique thoughts on the state of the Sabres or league as a whole before digging in on some of the notes from Freidman’s weekly column.

The initial rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off have been set and barring injury replacements, the Sabres will only be sending two players to the event. Rasmus Dahlin with Sweden and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with Finland. 

Tage Thompson’s omission from the American roster drew criticism from Buffalo and beyond, as the US brain trust opted for forwards with a more defensive bent over the likes of Thompson or Cole Caufield. The Canadians followed a somewhat similar strategy, adding Sam Bennett, Anthony Cirelli, Colton Parayko and Travis Sanheim as opposed to players with a more dynamic offensive skill set. Both Cirelli and Bennett have been more than adequate producers this season, with each scoring at roughly a point-per-game clip, so their inclusion certainly isn’t without merit. But both the Canada and US, the two teams with the deepest pool of players to choose from, made a conscious decision to include more well-rounded players on their roster, instead of loading up with upper echelon talent. 

The direction both groups took isn’t a surprise. These are NHL decision makers and it’s no secret what they value in their own team building, so it’s no upset that they chose to include players they feel can offer support in their own end. What is curious is the decision to treat this bonus best-on-best tournament so seriously. The 4 Nations event is an appetizer for next year’s Olympics. It’s a little tease, a thank you to the fans after nearly a decade without NHL players appearing in any notable international events. In a way, it’s a bit of a freebie. The slightly more casual nature of the event could have been embraced. The brain trusts of the participating nations were presented an opportunity to explore roster choices they may have otherwise shied away from at the Olympics. Instead, we saw both the US and Canada treat this Very Seriously and make a number of high-floor choices instead. 

Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 13.12 – Execution, Coaching or Construction?

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Buffalo’s losing skid hit four games after a dreadful loss to the Colorado Avalanche, erasing the club’s playoff advantage and leaving many questions about the current state of the team. We devote the first portion of this episode to breaking down the root causes of their issues, landing on roster construction as the primary issue with what could be another stalled season. 

We close the episode with a breakdown of the rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off, specifically the US and Canadian rosters. We talk about the decision to bring more role players than overall talent on the US side and whether or not that will hurt them in this short event. 

You can find The Instigator Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts:

iTunes
Spotify
Stitcher
iHeartRadio
TuneIn
Google Play

Revisiting My 4 Nations Face Off Projections

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Back in February I tried my hand at projecting the rosters for each country participating in the 4 Nations Face Off. With just a day until the rosters are officially unveiled, it’s time to revisit those projections and adjust for the first two months of the season and other factors.. 

Plenty has changed since February and today as players have gotten healthy, started the season hot or played their way off their respective rosters. We’ve also learned more about how each country plans to shape their roster. Bill Guerin has been quoted expressing his desire to have a balanced team as opposed to a star laden group. That was likely to be the case for all four teams as accounting for roles and better fits will almost always win out over selecting 20 players based purely on talent. Finland and Sweden, whose options aren’t as plentiful as the US or Canadian outfits, could potentially lean more towards current year production and players who have trended up to start this season. But overall I would expect them to try and craft rosters that are as well rounded as possible. I’m also curious to see if any of the teams sneak in a young player or two as they look ahead to the 2026 Olympics. 

Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 13.11 – A Cornucopia of Listener Questions

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

On Thanksgiving Eve we fired up the mailbag to field a few questions from our listeners and run through some hot topics in Sabres nation. We hit on Jiri Kulich, Kevyn Adams trade activity, playoff positioning and more in this holiday special. 

You can find The Instigator Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts:

iTunes
Spotify
Stitcher
iHeartRadio
TuneIn
Google Play

Overthought: Development is the Key to Levi’s Demotion

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

Overthought is a semi-regular series that takes a look at some of the more interesting and notable tidbits shared by Elliotte Friedman in his weekly 32 Thoughts column. Each edition will feature some unique thoughts on the state of the Sabres or league as a whole before digging in on some of the notes from Freidman’s weekly column.

History repeated itself, as Devon Levi was sent to Rochester earlier this week, not far off from his initial demotion last season after a similarly rocky start to the season. 

Like last year, the choice to send Levi down is sound. His play wasn’t up to an NHL standard and the Sabres risked bleeding points with every game Levi started. This isn’t a sign of defeat for Levi, however. At 22 years old, he has a lot of runway before any definitive proclamation about his career can be made. He has only played 63 professional games and he will benefit from an increased workload in Rochester; another benefit he enjoyed last year as well. 

If the Sabres have made any error with Levi, it has been expecting too much of him too soon. He was steady in his initial seven-game cameo in 2022-23 after signing his entry level contract, but his consistency has waned since. Few, if any, goaltenders are capable of stepping into a full time NHL job from NCAA or junior. Those that have are either developmental exceptions or have had to work their way through regression in their play as teams and shooters have adjusted. Levi appears to be more the rule than exception when it comes to his development track. 

Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 13.10 – The Sabres Head West and Devon Levi Heads to Rochester

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

It’s time for Sabres After Dark but Devon Levi will have to participate like the rest of us as the goaltender was sent to Rochester. James Reimer will be taking over backup duties while Levi gets to take over as the starter for the Amerks. We talk about how this move is the best option for Levi’s development while also reflecting on how his play led the Sabres to this decision. 

We also touch on the need for the Sabres to perform well on this California swing if they hope to make any headway in the standings. Additionally, we discuss Jim Montgomery’s firing in Boston and how Alex Ovechkin’s injury will affect his chase of the goal scoring record. 

You can find The Instigator Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts:

iTunes
Spotify
Stitcher
iHeartRadio
TuneIn
Google Play

Up Close and Personal with Fanatics in Vegas

Chris OstranderLeave a comment

I had the opportunity to head to Vegas during draft weekend to get an up-close look at the new Fanatics Authentic Pro jerseys that will be worn in the NHL next season. 

It was a surreal experience that included a trip to the Sphere for the first round of the draft and an afternoon spent with some other influencers, bloggers and podcasters in the hockey space, viewing the new jerseys in a suite alongside Fanatics leadership, including CEO Michael Rubin. 

We had a chance to walk through the suite to view and handle the jerseys and they look really great. As previously reported, there has been little change in design or material from the Adidas uniforms we’ve seen over the last several years ,with the exception of the dimpled shoulders. I’d grown fond of the Adidas shoulder design but removing them gives the jerseys a very clean and classic look, which is a net positive. The additional details on various crests (think the detailing on the Sabres bison) also carry over from the Adidas era, which provide every jersey a very rich appearance, especially up close. Anyone who had concerns about the look and quality of the jerseys in the shift to Fanatics can allay those fears.

Continue reading →