The Morning Skate – Weekend series

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Ryan Miller will play the full game against Toronto on Friday.

The Buffalo Sabres enter this weekend’s trio of games with 19 skaters who have yet to see action this preseason. As Rochester is set to open their camp on Monday, there is a chance some of these players may remain in the press box before heading up the 90.

Notable names among the group are Ales Kotalik, Shaone Morrisonn and Jordan Leopold. Brayden McNabb has also been held out thus far, but I would expect him to see action at some point this weekend. In fact, the three veterans listed above are all certain to see time before the team heads to Europe.

The complete list is as follows: Forwards; Riley Boychuk, Jochen Hecht (injured), Kotalik, Jacob Lagace, Maxime Legault, Jonathon Parker, Mike Ryan, Colin Stuart, Paul Szczechura, Shawn Sydlowski, Travis Turnbull and Phil Varone, defensemen; Nick Crawford, Corey Fienhage, Joe Finley, Leopold, Matt Mackenzie, McNabb and Morrisonn, goaltenders; Jeff Jakaitis and David Leggio. Continue reading →

Bandits add seven at NLL Entry Draft

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The Buffalo Bandits added seven new players to the organization at the 2011 NLL Entry Draft, yesterday.

Without a first round choice the Bandits saw the biggest names in the draft go before they had a selection. One interesting move was made by Rochester in order to draft Johnny Powless. The Knighthawks traded a perennial Bandits pest, Shawn Evans, to Calgary for the Powless pick.

The Bandits first pick came at the top of the second round which they used on Jeremy Thompson from Syracuse University. Buffalo also drafted Jeff Cornwall from Coquitlam, BC.

It will be interesting to see how these picks fit into the Bandits roster. In recent years Buffalo has run out a lineup with a veteran look while waiting on their young talent to progress outside of the NLL.

Buffalo’s final five picks had a fairly even split of NCAA and junior players. Here is the rest of the Bandits’ picks (s/t to TBN):

3rd round: Connor Daly (Burlington, ON), Jerome Thompson (OCC); 4th round: Billy Bitter (UNC); 5th round: Dwight Bero (Dartmouth); 6th round: Lloyd Chrysler (Tuscarora University)

Double Minors – Sabres 3 – Canadiens 1

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It may have been against most of the Hamilton Bulldogs’ roster, but Christian Ehrhoff had his coming-out party for the Buffalo Sabres.

Ehrhoff made a pretty pass to Jason Pominville to open the Buffalo scoring in the second period and scored the game winning goal on a twisted wrister early in the third period. To go along with his +2 and two-point night, Ehrhoff skated for 22 minutes for the Sabres.

Clearly Ehrhoff is a multi-talented defenseman and will be utilized in every situation by Lindy Ruff this season. While Tyler Myers and Robyn Regehr skated together tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ehrhoff and Myers paired up as the regular season draws closer.

– Ryan Miller was, well, Ryan Miller. He was calm and collected and had a number of sparkling saves among the 11 shots he turned away. Jhonas Enroth allowed a power play goal to P.K. Subban, but made 11 saves on 12 shots. Another confident performance off the bench for the new backup. This is an encouraging sign since I have had some doubts about how Enroth will rebound from his strong debut in 2010-11. Continue reading →

Addition of Gwinnett Gladiators affiliation gives Sabres more options

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The Gwinnett Gladiators made some news yesterday, as they announced an affiliation agreement with the Buffalo Sabres.

The ECHL club will likely serve as a safety valve for the Rochester Americans if they’re in need of reinforcements. The Gladiators may also end up being a place to stash additional players in the event that there is no room in Rochester. Based on the training camp roster, the Sabres have a few players who may end up being bumped to the Coast.

After sending ten players back to junior yesterday, the Sabres were left with 47 players in training camp, only 23 will end up on the Sabres opening night roster. Buffalo kept a few interesting names pas the first cut, namely forwards Riley Boychuk, Jonathon Parker and Phil Varone; and defensemen Corey Finenhage, Joe Finley and Matt Mackenzie.

Both Boychuk and MacKenzie are eligible to return to their respective junior clubs while Parker and Varone continue to extend invitations that extend back to prospect camp. Fienhage and Finley stand out to me because of Finley’s size, draft position and lack of a contract and Fienhage simply doesn’t have a deal with the Sabres, that I know of.

I would expect Varone to get a contract, while Parker is probably toeing the line between staying and leaving. Boychuk and MacKenzie will ultimately return to their junior clubs but Fienhage and Finley very well may battle for a spot with the Amerks.

The majority of the 47 players will end up split between Buffalo and Rochester, however there is the opportunity to send additional players to the ECHL and keep them within the system. In the past, players like Fienhage may have been discarded after fizzling in the pipeline, but the new affiliation allows players to be stashed away while still playing the professional game. This will be a great tool for the Sabres to utilize.

For example, goaltender Jeff Jakaitis will be kept as an insurance policy for the Amerks in the event Drew MacIntyre or David Leggio are recalled or injured. The Buffalo News reported that Jakaitis was signed to an AHL contract, today. Maxime Legault and Jacob Lagace are also likely targets for the Gladiators. Both will have a great chance to make the Amerks, but if they are to be cut, they can be sent to Gwinnett and kept in the system for the year. Fienhage, Finley, Parker and even Dennis Persson are on my list of ECHL candidates.

While this affiliation won’t necessarily allow the Sabres to cultivate the next Gretzky, it will keep assets in the system when they would have previously been lost because the AHL club lacked the roster space.

The Morning Skate: Sabres vs. Canadiens

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The Buffalo Sabres will take the ice in Montreal for their second preseason contest of the year, tonight.

Fresh off a 3-1 victory over Carolina on Monday, the Sabres will go with a line up heavy with veterans and only a few tweeners against Montreal. The lines are as follows:

Vanek – Roy – Pominville

Ennis – Leino – Stafford

Gerbe – Adam – Boyes

Foligno – Ellis – Kassian

The defensemen were listed by the Sabres’ Twitter as Ehrhoff, Regher, Myers, Gragnani, Schiestel and Persson. Whether or not those are in order of pairs, I can’t be sure (s/t to Kevin at sabres.com). UPDATE: It appears that Regher will skate with Myers. This probably meansEhrhoff will skate with Gragnani. Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth will split time in net. I would guess Miller gets the start with Enroth coming off the bench again. Continue reading →

Who wears the ‘C’?

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For the first time since the summer of 2008, the Buffalo Sabres are without a full-time captain. The last captain, Craig Rivet, was waived in February and the Sabres have gone without an official captain since.

Tyler Myers wore a letter for the first time as a Sabres against the Hurricanes on Monday.

As the first puckdrop of the 2011-12 season fast approaches, the organization will need to peg the next man to adorn the ‘C’ soon. To offer a barometer for when an announcement may occur, Rivet was named captain on October 8, 2008. Rivet became the 27th captain in franchise history and it is rather unfortunate to think there have been 27 captains in this team’s history. Twelve earned the honor during the “rotating captaincy” years of 2003-04 and 07-08. Now that idea may be the most preposterous thing I have ever heard of. At the most you should have co-captiains – as they had in 2007-08 with Drury and Briere – but it is a shame to think a professional hockey team would need to rotate the captaincy, there had to be one or two candidates who could have easily filled that role.

Personally, I see four front-runners for this honor. Paul Gaustad, Tyler Myers, Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek. Each have their own pros and cons but are also likely the best candidates to become the 28th captain in Sabres history. With only four players deserving of a look, I am confident that a crime such as a rotation will not occur. Continue reading →

Sabres season preview: The Centers

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This is the final part in a series previewing the Buffalo Sabres season. Part five focuses on the centers, read the previous entries here: 1,2,3,4,5.

The Buffalo Sabres organization is painfully thin at center. This was a point of emphasis when the offseason began and remains a sticking point today. There was hope that a center would be found either before the draft or when free agency opened. Neither market yielded the result the Sabres desired.

Instead, Buffalo added Ville Leino in hopes of playing him as a pivot with their top six. Leino was a consolation prize, of sorts, after the Sabres missed out on the Brad Richards sweeps. Leino is a dynamic talent who couples silky smooth agility with scary hands. It has been said Leino will translate well to center because he played low in the Flyers system and was a center during his time in Finland.

So far I am sold on Leino stepping in at center. I only saw him in one preseason game, but he finds open ice and clears lanes for his line mates. Although he won’t see time on the penalty kill, I could Leino as an absolute upgrade over Tim Connolly as the “second-line center”. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres 3 – Hurricanes 1

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Nathan Gerbe nets the game winner as the Sabres beat Carolina 3-1.

It was Slug Appreciation Day, every one and their third cousin came to the First Niagara Center to upgrade their logos. Tonight also marked the first time all the arena upgrades would be on display for the fans to see as the first hockey game was played under the First Niagara Center banner. Oh yeah, the Sabres came back to win 3-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

While there wasn’t any pomp or circumstance to the new arena name, or the snazzy new upgrades, the Sabres played to a sell out crowd for a preseason hockey game. It was pretty clear that the hockey community was beyond ready for this game to happen as the Pegula Effect has been in full swing all summer.

The Sabres iced a pretty strong roster with about a 50/50 split of players expected to play with the big club and those destined for Rochester. Ville Leino and Drew MacIntrye were the only new faces to play this evening. For what it’s worth, Paul Gaustad wore the ‘C’ while Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford both served as alternate captains. Of course, the ‘C’ and ‘A’s will rotate as the preseason carries on, but Gaustad and Myers are certainly on the leadership track for this hockey club.

As for the game: Continue reading →

The Morning Skate: Sabres vs. Hurricanes

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Hockey is officially back in Buffalo. Last week offered a tease as the Sabres’ prospects took a 5-2 victory in the Traverse City championship. However, today the big club takes the ice for the first time in preparation for the 2011-12 season.

The Sabres are currently split into practice groups and the first group will be taking the ice this evening. It will be a fun roster to watch as there are plenty of familiar faces along with some young players who should offer fans an  interesting vantage point.Villie Leino will play his first game as a Sabre and Luke Adam, Marcus Foligno and Zack Kassian will remain together after dominating in Traverse City. Here is the remainder of the roster: Continue reading →

Deskchair quarterback – Bills vs. Raiders

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David Nelson was an undrafted afterthought at training camp last summer. He ended the season with 31 catches, 353 yards and 3 touchdowns. His performance through two games this season has been anything but an afterthought.

Nelson torched Oakland for 83 yards on 10 catches and the game-winning touchdown with just 18 seconds remaining. His biggest catch of the day capped Buffalo’s final comeback drive as the fourth quarter wound down. While it took one final interception on an Oakland hail mary to actually seal the game, it is obvious that the Buffalo offense is running on all cylinders.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, while he struggled through the first half, was deadly in the third and fourth quarters. He led the Bills on touchdown drives on each second half possession (s/t to TBN) and marched Buffalo down the field with ease on the final two scoring drives. Stevie Johnson and Nelson were the recipients of most of Fitzpatrick’s targets as he went off for just under 100 yards and a TD. While Nelson is best suited to run out of the slot, it is obvious that he has become the second target in the Buffalo offense. He is an ideal weapon for the Bills as his size makes him a mismatch for just about anyone, but he is much faster than a tight-end, ruling out the option of covering him with a linebacker in a three or four-wide set.
Continue reading →