Author: Buffalo Winter

Summer weather, well organized, and polite crowd contributed to an enjoyable event.

Downtown Buffalo – The weather seemed more mid-July than mid-September which meant hydration was important, not only for the tournament players but spectators, event associates, and the Sheriff’s Department whose subtle presence/service was noticed and appreciated.

Entering the Fan Fest itself one of the first attractions was local artist Chad Tingly’s portable “mural” for everyone to paint on but most people just signed their name as did Buffalo Winter.  And when the event is over Mr. Tingly will paint in the blank center and the mural will be moved into the arena lobby.

Hockey rinks as far as the eye could see began at Washington St. in front of the arena and continuing down Perry St. past Mississippi St, and with no changing area the sidewalk along the rinks were pretty crowded with players, parents, friends, and family.

One of the better equipped, well organized, brilliantly clad, and enthusiastic youth entries was, “The 1980s” under the guidance of Coach Cal, these players looked sharp and were ready to go.

Traveling from their Nation’s capital the Lumberjacks representing Ottawa in uniforms reminiscent of the 1920s NHL Cup Champion Senators, a couple of their players told me they enjoyed themselves, and that Buffalo was one of the best tournaments they play in.  

And when I responded incredulously, “really?” the one player just waved his arm towards the street and said, “Look at how many rinks there are.”

There were many colorful hockey sweaters and games to watch that had dedicated referees, recorded game statistics, and some pretty talented hockey players and not just the men, the boys and girls were also entertaining.

Plenty of things to see and do besides watching street/ball hockey, a well-planned event that you could bring your whole family to enjoy with plenty of kid activities, beverages, hot dog and cheeseburger vendor, a beer garden, music, gaming and autographs, inside and out of the arena.

Sabres gain and lose good players

Here along the Lake  The Buffalo Sabres fired HC Granato on the strength of last season’s underperformance and brought back a former head coach who is likely here to steady the helm until Coach Appert takes the reign in the near future.

GAINS:

The player who will immediately impact the Sabres will be 6’ 3” center Ryan McLeod who may never crack the 20 goal plateau but does not take many penalties and is a positive plus/minus player who is one of the reasons Edmonton had such a powerful penalty kill.

Goaltender James Reimer signed a one-year contract with Buffalo after posting two shutouts and was 11-8-2 with Detroit in 25 games (20 Starts) last season and this near 40 year old journeyman (Toronto, San Jose, Florida, Carolina, San Jose [again], Detroit) is expected to be competition for Misters Levi and Luukkonen.

Four forwards in their late 20s early 30s who can barely score over 10 goals a season who will hopefully bring speed and physicality to the team;

(1) Jason Zucker  32 yrs, 14 goals, scored once and had two assists in six playoff games signed a one year contract.

(2) Sam Lafferty  29 yrs, 13 goals, no points in 11 playoff games for Vancouver gets a two year deal.

 (3) Nicolas Aube-Kubel   28 yrs, six goals in 60 games gets a one year contract.

(4) Beck Malenstyn  26 yrs, six goals in 81 games acquired in a trade with Washington.

Losses:

Sadly the Sabres bid Jeff Skinner adieu as he inked a deal with the Oilers which should get him into the playoffs for the first time in his career.

Another gut punch was watching All-Star Zemgus Girgensons, the “Latvian Locomotive” sign a three year deal with the Lightning.

The trade that brought Mr. McLeod to Buffalo cost the Sabres their WHL offensive standout Matthew Savoie who at only 5’ 9 ” and barely 180 pounds will find it challenging to make the leap to the NHL.

It is always tough on players and their families when they get shuffled from one team to the next or after playing for just one team their whole career having to change team and city, for fans we keep following our favorite players no matter who they play for.

1970 WHL Sabres farm team to 2024 NHL franchise

Farm System  The WHL Salt Lake Golden Eagles a new hockey farm team that was shared by Boston and Montreal for the 1969-70 NHL season had then become solely Buffalo’s WHL farm club for the Sabres first two seasons.

Hockey has been played in North America during three different centuries with Canada introducing the sport/culture of hockey to the continent and Boston becoming the first team from the United States of America to be granted a franchise in the NHL.

In 1928 you could have attended a California Hockey League game in Hollywood every Monday and Thursday night, so as far as weather and location are concerned it does not seem that there is no place hockey cannot be played professionally.

Utah is a relative newcomer to professional ice hockey but has infrastructure in place to absorb the franchise relocation of the Coyotes and with an established Utah fan base thanks in part to junior hockey after the early 1990s, the Utah Hockey Club is poised to succeed.

Utah’s initial meeting versus the Sabres here along the Lake is Saturday afternoon December 7^th (Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day) at one o’clock, and five days after the Ides of March Buffalo travels to Utah March 20^th for their second and final meeting of the regular season.

Fun Fact: Utah is one of the snowiest states (551 inches annually) and has some of the best skiing anywhere in the world, with Cottonwood Canyons (one of the snowiest places in the world) and Deer Valley being premier destinations for those who seek the snowy slopes.

Training Camp encompasses two continents

Buffalo Sabres – Buffalo’s NHL preseason schedule for 2024-25 has an exhibition game scheduled in Germany before the Sabres and Devils play their first two NHL regular season games in Prague as part of the 2024 Global Series and a rehired Ruff coaching against the team that just released him.

The end of Buffalo’s training camp will be in Munich, Germany as the Sabres face-off against Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) club Red Bull Munich, Friday, September 27^th, in the grand-opening of Munich’s new arena SAP Garden.

The Sabres will host three preseason games versus Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Detroit while playing three preseason road games versus Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Ottawa compiled over the last nine days of September with each contest beginning at seven o’clock.

September 14^th Alumni Plaza & KeyBank Center

Fan Fest & Hockey Fest  The Sabres are once again hosting a Fan Fest that includes an all-day outdoor street hockey tournament (Hockey Fest), live music, kids zone activities, fan hockey skill activations, and Sabres players & alumni in attendance for photos and autographs.

This is a unique experience that lasts throughout the day, kick off your hockey season one week before Buffalo opens up the 2024-25 NHL season with their initial preseason game September 21^st at home versus the Penguins.