‘"There is a rich history of professional hockey in Portland and we hope to add to that winning tradition," said Regier. "During our tenure with our previous AHL affiliation, our franchise model was to draft and to develop young prospects and build our success from a core group within. With our current roster of players like Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek, we have been able to develop our system with positive results. It’s critical for the survival and success of the Buffalo Sabres franchise to continue to add quality, young players that can develop within our system and grow as professionals."’