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Archives for January 1, 2021

Ralph Krueger’s tournament experience valuable for Sabres during short camp

‘“I think this is exactly what skill a national team coach needs, because in Switzerland, normally the best players out of the playoff finals come in 10 days before the tournament starts,” said Raeto Raffainer, who played for Krueger at international tournaments and is now general manager of HC Davos in the top Swiss league. “You can’t go too much into details of power play and penalty kill, but everybody knew his role already before they came in. He is a good communicator in the sense that everyone knows their role and you have short, short time to get ready. Fifteen years ago, Ralph was very well-organized, and I assume he still is.”’

Sabres prepared for unexpected as training camp opens during pandemic

‘“It’s going to be an interesting year, for sure,” Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe said on a Zoom call Wednesday. “But I know the excitement that we’re feeling in the locker room and just to be back together with your buddies and guys that you go to battle with, I couldn’t be more excited about it, especially with Ralph leading the charge. He’s a leader that’s built for a circumstance like this, if there ever was one.”’

After months of offseason reflection, Eichel set to lead Sabres into unprecedented campaign

‘“Whenever you have a guy like Ralph leading your team, it’s huge for the whole group. He’s an incredible person and an incredible coach, so I think he brings a lot,” said Eichel. “I just think his leadership and his communication style and the way that he relates to us is so important. And he did such a great job of it last year in terms of getting the culture to a certain standard, have us play to a certain standard and try to have us develop an identity as a team.”’

Former Rangers star Dan Girardi joins Sabres coaching staff

‘Girardi, according to the Buffalo News, is close friends with Matt Ellis, a former Sabres player and fellow Welland, Ontario native who is now the team’s director of player development. The 36-year-old had been skating in the offseason at LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, where Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams was once director of the Academy of Hockey.’

Report: Sabres hiring Dan Girardi in player development role

‘The 36-year-old just retired from the NHL in September of 2019 after a 13-year career in the league, 11 with the New York Rangers and two with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The shot-blocking defenseman appeared in 927 career games, scoring 56 goals and registering 208 assists for 264 points.’

Sabres GM Kevyn Adams and Jack Eichel built a relationship during extended offseason

‘“Honestly it’s been great. He’s super easy to connect with. For me I’ve had a lot of really, really good conversations with him. We’ve been able to sit down a few times and just get to know each other more than anything and he’s been tremendous so far. I’ve been lucky to have a lot of really, really productive conversations with him on sort of what he’s looking for and what type of relationship he’s trying to build with the guys in the room so it’s been really good,” Eichel said.’

Eichel ‘fed up with losing,’ embraces changes with Sabres

‘”He’s super easy to connect with,” Eichel said. “I’ve had a lot of really, really good conversations with him; we’ve been able to sit down a few times and just get to know each other more than anything. And yeah, he’s been tremendous so far.”‘

‘Win the moments’ | How Kevyn Adams built the 2020-21 Sabres

‘”I one-hundred percent see some parallels there, communication being the first one,” Ellis said. “At the Academy, whether it be a player or a program we were trying to get off the ground, we would have people with their background knowledge or their areas of expertise laying everything on the table and going through the process together to get to the answer we needed to get to.”‘