‘”There’s really nothing like it when you get something that close to the border and all the Canadians come down and watch and cheer you on,” Eakin said. “It’s everything you dream about. I’ve got fond memories of that time in Buffalo. We had a great roster. Hockey Canada gives you everything you need to perform in a tournament like that.”‘
Archives for January 5, 2021
Scrimmage observations: Carter Hutton, the Sabres’ ‘star of the game’
‘“It’s a bit of a whirlwind,” Hutton said. “You come in and you go from however many months off to right into the full tilt, playing hockey and you have games coming fast and hard. I think, for me, the preparation I put in to have the confidence in my fitness so when it came to hockey the rest can take care of itself. For me, getting back to what I do best and trying to play my game and help out whenever I can.”’
Rochester Americans commit to participating in AHL season
‘The Sabres’ top minor-league affiliate, the Rochester Americans, committed to participate in the American Hockey League season, which is scheduled to begin Feb. 5, the team said in a statement.’
Casey Mittelstadt focused on making Sabres after having ‘blast’ with Amerks
‘In his first stint in the minors, Mittelstadt, 22, never morphed into a dominant AHL presence or forced his way back to the Buffalo Sabres. The center compiled nine goals, 25 points and a poor minus-15 rating – hardly numbers you might expect from an eighth overall pick with 114 games of NHL experience.’
Sabres’ Zemgus Girgensons suffers ‘very questionable lower-body injury’
‘Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said Girgensons, who was being examined as he spoke, suffered a “very questionable lower-body injury.”’
Ristolainen is all business as the 2020-21 season approaches
‘”What I’ve learned from this business the last seven year, there’s always going to be uncertainties and you never know where you’re going to be tomorrow,” Ristolainen said following Sunday’s training camp practice at KeyBank Center. “I enjoy it here right now, the team looks good and ready to go, and it’s going to be an exciting year.”‘
Opinion: Sabres set good pace in first scrimmage of training camp
‘Later in the second period, forward Zemgus Girgensons (Gold) attempted to stick check camp invitee Riley Sheahan just inside the Team Blue blue line, but ended up colliding awkwardly with Sheahan and sending him to the ice. Girgensons would stay down for a bit before requiring some help off the ice, while not putting any pressure on his left leg.’
Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons helped off ice during Monday’s scrimmage
‘“We were clearly not happy to see that and we are assessing it right now,” Krueger said. “We’ll give you feedback once we have it, but at the moment very questionable lower body injury and once again no final assessment because he is getting scanned right now.”’
Krueger saw “many good things” in first scrimmage
‘“It’s quite clear there’s so much respect for each other that nobody was running over each other,” Krueger said. “There was one penalty in the whole game so you can see that you aren’t going to get the ‘A’ game here, we don’t expect that, but we did see many good things today. We saw a lot of system things within the principles we want being executed properly, and we felt there was a good attitude on the bench all the way through although again you never will compete the same against your own teammates.”’
5 things we learned from Monday’s Blue & Gold Scrimmage
‘”There’s multiple reasons why this game is good,” he said. “One is, let’s get used to playing in an empty rink. That’s the first time a lot of these guys have experienced that. Two is, what is the length of a game and how much physically is that going to weigh on me? I think all the guys were able to measure themselves today. And, finally, the game and the habits.”‘