The 2nd annual Buffalo Sabres Prospects Challenge starts today with practices

Although the 2016 World Cup of Hockey is garnering most of the attention of these days, including those of us Buffalo Sabres fans with a keen eye on participants Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly, the NHL hockey season is just around the corner. Training camps around the league begin next week while in Buffalo, the warm-up act begins with the 2nd annual Buffalo Sabres Prospect Challenge as three teams--Buffalo, the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey--ready themselves for an extended weekend of round-robin play to crown this year's champion.

Buffalo won the inaugural tournament last year.

The Prospects Challenge is an event in which youngins from the participating teams have the opportunity to face off against their peers In a live game setting. The Sabres had previously participated in the eight-team Traverse City Tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings, but last year they decided to strike out on their own by hosting their own tournament. All Games will be played on HARBORCENTER ice with the cost of admission at $10.

Today teams will hold practice sessions with games beginning tomorrow. The schedule, courtesy of Sabres PR:

Friday, Sept. 16

• Buffalo practice: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• New Jersey practice: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
• Boston practice: 3 – 5 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 17

• Buffalo morning skate: 10 – 11 a.m.
• Boston practice: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• New Jersey morning skate: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Buffalo vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 18

• Buffalo practice: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
• Boston morning skate: 10 – 11 a.m.
• New Jersey morning skate: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Boston vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 19

• Buffalo morning skate: 10 – 11 a.m.
• Boston morning skate: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Buffalo vs. Boston, 7 p.m.

Buffalo's free agent list. Re-sign or not to re-sign? If so, how much? Pt.3

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


The final portion of the free agent list focuses upon the restricted free agents in the system. At this level most will be qualified with a minimum raise if the team wishes to retain their rights and most players sign the offer. Those who are not qualified by Buffalo become unrestricted free agents.

After going through Buffalo's UFA's and roster RFA's in the past two segments, only six players remain as free agents.

Once again, here' the list of Buffalo's remaining restricted free agents, their cap hit or salaries if on a two-way contract, an opinion as to whether or not Buffalo should re-sign said player and a gander as to how much they might be re-signed for if all sides put ink to paper. And we start with two goaltenders.

Buffalo Sabres top-three prospects by position--Goaltenders

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


With the Buffalo Sabres firmly in build-mode as they look to distance themselves even further from the ignominy of the 2014 and 2015 basement seasons, the solid foundation they laid using a huge return for "the core" moved the team towards respectability as they finished last season 23rd in the league with a 12-win/27-point year-over-year improvement . It took a coaching overhaul, two consecutive second-overall picks and a number of big moves involving many parts, but GM Tim Murray--who was also a part of a huge transition for the club when he was hired just over two years ago--got the things moving rather quickly as he added young-vets to the roster to hasten the rebuild.

Unfortunately, those players don't grow on trees and in order to acquire said vets, a bevy of draft picks and prospects were sent the other way to consummate the deals and because of it the prospect pool taking pretty good hit. But opportunity knocked and Murray answered with open arms.

He still has holes to fill on the big club and he also had a Rochester affiliate that finished near the bottom of the league, a direct indication as to how much of a hit the prospect pool took, but the cavalry will be headed to Rochester over the next couple of seasons and the Sabres are slated to have 21 draft picks in the next two years.

Today we begin to look at the remnants of a prospect pool that was ranked No. 1 overall by Hockey'sFuture a little over a year ago. And we begin in net with the top three goaltending prospects.

.500 goes "poof!" as Blue Jackets topple Sabres in Buffalo's home finale

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


Despite differing opinions of what constitutes a .500 team, the Buffalo Sabres were using points-percentage as a benchmark. With two games remaining, two wins would equate to 83 of a possible 164 points for Buffalo thus surpassing that mark. For a team on the rise and coming from the depths of a 54 point season, it's an important focus for them.

Sabres GM Tim "I Get That" Murray was on WGR's Schopp and the Bulldog yesterday evening and clarified that although there were differing opinions of just what .500 means, in the players minds hitting or surpassing 82 points on the season was a goal to shoot for. "When our players look at it, they say 'Let's get to the .500-mark," Murray explained to the hosts. "We believe what we believe."

Murray also revealed there were some grumblings in the dressing room with the announcement that rookie Jason Kasdorf would get the start, which was nothing against Kasdorf. With their focus upon winning the final two games thus hitting a magical mark for the team, they felt that Chad Johnson would give them the best opportunity. "[Johnson's] on a great roll and they believe we're one game away from .500," said Murray. "And I don't blame them for that.

"That's great. We're missing the playoffs, we have two games left and they're still grumbling. That's the mindset we're trying to get to and I would never complain about that.

Murray and head coach Dan Bylsma passed on that Paul Gaustad-like "Don't-step-on-the-logo!" moment from the players and opted not only to start Kasdorf in net, but to also give two other players their first taste of the NHL as Evan Rodrigues and Williamsville native, Cole Schneider hit NHL ice for the first time. Both, Murray said "deserved to play a game or two on merit."

Too bad it wasn't a better ending for the trio.

Gameday, finally. Plus GM meetings, the salary cap and Jason Kasdorf

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


Tonight marks the fifth and final meeting this season between the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens. Since Les Habitants rolled over the Sabres in October by a 7-2 score Buffalo is 2-1-0 with 12 goals scored and nine surrendered. That good fortune for the Sabres happens to coincide with the injury to Habs starting goalie Carey Price which occurred in November. After the reigning Hart and Vezina winner went down, so did the Canadiens who now sit 6th in the division and 22nd in the league only five points ahead of the Sabres.

Buffalo has been playing well as of late and are just coming off of a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Rookie Jack Eichel took a 125' rainbow feed from Evander Kane and calmly slipped a backhand five-hole with :01 remaining on the overtime clock. It was his second goal of the game.

Kane was also in on Eichel's first goal as he and rookie Sam Reinhart worked a clean give-and-go at the Carolina blueline. Reinhart stopped on a dime at the right circle and fed a streaking Eichel for the tap-in.

Sabres goalies held their own. Depth-chart taking shape.

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


For vast majority of the Buffalo Sabres 50 games this season the net was manned by a duo that consisted of a career backup bordering on being a starter and a 22 yr. old who just came to North America.

Chad "I'm Not Ocho Cinco" Johnson, who's tour-stops as a backup include New York with both the Rangers and Islanders, Phoenix and Boston, was thrust into the starters role when designated No. 1 goalie Robin Lehner was felled by a high ankle sprain in the second period of the opening game. In his six NHL seasons Johnson played in no more than 27 games and totaled 56 games before being thrust into the starting role for the Sabres. At the All-Star break this season, he's already played in 29 games, 25 of them as a starter for Buffalo.

Rookie netminder Linus Ullmark was a 6th round pick (163rd-overall) for Buffalo in the 2012 NHL Draft. He worked is way up the ranks with MODO in his native Sweden playing his last two seasons in the Swedish Elite League. He won the Honken Trophy for Goalie of the Year in 2014 as a rookie.

After elective double-hip surgery last spring and rehabbing way ahead of schedule, Ullmark began this season with the Rochester Americans and was 1-2-0 with a 2.72 GAA and a .932 SV% before getting called up to Buffalo.

The duo were forced into a situation where there were nine new players on the ice plus a new coaching staff in place. The highly skilled offensive players that GM Tim Murray acquired were (and still are) a long ways away from being anything close to an offensive juggernaut (2.26 goals/game, 28th in the league) and their defense was suspect with the injury to No. 3/2 defenseman, Zach Bogosian.

Getting to know Jason Kasdorf Part II

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


This is the second in a two-part series about Sabres goalie prospect, Jason Kasdorf.


Ewald Kasdorf was born and raised on a farm in Brazil then emigrated with the rest of his family--all 15 of them--to Winnipeg to start a new life. Ewald's parents had relatives in Winnipeg and they'd told them of an opportunity for a better life in Canada so they decided to pack up the clan and move.

"From a young age my dad was always working, always had lots of responsibility," said Jason Kasdorf. "and when they came to Canada, they really didn't have much. Basically every bit of money my dad made he gave to his parents to help them and the family out."

As things stabilized, Ewald started a plumbing business and eventually his own family, Jason, the only son of three, would spend his summers working beside his father, watching, listening, and learning. They developed a pretty tight relationship. "I worked with my dad since the summer of grade six," Kasdorf told me. "since then I'd worked for him every summer. It was great. I got to spend time with my dad every day. Now I only see him a couple times a year throughout the season, so being able to do that with him growing up was pretty special."

The strong work ethic wrought from of Ewald's time on the farm and the responsibility of helping his family start a new life in a new country with practically nothing would rub off on Jason. "I think my dad's passed on some of those traits to me just hearing about what he did growing up."

Getting to know Jason Kasdorf.

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


This in the first of a two-part series on Sabres goalie prospect, Jason Kasdorf


He was a goalie prospect considered by many to be the proverbial "thrown-in" part of the February 11, 2015 blockbuster trade between the Winnipeg Jets and Buffalo, although it's hard to believe that a meticulous GM like the Sabres Tim Murray would simply point to a name on a roster and say, "Meh, throw him in as well."

The Jets/Sabres deal, had the big names--Evander Kane and Tyler Myers--and included vets Drew Stafford and Zach Bogosian, plus there were Buffalo prospects Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux, as well as a first round pick sent to Winnipeg in the trade. And then there was unsigned goalie Jason Kasdorf who's low draft position and uneven college career at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY left analysts scratching their head asking, "Who?"

TSN's Scott Cullen described Kasdorf as "a curious inclusion in the deal," while others simply didn't think much of, and/or know much about him. Central Scouting Services had Kasdorf as the 10th-ranked US goalie heading into the 2011 NHL Draft and he ended up going in the sixth round (157th) to his hometown Jets. He was the first of seven goalies taken in that round. Even then the Kasdorf pick was considered somewhat sentimental as this was the first draft for the latest incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets. Having a hometown boy in their inaugural draft, many thought, adds to the feel-good story of the Jets return to Winnipeg.

The pick, however, shouldn't be construed as purely sentimental.