Published by hockeybuzz.com 4-25-2019
It was supposed to be the year the Rochester Americans "were built for the playoffs" but it ended up being just another year of getting swept in the first round. Rochester lost 3-1 to the Toronto Marlies (TOR) last night and lost the series 3-0. The Amerks have made the playoffs five times in the last eight seasons and they've been swept out in four of those appearances, three by the Marlies and once by the Syracuse Crunch (TBL.) Overall Rochester has not made it past the first round since 2004-05 when NHL players were being locked out and a group former Sabres team president Ted Black called "the Rochester Guys" got to the second round.
The Sabres farm team has had a weird go if it since then. Under owner Tom Golisano Buffalo shared the Amerks with the Florida Panthers in a dual affiliation that lasted from 2005-07 before they shuffled their AHL affiliation off to Portland, Maine for three seasons. When new owner Terry Pegula bought the Sabres in 2011 he reunited the Sabres and Amerks that off season.
Rochester would make the playoffs three straight seasons from 2011-14 but got swept by the Marlies twice and fell to the Chicago Wolves (STL, at the time) in five games. The Amerks would get caught up in the devastation of the tank years orchestrated by the Sabres, and completed by former general manager Tim Murray, then spent three years digging themselves out of that rut. Sabres GM Jason Botterill and his Rochester general manager, Randy Sexton, focused upon the farm system when they took over in 2017 and loaded up the Amerks as best they could. It resulted in back-to-back playoff appearances.
Sexton was on WGR550 Radio with the morning hosts on Tuesday talking with his club down 2-0 in the series and facing elimination. Development and culture were the predominant buzzwords throughout the early part of the interview as Sexton focused upon those being the ideals they wanted to move forward with after taking over. Rochester made it to the playoffs last season with older players and vets trying to lay down a foundation with which to build upon and Sexton called it, "a good start."
"This year," he continued, "we were very encouraged. We injected a number of young players into the roster, we came within a couple of points of winning first place in the division and third or fourth overall in the American Hockey League, which was another step forward. Obviously progress.
"Now we're into a difficult series with the Marlies and that's all part of the development process."
Showing posts with label Randy Sexton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Randy Sexton. Show all posts
Friday, April 26, 2019
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Day-2 of 2018 NHL Draft was a quirky one for the Buffalo Sabres.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-24-2018
After the Buffalo Sabres added four more defensemen to the stable in the second day of the 2018 NHL Draft, the post-draft from the media scrum was not so much on the players picked as it was on how they got there.
Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was selected first overall, as expected, but as we headed into Day-2 of the draft no one was sure where the Sabres would go. The first round had finished up with a group of players having first-round ratings falling to the second round and Buffalo ended up selecting one of them in Mattias Samuelsson, son of former NHL'er Kjell Samuelsson.
Samuelsson was a familiar name at the draft and as the Sabres moved down the rounds the names became more obscure eventually, even for draftniks. Buffalo was without a third round pick and with the first pick in the fourth round they selected USHL Rookie of the Year, center Matej Pekar, who would be the only forward taken by the Sabres in the draft this year.
Buffalo used their second fourth-rounder (from Minnesota) to select LHD, Linus Lindstrand Cronholm who's name, like last year's pick of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (UPL) is being shortened with the acronym (LLC.) In the fifth round Buffalo stayed in Scandinavia to select Finnish RHD Miska Kukkonen and they ended their day with seventh round pick, LHD William Worge Kreu, their third Swede of the draft.
There's a lot to digest with Buffalo's selections which includes why GM Jason Botterill traded away the first pick in the sixth round this year to Toronto for their sixth-rounder in 2019. It was a move that left many scratching their head and added another area of intrigue in a Buffalo draft that was anything but conventional, especially when you consider that Botterill, a native of Canada, didn't select a player from the CHL for the second year in a row.
In trying to figure out what transpired yesterday, a good place to start would be with the team Botterill put together and how he allows them to do what they were hired to do. Last year the first time GM had to wing it with a staff from the previous regime as a May hire didn't allow any time to build his own. Botterill brought in Randy Sexton last season as assistant general manager and point-man for an amateur scouting staff directed by Ryan Jankowski.
At the conclusion of the draft Botterill told the gathered media, "there was an awkwardness last year," he said explaining that he was trying to get a feel for the people he had plus the uneasiness of the unknown with a new GM in charge. Botterill brought in Sexton, someone he'd worked with for seven years in Pittsburgh and Jankowski who, ironically in terms of this draft, was head scout then director of player personnel for Hockey Canada.
This year with his guys in place, he let them do their thing. "[As GM] you're part of amateur scouting, I follow it throughout the year, but it is a situation where you have to trust those people in those roles," he said. "If you dabble in it a little bit you almost mess it up a lot of times."
As point-man, Sexton took center stage at the post-draft media scrum and after being asked lightheartedly, "How's your Swedish," delved into some of the Sabres philosophy when it come to the draft.
"We don't draft by region. We don't draft by country," he said. "We scour the world for the best players that we can find that play a style that we want to play like going forward and then we work very diligently to learn as much as we can about them as human beings so that they map to our character criteria. We put them in the order that makes most sense based upon the highest probability to become a Sabre and we layer over a little bit of list management so that we can manage our list in a way that gets us the highest number of prospects at the highest part of the list we can get.
"This year it happened to fall that there were a lot of Swedes."
Dahlin was the first of six Swedes taken by NHL teams in the first round and there were 28 taken overall which equaled record highs set in 2009 and 2014. In those two years, defenseman Victor Hedman (TBL,) who just won the Norris Trophy and LW, Gabriel Landeskog (COL,) respectively, were taken with the second-overall pick. Dahlin was taken first overall following Mats Sundin (1989, TOR) as the only two Swedes to be selected with the top pick in the draft.
In all, NHL teams took 247 Swedes during the last 10 drafts with the nation of just over 10 million people (as of 2018 census) pumping out the most players, by far, of any other European country. For Botterill it's not a surprise.
"You look around at the success they've had at the international game, and in the NHL," he said. "So many Swedish defensemen have stepped in and played extremely well. They've done an outstanding job as a country from the development process, especially on the back end [with] the mobility [and] how a lot of NHL teams are now. Swedish players played [that style] growing up."
"We have the SHL and we put the young guys in the senior hockey league pretty quickly," said the 18 yr. old Dahlin, who's been competing against men for nearly two full seasons. "You learn to play against men. That's probably one of the things that helped me so much. I needed to compete every single shift in all situations out there because I was not the strong guy everyone else was, so it helped me out a lot."
Dahlin was the top pick and there were 18 other Swedes selected before the draft reached the top of the fourth round and Buffalo at pick No. 94. The Sabres selected Pekar, a USHL product who will be attending Miami (OH) University, before heading back to Scandinavia for their final three selections. With Samuelsson also heading to college (Western Michigan University) and the three picks from overseas, for the second year in a row the Sabres, even with Jankowski on board, did not select a player from Canadian Junior.
Strange? Maybe. Until we get to the reasoning behind it.
As laid out, the Sabres had their list. Samuelsson for them was the definitive pick at No. 32 and it's hard to argue with the fourth round selection of Pekar, who was named the 2017-18 USHL Rookie of the Year with 54 points (14+40) in 56 games.
After that it almost looked as if the CHL was shunned by Buffalo. But that wasn't the case. When asked if it was a coincidence or whether or not it's something they shy away from, Botterill stated that when it comes to mid-latter round picks, "the fact that you control [CHL] rights for only two years, you have to make a quicker decision on that.
"In a scenario where you have an extended period of four years, in most situations for Europeans or college players," he continued, "it allows you more opportunity to develop."
Sexton said simply that, having worked with Botterill seven years, "there was never a strong desire either way to select CHL players or not select them.
"It's just the luck of the draw."
A case in point for the extended development period can be seen in 2014 seventh round pick (181st,) Victor Olofsson. The smaller 5'11" 172 lb. winger took three years to find his game amongst pros before breaking out last season and winning the Borje Salming Trophy for most goals (27) in the league. The Sabres signed him to his entry-level deal in April.
Center Sean Malone is another example. The West Seneca, NY native was taken in the sixth round (159th) of the 2013 draft and spent four seasons at Harvard. He signed with the club last year, had a real strong rookie campaign in Rochester to the point where he is being looked at as a possibility for Buffalo's opening night roster this coming season.
Most in the hockey world will say that the training and coaching players receive from the time they're young until their draft eligible and beyond puts many on a fairly equal footing, pure talent not withstanding. Drive and desire are huge aspects for the Sabres (in addition to talent) as is the overall makeup of prospects as human beings.
Buffalo's Swedish scout Jan-Axel Alavaara has been with the club for two years (although he'll be moving on to take a position with Germany's Alder-Mannaheim.) In an interview with an overseas website concerning Dahlin, Alavaara delved into his work as a scout. " We have met and discussed 120 players. That's how scouting goes," he said using Google translate. "Everyone has different opinions and you will come up with who you want to bet [on]. Rasmus is a high profile guy, but there are some out there in the world who are great hockey players."
"We assess the entire package," continued Alavaara. "You talk to parents, with friends, with coaches, with everyone. As hockey looks like today, you really do not have any weaknesses at all as players. You have to keep an eye on everything around."
That would include a player like Samuelsson, the son of a NHL player, who was graded in the mid-lower first round of the draft but was still there at No. 32 to start Day-2.
According to Sexton, the Sabres had "lots of calls about trading that pick" but decided to go with the big (6'4" 218 lb.) left-handed defenseman from the USHL. "He was a player that we clearly had a high desired to have in Buffalo," said Sexton of Samuelsson, "and as a result there was no interest in trading away that opportunity."
Bloodlines played a role in the desire to keep pick No. 32 to select Samuelsson, according to Sexton. "The biggest [part] bloodlines can play besides natural talent is the true and deep understanding of what it takes to play at the NHL level," he said. "And I don't mean that lightly
"It's very difficult to play in our league," he continued, "and I've always believed that player who grew up in a hockey family, who's had a family member that has played and has gone through the difficult path it takes to get [to] and stay in the NHL, has a competitive advantage over some of the other players.
"In Mattias' case, he does have a clear understanding. In getting to know him through the interview process, we were struck by his maturity, we were struck by his strength of character, we were struck by his leadership and we were clearly struck by his true understanding of what it takes, and the commitment it takes to not only get to the NHL-level, but to stay and excel at he NHL-level."
And they'll have four years to determine if/how he fits into their plans.
This is year-two of the Botterill regime in Buffalo and it's his first draft with his scouting department in place. The 2018 NHL Draft for Buffalo will go down as a somewhat quirky one, especially with the rarely, if ever, seen trading of a top pick in the sixth round for a blind sixth-rounder the following year. To set the record straight on that, Botterill said that the team felt as if the player(s) they wanted at that spot would still be there at the top of the seventh round and therefore opted to land another pick in next year's draft.
Sabres development camp starts this coming week so most, if not all the players selected by Buffalo will be in attendance. Perhaps there will be more questions surrounding this quirky draft and how they came to find and select LLC, Kukkonen and Worge Kreu.
The Sabres went heavy with defensemen yet still have glaring holes in the pipeline in goal and on the wings which should be addressed, at least somewhat, during free agency. Buffalo selected four defensemen, also signd defenseman Lawrence Pilut out of the SHL and traded for soon to be UFA Brandon Hickey, who just completed his fourth and final season at Boston University and was a team mate of Jack Eichel's for a year.
One could assume that the prospect pool on defense is well stocked right now but we still might be left to wonder what would happen next year if the highest rated players on their board at the time of their selection happened to be defensemen?
Jason Botterill via Sabres.com
After the Buffalo Sabres added four more defensemen to the stable in the second day of the 2018 NHL Draft, the post-draft from the media scrum was not so much on the players picked as it was on how they got there.
Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was selected first overall, as expected, but as we headed into Day-2 of the draft no one was sure where the Sabres would go. The first round had finished up with a group of players having first-round ratings falling to the second round and Buffalo ended up selecting one of them in Mattias Samuelsson, son of former NHL'er Kjell Samuelsson.
Samuelsson was a familiar name at the draft and as the Sabres moved down the rounds the names became more obscure eventually, even for draftniks. Buffalo was without a third round pick and with the first pick in the fourth round they selected USHL Rookie of the Year, center Matej Pekar, who would be the only forward taken by the Sabres in the draft this year.
Buffalo used their second fourth-rounder (from Minnesota) to select LHD, Linus Lindstrand Cronholm who's name, like last year's pick of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (UPL) is being shortened with the acronym (LLC.) In the fifth round Buffalo stayed in Scandinavia to select Finnish RHD Miska Kukkonen and they ended their day with seventh round pick, LHD William Worge Kreu, their third Swede of the draft.
There's a lot to digest with Buffalo's selections which includes why GM Jason Botterill traded away the first pick in the sixth round this year to Toronto for their sixth-rounder in 2019. It was a move that left many scratching their head and added another area of intrigue in a Buffalo draft that was anything but conventional, especially when you consider that Botterill, a native of Canada, didn't select a player from the CHL for the second year in a row.
In trying to figure out what transpired yesterday, a good place to start would be with the team Botterill put together and how he allows them to do what they were hired to do. Last year the first time GM had to wing it with a staff from the previous regime as a May hire didn't allow any time to build his own. Botterill brought in Randy Sexton last season as assistant general manager and point-man for an amateur scouting staff directed by Ryan Jankowski.
At the conclusion of the draft Botterill told the gathered media, "there was an awkwardness last year," he said explaining that he was trying to get a feel for the people he had plus the uneasiness of the unknown with a new GM in charge. Botterill brought in Sexton, someone he'd worked with for seven years in Pittsburgh and Jankowski who, ironically in terms of this draft, was head scout then director of player personnel for Hockey Canada.
This year with his guys in place, he let them do their thing. "[As GM] you're part of amateur scouting, I follow it throughout the year, but it is a situation where you have to trust those people in those roles," he said. "If you dabble in it a little bit you almost mess it up a lot of times."
As point-man, Sexton took center stage at the post-draft media scrum and after being asked lightheartedly, "How's your Swedish," delved into some of the Sabres philosophy when it come to the draft.
"We don't draft by region. We don't draft by country," he said. "We scour the world for the best players that we can find that play a style that we want to play like going forward and then we work very diligently to learn as much as we can about them as human beings so that they map to our character criteria. We put them in the order that makes most sense based upon the highest probability to become a Sabre and we layer over a little bit of list management so that we can manage our list in a way that gets us the highest number of prospects at the highest part of the list we can get.
"This year it happened to fall that there were a lot of Swedes."
Dahlin was the first of six Swedes taken by NHL teams in the first round and there were 28 taken overall which equaled record highs set in 2009 and 2014. In those two years, defenseman Victor Hedman (TBL,) who just won the Norris Trophy and LW, Gabriel Landeskog (COL,) respectively, were taken with the second-overall pick. Dahlin was taken first overall following Mats Sundin (1989, TOR) as the only two Swedes to be selected with the top pick in the draft.
In all, NHL teams took 247 Swedes during the last 10 drafts with the nation of just over 10 million people (as of 2018 census) pumping out the most players, by far, of any other European country. For Botterill it's not a surprise.
"You look around at the success they've had at the international game, and in the NHL," he said. "So many Swedish defensemen have stepped in and played extremely well. They've done an outstanding job as a country from the development process, especially on the back end [with] the mobility [and] how a lot of NHL teams are now. Swedish players played [that style] growing up."
"We have the SHL and we put the young guys in the senior hockey league pretty quickly," said the 18 yr. old Dahlin, who's been competing against men for nearly two full seasons. "You learn to play against men. That's probably one of the things that helped me so much. I needed to compete every single shift in all situations out there because I was not the strong guy everyone else was, so it helped me out a lot."
Dahlin was the top pick and there were 18 other Swedes selected before the draft reached the top of the fourth round and Buffalo at pick No. 94. The Sabres selected Pekar, a USHL product who will be attending Miami (OH) University, before heading back to Scandinavia for their final three selections. With Samuelsson also heading to college (Western Michigan University) and the three picks from overseas, for the second year in a row the Sabres, even with Jankowski on board, did not select a player from Canadian Junior.
Strange? Maybe. Until we get to the reasoning behind it.
As laid out, the Sabres had their list. Samuelsson for them was the definitive pick at No. 32 and it's hard to argue with the fourth round selection of Pekar, who was named the 2017-18 USHL Rookie of the Year with 54 points (14+40) in 56 games.
After that it almost looked as if the CHL was shunned by Buffalo. But that wasn't the case. When asked if it was a coincidence or whether or not it's something they shy away from, Botterill stated that when it comes to mid-latter round picks, "the fact that you control [CHL] rights for only two years, you have to make a quicker decision on that.
"In a scenario where you have an extended period of four years, in most situations for Europeans or college players," he continued, "it allows you more opportunity to develop."
Sexton said simply that, having worked with Botterill seven years, "there was never a strong desire either way to select CHL players or not select them.
"It's just the luck of the draw."
A case in point for the extended development period can be seen in 2014 seventh round pick (181st,) Victor Olofsson. The smaller 5'11" 172 lb. winger took three years to find his game amongst pros before breaking out last season and winning the Borje Salming Trophy for most goals (27) in the league. The Sabres signed him to his entry-level deal in April.
Center Sean Malone is another example. The West Seneca, NY native was taken in the sixth round (159th) of the 2013 draft and spent four seasons at Harvard. He signed with the club last year, had a real strong rookie campaign in Rochester to the point where he is being looked at as a possibility for Buffalo's opening night roster this coming season.
Most in the hockey world will say that the training and coaching players receive from the time they're young until their draft eligible and beyond puts many on a fairly equal footing, pure talent not withstanding. Drive and desire are huge aspects for the Sabres (in addition to talent) as is the overall makeup of prospects as human beings.
Buffalo's Swedish scout Jan-Axel Alavaara has been with the club for two years (although he'll be moving on to take a position with Germany's Alder-Mannaheim.) In an interview with an overseas website concerning Dahlin, Alavaara delved into his work as a scout. " We have met and discussed 120 players. That's how scouting goes," he said using Google translate. "Everyone has different opinions and you will come up with who you want to bet [on]. Rasmus is a high profile guy, but there are some out there in the world who are great hockey players."
"We assess the entire package," continued Alavaara. "You talk to parents, with friends, with coaches, with everyone. As hockey looks like today, you really do not have any weaknesses at all as players. You have to keep an eye on everything around."
That would include a player like Samuelsson, the son of a NHL player, who was graded in the mid-lower first round of the draft but was still there at No. 32 to start Day-2.
According to Sexton, the Sabres had "lots of calls about trading that pick" but decided to go with the big (6'4" 218 lb.) left-handed defenseman from the USHL. "He was a player that we clearly had a high desired to have in Buffalo," said Sexton of Samuelsson, "and as a result there was no interest in trading away that opportunity."
Bloodlines played a role in the desire to keep pick No. 32 to select Samuelsson, according to Sexton. "The biggest [part] bloodlines can play besides natural talent is the true and deep understanding of what it takes to play at the NHL level," he said. "And I don't mean that lightly
"It's very difficult to play in our league," he continued, "and I've always believed that player who grew up in a hockey family, who's had a family member that has played and has gone through the difficult path it takes to get [to] and stay in the NHL, has a competitive advantage over some of the other players.
"In Mattias' case, he does have a clear understanding. In getting to know him through the interview process, we were struck by his maturity, we were struck by his strength of character, we were struck by his leadership and we were clearly struck by his true understanding of what it takes, and the commitment it takes to not only get to the NHL-level, but to stay and excel at he NHL-level."
And they'll have four years to determine if/how he fits into their plans.
This is year-two of the Botterill regime in Buffalo and it's his first draft with his scouting department in place. The 2018 NHL Draft for Buffalo will go down as a somewhat quirky one, especially with the rarely, if ever, seen trading of a top pick in the sixth round for a blind sixth-rounder the following year. To set the record straight on that, Botterill said that the team felt as if the player(s) they wanted at that spot would still be there at the top of the seventh round and therefore opted to land another pick in next year's draft.
Sabres development camp starts this coming week so most, if not all the players selected by Buffalo will be in attendance. Perhaps there will be more questions surrounding this quirky draft and how they came to find and select LLC, Kukkonen and Worge Kreu.
The Sabres went heavy with defensemen yet still have glaring holes in the pipeline in goal and on the wings which should be addressed, at least somewhat, during free agency. Buffalo selected four defensemen, also signd defenseman Lawrence Pilut out of the SHL and traded for soon to be UFA Brandon Hickey, who just completed his fourth and final season at Boston University and was a team mate of Jack Eichel's for a year.
One could assume that the prospect pool on defense is well stocked right now but we still might be left to wonder what would happen next year if the highest rated players on their board at the time of their selection happened to be defensemen?
Jason Botterill via Sabres.com
Randy Sexton via Sabres.com
Friday, December 8, 2017
Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens talks of culture and confidence in Rochester
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-7-2017
If you noticed a difference in the way the Buffalo Sabres played on Tuesday night in Colorado, you weren't seeing things. Heading into the matchup the Sabres were in a serious 1-9-2 rut that included being shut out three times in a row (a franchise record for futility) and goal-less drought that lasted almost four full games in length.
Frustrated with the way his team was playing, GM Jason Botterill shook things up by waiving veteran forward Matt Moulson and his $5 million salary and trading for forward Scott Wilson, a player he was quite familiar from his time in Pittsburgh. In addition, center Evan Rodrigues got the call from Rochester to join Hudson Fasching who had been called up from the Amerks the prior game.
None of Wilson, Rodrigues or Fasching scored a point in the game, but they had an impact in how the team looked as a whole. Buffalo played a fast, north/south game up and down the lineup and were hard on the puck which eventually lead to a 4-2 victory. Two of the Sabres goals were scored at even strength, compared to zero for the Avalanche, one was scored short-handed and the last was into an empty net. It's the type of game that Botterill and coach Phil Housley had wanted to see their team play more often and it may have been their best 60-minute performance in a winning effort this season.
When Botterill took the job this past April, the Sabres organization was in need of a culture change. He had two problems, one in Buffalo and the other in Rochester. Both teams were flailing and on July 1, the first time GM went to work to stabilize Rochester. He signed five players ticketed for Rochester that day including Kevin Porter, who had spent the previous two seasons with him in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
When Botterill came to Buffalo, he brought in Randy Sexton as his assistant GM, and the general manager of Rochester, as well as Chris Taylor to be his head coach, both of whom came from the Penguins. Sexton followed Botterill's lead with Porter and signed more 'Baby Pens' to the Amerks in an effort to help stop a losing culture in Rochester using an influx of personnel that knew success and what it took to get there.
"[The Sabres] came in with Botterill and Randy Sexton and the rest of the group," long-time Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens told me, "and the number-one focus was to change the culture. As Sexton said," continued Stevens, "it's a lot easier to change the culture here (at the AHL-level) than it is up-top because of salaries and all the different things that go on up above. You can't do it as rapidly (in the NHL) as you can here.
"I think we've seen a pretty good change in culture here.
The results have been very good so far as the culture change is taking hold. The Amerks are 12-5-3-2 on the season and sit in second place in the North Division after finishing near the bottom of the league for the prior three seasons.
Porter, whom Botterill knew well from his time in Pittsburgh and whom he spoke very highly of, is the captain and leads the charge of 'Baby Pens'. Sexton, who was Pittsburgh's director of amateur scouting prior his role in the Sabres organization, continued by bringing in four more former Pens--centers Sahir Gill and Adam Krause, defensemen Stuart Percy and Barry Goers.
In addition, the Amerks brought in players like Kyle Criscuolo, Nathan Paetsch and Connor Allen, all of whom were on last year's Calder Cup Champion Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) team.
It's a good mix of players overall. And when you add in young players and rookies from the Sabres pipeline it creates something the team hasn't had in a while, depth, an aspect that's rather crucial to the success of an AHL team.
The Sabres went through a rash of injuries on the blueline earlier this season and have dressed 11 defensemen so far. Although injuries haven't hit the forward ranks as hard, the Sabres did call up a number of forwards from Rochester including Criscuolo for eight games and Justin Bailey for seven. Seth Griffith looked to be ticketed for Rochester out of camp but stayed in Buffalo and played in 18 games for the Sabres. It's the nature of the beast. "But the difference (for the Amerks,)" said Stevens, "is that there's enough depth here, which we haven't had in the past decade or so, to weather the storm.
The AHL is a tough business in that they're in it to win, but they also have a very important role in developing the youngins. The two aren't mutually exclusive and as we've seen, development without winning may not be development at all (Buffalo,) and that winning is the best form of development (Pittsburgh.)
Every time we've talked, Stevens has mentioned needing an environment that allows prospects and players to develop at their own pace and the need to keep them at the AHL-level until they're ready to make the jump. As our attention moved towards individual players, like 20 yr. old d-prospect Brendan Guhle, the word confidence, "which seems to be an overall theme for the team," according to Stevens, came to the fore.
Guhle is playing all-situations, top-pairing minutes as a rookie in his first full pro season. In 21 games he has 14 points (5+9) and is a plus-8. Those are just the numbers, but what Stevens has been seeing from the young player is "more confidence rushing the puck" and that he "is now one of those who is willing to take chances." However, Guhle's successes circle back to the depth in Rochester. "He's doing things he might have held back on," said Stevens, "and trying more things than he used to because he knows he's got somebody back there who's going to cover up for him."
Coach Taylor seems to have made a lot of good moves in his first stint as a head coach and he has the team in a good place. After Fasching got called up, he told the gathered media about the feel in Rochester. "Guys there are happy," he said. "We're excited to be there every day. There's a lot of energy at the rink. It's fun to be there, fun to play like that.
"We're almost playing more loose, more relaxed."
Earlier in the season it wasn't quite that way as the Amerks had lost three of their prior four games and were down 3-0 vs. the Laval Rocket (MTL) at Blue Cross Arena. They were being booed by the home crowd as they left the ice for the second intermission but came back to tie the score with three unanswered goals in the third and won the game in overtime.
Taylor told his team during the intermission to relax and just play their game. A reporter stated that with his team down 3-0, he had to have a lot of confidence in them. "For sure I have a lot of confidence," said Taylor. "I see them every day. I have confidence in everyone of those guys in the locker room and that's what it's all about. And they have to have the confidence in me. We're all in this together."
That was on October 27th, since then his team has gone 8-2-5 and have gotten points in 13 of their last 14 games (8-1-5.)
Rodrigues and Fasching both seem to have benefitted well from the change in culture, especially Fasching. The 6'3" 204 lb. winger was traded for by the former regime for his size and ability to work the front of the net. The issue with him, other than youthful inconsistencies, has been his skating. Fasching will never have blazing speed but the difference between last season and this year is that he's playing the game faster and it looks as if he's a faster player because of it. Although he still needs to produce at the NHL-level and will need to develop more consistency, which is typical of most young players, he looks like he took a big step forward.
Rodrigues had shown marked improvement last season and looked to be on the Sabres roster until an injury sidelined him in training camp. After being sent to Rochester to start his season and managing one assist through his first three games, Rodrigues used a four-point game and a three-point game to leave Rochester with 10 points (5+5) in eight games. "Again, it's that confidence-level," said Stevens.
Another player playing with a lot of confidence is goaltender Linus Ullmark.
Ullmark took the reigns of the starting goalie position last season and was the Amerks MVP. Back in October, Stevens said that the best thing for Ullmark was that the Sabres got back-up Chad Johnson in the off season which kept the 24 yr. old developing in Rochester.
That may change, however, as Buffalo's goalies are becoming a part of trade rumors. Should one of Robin Lehner or Johnson be moved and the Sabres receive no NHL goalie in return, Ullmark may end up in Buffalo. It's something Stevens doesn't want to see for Ullmark and the Amerks, but something that may happen.
When asked if he thought Ullmark was ready to make the jump, Stevens, who's always been an advocate of keeping young players in the AHL for as long as necessary, said, "yes," but qualified it by saying, "but I would like to have him [finish the year here] so that when he goes into next year, he's just brimming with confidence."
We need to keep in mind that despite the Sabres playing one of their best games of the season on the road and winning on Tuesday, they're still a 7-17-4 team, something that may not be conducive to proper development if they continue down that road.
"[Ullmark's] built up to where he's at now and I would hate to see him go into a situation on a team that's really struggling the way they are, and he plays well but doesn't get the wins and starts to lose that confidence."
Which happens all the time, especially with team trying to rush players.
But Botterill seems to have Rochester on the right track which benefits the Amerks right now and will eventually make it's way up to Buffalo. There are a lot of players who've played under Botterill and they're beginning to make their way onto the Sabres. Players like Wilson, and to an extent Rodrigues and Fasching, know what he and his staff are trying to do and know their roles are in this process.
Rochester is having success right now but by no means are they an AHL juggernaut at this time, as inconstancies still rule. It's something they "really need to develop," according to Stevens, but the foundation seems to be there which is a major step in the right direction.
If you noticed a difference in the way the Buffalo Sabres played on Tuesday night in Colorado, you weren't seeing things. Heading into the matchup the Sabres were in a serious 1-9-2 rut that included being shut out three times in a row (a franchise record for futility) and goal-less drought that lasted almost four full games in length.
Frustrated with the way his team was playing, GM Jason Botterill shook things up by waiving veteran forward Matt Moulson and his $5 million salary and trading for forward Scott Wilson, a player he was quite familiar from his time in Pittsburgh. In addition, center Evan Rodrigues got the call from Rochester to join Hudson Fasching who had been called up from the Amerks the prior game.
None of Wilson, Rodrigues or Fasching scored a point in the game, but they had an impact in how the team looked as a whole. Buffalo played a fast, north/south game up and down the lineup and were hard on the puck which eventually lead to a 4-2 victory. Two of the Sabres goals were scored at even strength, compared to zero for the Avalanche, one was scored short-handed and the last was into an empty net. It's the type of game that Botterill and coach Phil Housley had wanted to see their team play more often and it may have been their best 60-minute performance in a winning effort this season.
When Botterill took the job this past April, the Sabres organization was in need of a culture change. He had two problems, one in Buffalo and the other in Rochester. Both teams were flailing and on July 1, the first time GM went to work to stabilize Rochester. He signed five players ticketed for Rochester that day including Kevin Porter, who had spent the previous two seasons with him in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
When Botterill came to Buffalo, he brought in Randy Sexton as his assistant GM, and the general manager of Rochester, as well as Chris Taylor to be his head coach, both of whom came from the Penguins. Sexton followed Botterill's lead with Porter and signed more 'Baby Pens' to the Amerks in an effort to help stop a losing culture in Rochester using an influx of personnel that knew success and what it took to get there.
"[The Sabres] came in with Botterill and Randy Sexton and the rest of the group," long-time Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens told me, "and the number-one focus was to change the culture. As Sexton said," continued Stevens, "it's a lot easier to change the culture here (at the AHL-level) than it is up-top because of salaries and all the different things that go on up above. You can't do it as rapidly (in the NHL) as you can here.
"I think we've seen a pretty good change in culture here.
The results have been very good so far as the culture change is taking hold. The Amerks are 12-5-3-2 on the season and sit in second place in the North Division after finishing near the bottom of the league for the prior three seasons.
Porter, whom Botterill knew well from his time in Pittsburgh and whom he spoke very highly of, is the captain and leads the charge of 'Baby Pens'. Sexton, who was Pittsburgh's director of amateur scouting prior his role in the Sabres organization, continued by bringing in four more former Pens--centers Sahir Gill and Adam Krause, defensemen Stuart Percy and Barry Goers.
In addition, the Amerks brought in players like Kyle Criscuolo, Nathan Paetsch and Connor Allen, all of whom were on last year's Calder Cup Champion Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) team.
It's a good mix of players overall. And when you add in young players and rookies from the Sabres pipeline it creates something the team hasn't had in a while, depth, an aspect that's rather crucial to the success of an AHL team.
The Sabres went through a rash of injuries on the blueline earlier this season and have dressed 11 defensemen so far. Although injuries haven't hit the forward ranks as hard, the Sabres did call up a number of forwards from Rochester including Criscuolo for eight games and Justin Bailey for seven. Seth Griffith looked to be ticketed for Rochester out of camp but stayed in Buffalo and played in 18 games for the Sabres. It's the nature of the beast. "But the difference (for the Amerks,)" said Stevens, "is that there's enough depth here, which we haven't had in the past decade or so, to weather the storm.
The AHL is a tough business in that they're in it to win, but they also have a very important role in developing the youngins. The two aren't mutually exclusive and as we've seen, development without winning may not be development at all (Buffalo,) and that winning is the best form of development (Pittsburgh.)
Every time we've talked, Stevens has mentioned needing an environment that allows prospects and players to develop at their own pace and the need to keep them at the AHL-level until they're ready to make the jump. As our attention moved towards individual players, like 20 yr. old d-prospect Brendan Guhle, the word confidence, "which seems to be an overall theme for the team," according to Stevens, came to the fore.
Guhle is playing all-situations, top-pairing minutes as a rookie in his first full pro season. In 21 games he has 14 points (5+9) and is a plus-8. Those are just the numbers, but what Stevens has been seeing from the young player is "more confidence rushing the puck" and that he "is now one of those who is willing to take chances." However, Guhle's successes circle back to the depth in Rochester. "He's doing things he might have held back on," said Stevens, "and trying more things than he used to because he knows he's got somebody back there who's going to cover up for him."
Coach Taylor seems to have made a lot of good moves in his first stint as a head coach and he has the team in a good place. After Fasching got called up, he told the gathered media about the feel in Rochester. "Guys there are happy," he said. "We're excited to be there every day. There's a lot of energy at the rink. It's fun to be there, fun to play like that.
"We're almost playing more loose, more relaxed."
Earlier in the season it wasn't quite that way as the Amerks had lost three of their prior four games and were down 3-0 vs. the Laval Rocket (MTL) at Blue Cross Arena. They were being booed by the home crowd as they left the ice for the second intermission but came back to tie the score with three unanswered goals in the third and won the game in overtime.
Taylor told his team during the intermission to relax and just play their game. A reporter stated that with his team down 3-0, he had to have a lot of confidence in them. "For sure I have a lot of confidence," said Taylor. "I see them every day. I have confidence in everyone of those guys in the locker room and that's what it's all about. And they have to have the confidence in me. We're all in this together."
That was on October 27th, since then his team has gone 8-2-5 and have gotten points in 13 of their last 14 games (8-1-5.)
Rodrigues and Fasching both seem to have benefitted well from the change in culture, especially Fasching. The 6'3" 204 lb. winger was traded for by the former regime for his size and ability to work the front of the net. The issue with him, other than youthful inconsistencies, has been his skating. Fasching will never have blazing speed but the difference between last season and this year is that he's playing the game faster and it looks as if he's a faster player because of it. Although he still needs to produce at the NHL-level and will need to develop more consistency, which is typical of most young players, he looks like he took a big step forward.
Rodrigues had shown marked improvement last season and looked to be on the Sabres roster until an injury sidelined him in training camp. After being sent to Rochester to start his season and managing one assist through his first three games, Rodrigues used a four-point game and a three-point game to leave Rochester with 10 points (5+5) in eight games. "Again, it's that confidence-level," said Stevens.
Another player playing with a lot of confidence is goaltender Linus Ullmark.
Ullmark took the reigns of the starting goalie position last season and was the Amerks MVP. Back in October, Stevens said that the best thing for Ullmark was that the Sabres got back-up Chad Johnson in the off season which kept the 24 yr. old developing in Rochester.
That may change, however, as Buffalo's goalies are becoming a part of trade rumors. Should one of Robin Lehner or Johnson be moved and the Sabres receive no NHL goalie in return, Ullmark may end up in Buffalo. It's something Stevens doesn't want to see for Ullmark and the Amerks, but something that may happen.
When asked if he thought Ullmark was ready to make the jump, Stevens, who's always been an advocate of keeping young players in the AHL for as long as necessary, said, "yes," but qualified it by saying, "but I would like to have him [finish the year here] so that when he goes into next year, he's just brimming with confidence."
We need to keep in mind that despite the Sabres playing one of their best games of the season on the road and winning on Tuesday, they're still a 7-17-4 team, something that may not be conducive to proper development if they continue down that road.
"[Ullmark's] built up to where he's at now and I would hate to see him go into a situation on a team that's really struggling the way they are, and he plays well but doesn't get the wins and starts to lose that confidence."
Which happens all the time, especially with team trying to rush players.
But Botterill seems to have Rochester on the right track which benefits the Amerks right now and will eventually make it's way up to Buffalo. There are a lot of players who've played under Botterill and they're beginning to make their way onto the Sabres. Players like Wilson, and to an extent Rodrigues and Fasching, know what he and his staff are trying to do and know their roles are in this process.
Rochester is having success right now but by no means are they an AHL juggernaut at this time, as inconstancies still rule. It's something they "really need to develop," according to Stevens, but the foundation seems to be there which is a major step in the right direction.
Friday, July 21, 2017
Botterill and Sexton's framework includes former Baby Pens and NCAA players
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-19-2017
Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill and Randy Sexton, his Buffalo assistant and general manager for the Rochester Americans, have a couple of things in common. First off they both came over from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization on the heels of back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships and second, both Botterill and Sexton went to college in the U.S. and graduated with MBA's.
The two are in charge of building a winning culture from Buffalo to Rochester to Cincinnati, the Sabres new ECHL affiliate. To do so they need players they think will get the job done and to no one's surprise, they tapped into the roster of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins AHL affiliate to help jumpstart the program in Rochester.
It began on Day-1 of free agency when Botterill brought in a very familiar name in center Kevin Porter. The Detroit, Michigan native spent two seasons (2012-14) in the Sabres organization then spent a season with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) before landing in the Pittsburgh where he spent the last two seasons.
Sexton tapped into the Pens organization yesterday when he signed defenseman Barry Goers and center Adam Krause to AHL contracts. The 31 yr. old Goers spent the last four seasons in WBS compiling 30 points (7+23) in 127 games while Krause played in 29 games over two seasons with the Baby Pens registering four goals and seven assists. The 6'3" 210 lb. Krause started his pro career with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL scoring 26 goals and adding 26 assists.
“Our success story or what our model's been in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, what we'll try to implement in Rochester, is very much the same with an emphasis on creating a winning environment and a strong coaching staff that's very tied to what goes on at the National Hockey League level," said Botterill at his presser.
In a piece via Amerks.com, Sexton continued to lay out the philosophy of creating a winning environment, “We added depth across the organization, both in Rochester and in Buffalo, and there are three or four players that I think for sure will play games in Buffalo, and might even earn a full-time spot,” he said. “But if not, they’ll be the types of players that will come to Rochester. They will provide leadership, they will provide some offensive capabilities and some good defensive capabilities, so that our young kids can learn in an environment that has success. Building confidence and having success on a frequent basis in a winning environment, that’s about development.”
Part of that environment will also be leaning heavily on the influence of hockey players from the college ranks. From Jack Eichel to recently signed free agent defenseman Andrew MacWilliam, the Sabres organization is full of players and prospects with college ties. On July 1 Porter (Michigan) was joined by fellow college alum Kyle Criscuolo (Harvard,) Matt Tennyson (Western Michigan) and Adam Wilcox (Minnesota) in joining the Sabres organization.
Other college grads whom the Sabres have signed recently include a group of C.J. Smith (UMASS-Lowell,) Adam Kile (Michigan,) Justin Danforth (Sacred Heart University, Atlantic Hockey Association) and MacWilliam (North Dakota.) Evan Rodrigues (Boston University) and Casey Nelson Minnesota State) were both signed out of college in 2015 and there are numerous drafted players that will either be attending college like 2017 eighth-overall pick Casey Mittelstadt (Minnesota,) are still in college like 92nd overall pick (2015) Will Borgen at St. Cloud State or graduated and have started their pro careers (Hudson Fasching, Minnesota.)
Sabres owner Terry Pegula has been focusing on the NCAA ever since he sold his interest in East Resources in 2010. The first thing he did was donate what would end up being over $100 million to his alma mater, Penn State, for a D-1 hockey program. Last month he was credited with laying the groundwork for the NHL's college hockey initiative, "a project to promote the growth of NCAA Division-1 men's and women's hockey," according to NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman.
The program is in it's infancy but it aims to explore adding D-1 college hockey programs across the U.S.
Bettman, who announced the program at the NHL Draft in Chicago last month, used Penn State as an example saying that they've already "achieved a level of great success in it's short history," noting that the D-1 men's hockey program, which began in 2012-13, was ranked No. 1 at one point in the 2016-17 season. Those direct results of Pegula's generous donation to Penn State was the driving force for an initiative that hopes to "incentivize and raise awareness for schools that may be interested in adding a D-1 hockey program," said Bettman.
The idea is to expand hockey's footprint in the U.S. using D-1 programs as a way of leading towards more youth hockey. "What we've found is, where high-level hockey is established," said Bettman, "youth hockey will also follow as well.
"By expanding our footprint at all levels for elite programs, we can inspire new players and parents to join the hockey family."
The reliance of NHL teams on college hockey has grown considerably as "a record 314 former college players skated in the NHL in 2016-17, comprising 32% of the league," wrote CollegeHockeyInc. "That number was just 20% at the turn of the century. The Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins featured more former college players than any NHL team in history."
Botterill and Sexton both played hockey in college with Botterill making it to the NHL at a time when the NHL relied heavily on players from the Canadian Junior Leagues. A lot has changed since with Pittsburgh being on the cutting edge of the movement more towards college players. Contributions at the NHL-level, like with Jake Guentzel (University of Nebraska-Omaha) have been well documented, but it should also be noted that the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have made the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs the last eight seasons, all with Botterill's guidance.
It's certainly something of interest in Rochester where the Amerks have missed the playoffs the last three seasons and have only made them thrice since 2004-05, which happened to be with Botterill on the roster in his final pro season.
Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill and Randy Sexton, his Buffalo assistant and general manager for the Rochester Americans, have a couple of things in common. First off they both came over from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization on the heels of back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships and second, both Botterill and Sexton went to college in the U.S. and graduated with MBA's.
The two are in charge of building a winning culture from Buffalo to Rochester to Cincinnati, the Sabres new ECHL affiliate. To do so they need players they think will get the job done and to no one's surprise, they tapped into the roster of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins AHL affiliate to help jumpstart the program in Rochester.
It began on Day-1 of free agency when Botterill brought in a very familiar name in center Kevin Porter. The Detroit, Michigan native spent two seasons (2012-14) in the Sabres organization then spent a season with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) before landing in the Pittsburgh where he spent the last two seasons.
Sexton tapped into the Pens organization yesterday when he signed defenseman Barry Goers and center Adam Krause to AHL contracts. The 31 yr. old Goers spent the last four seasons in WBS compiling 30 points (7+23) in 127 games while Krause played in 29 games over two seasons with the Baby Pens registering four goals and seven assists. The 6'3" 210 lb. Krause started his pro career with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL scoring 26 goals and adding 26 assists.
“Our success story or what our model's been in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, what we'll try to implement in Rochester, is very much the same with an emphasis on creating a winning environment and a strong coaching staff that's very tied to what goes on at the National Hockey League level," said Botterill at his presser.
In a piece via Amerks.com, Sexton continued to lay out the philosophy of creating a winning environment, “We added depth across the organization, both in Rochester and in Buffalo, and there are three or four players that I think for sure will play games in Buffalo, and might even earn a full-time spot,” he said. “But if not, they’ll be the types of players that will come to Rochester. They will provide leadership, they will provide some offensive capabilities and some good defensive capabilities, so that our young kids can learn in an environment that has success. Building confidence and having success on a frequent basis in a winning environment, that’s about development.”
Part of that environment will also be leaning heavily on the influence of hockey players from the college ranks. From Jack Eichel to recently signed free agent defenseman Andrew MacWilliam, the Sabres organization is full of players and prospects with college ties. On July 1 Porter (Michigan) was joined by fellow college alum Kyle Criscuolo (Harvard,) Matt Tennyson (Western Michigan) and Adam Wilcox (Minnesota) in joining the Sabres organization.
Other college grads whom the Sabres have signed recently include a group of C.J. Smith (UMASS-Lowell,) Adam Kile (Michigan,) Justin Danforth (Sacred Heart University, Atlantic Hockey Association) and MacWilliam (North Dakota.) Evan Rodrigues (Boston University) and Casey Nelson Minnesota State) were both signed out of college in 2015 and there are numerous drafted players that will either be attending college like 2017 eighth-overall pick Casey Mittelstadt (Minnesota,) are still in college like 92nd overall pick (2015) Will Borgen at St. Cloud State or graduated and have started their pro careers (Hudson Fasching, Minnesota.)
Sabres owner Terry Pegula has been focusing on the NCAA ever since he sold his interest in East Resources in 2010. The first thing he did was donate what would end up being over $100 million to his alma mater, Penn State, for a D-1 hockey program. Last month he was credited with laying the groundwork for the NHL's college hockey initiative, "a project to promote the growth of NCAA Division-1 men's and women's hockey," according to NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman.
The program is in it's infancy but it aims to explore adding D-1 college hockey programs across the U.S.
Bettman, who announced the program at the NHL Draft in Chicago last month, used Penn State as an example saying that they've already "achieved a level of great success in it's short history," noting that the D-1 men's hockey program, which began in 2012-13, was ranked No. 1 at one point in the 2016-17 season. Those direct results of Pegula's generous donation to Penn State was the driving force for an initiative that hopes to "incentivize and raise awareness for schools that may be interested in adding a D-1 hockey program," said Bettman.
The idea is to expand hockey's footprint in the U.S. using D-1 programs as a way of leading towards more youth hockey. "What we've found is, where high-level hockey is established," said Bettman, "youth hockey will also follow as well.
"By expanding our footprint at all levels for elite programs, we can inspire new players and parents to join the hockey family."
The reliance of NHL teams on college hockey has grown considerably as "a record 314 former college players skated in the NHL in 2016-17, comprising 32% of the league," wrote CollegeHockeyInc. "That number was just 20% at the turn of the century. The Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins featured more former college players than any NHL team in history."
Botterill and Sexton both played hockey in college with Botterill making it to the NHL at a time when the NHL relied heavily on players from the Canadian Junior Leagues. A lot has changed since with Pittsburgh being on the cutting edge of the movement more towards college players. Contributions at the NHL-level, like with Jake Guentzel (University of Nebraska-Omaha) have been well documented, but it should also be noted that the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have made the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs the last eight seasons, all with Botterill's guidance.
It's certainly something of interest in Rochester where the Amerks have missed the playoffs the last three seasons and have only made them thrice since 2004-05, which happened to be with Botterill on the roster in his final pro season.
Friday, July 14, 2017
Randy Sexton's relentless pursuit to revitalize the Rochester Americans
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-12-2017
Late last month, new Sabres general manager Jason Botterill poached Randy Sexton from the Pittsburgh Penguins and made him GM of the Rochester Americans, Buffalo's AHL affiliate. Sexton was Pittsburgh's director of amateur scouting and played a big part in having young, dynamic role-players fill in around high-priced superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Rochester is not an unfamiliar city to Sexton as he was involved with the Amerks while with the Florida Panthers from 2007-10. Rochester was the dual affiliate of both Buffalo and Florida in 2005 and 2006 before the Sabres moved on to an affiliation with Portland, ME from 2007-11 leaving the Panthers as Rochester's lone parent club.
After being replaced in Florida after the 2009-10 season, Sexton joined the Penguins organization on July 3, 2010 as an assistant director of amateur scouting. He would spend the next seven years working with Botterill and helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup twice.
Botterill gave Sexton the dual responsibilities of being his assistant in Buffalo as well as the title of GM in Rochester but he also asked Sexton to lead the amateur scouting group for the organization. And if that wasn't enough on his plate, Sexton also said he offered his services to Rob Kopacz, Vice President of Business Operations for the Rochester Americans. In an interview with long-time Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens at the recently concluded Sabres Development Camp, Sexton said that he "has built franchises in the past from the business side" and "will do anything he can to help build a stronger business side in Rochester."
However, Sexton's role will be "mostly on-ice, mostly hockey related," he told Stevens. "We need to reshape our organization [in Rochester]. The guys before us have done a really solid job, now what we need to do is add more depth and strength and talent to the stable they've already built."
Botterill certainly helped in that respect as he had a very busy July 1 start to free agency. He began up-front when he started and finished the day by signing forwards Benoit Pouliot and Jacob Josefson, two NHL'ers who fill the NHL depth chart that will keep young players in Rochester for further development. He also signed forwards Kevin Porter and 2017 Calder Cup Champion Kyle Criscuolo to help guide the young Amerks players.
But maybe more important for the Sabres organization is what Botterill has done on the defensive side of the equation since taking over. The Sabres defense last season was a huge Achilles heal for the club and it was a main priority for the new GM. On June 15 Botterill hired Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Housley, who was a premier puck-moving, offensive defenseman in his playing career and was now having success in the coaching ranks with the Nashville Predators. As an assistant in Nashville Housley helped develop what was considered to be the most dangerous defense-corps in the 2017 NHL playoffs.
Botterill followed the Housley hire with trades that brought in defenseman Nathan Beaulieu (MTL) and Marco Scandella (MIN.) Both are mobile puck-movers who fit right into the direction Buffalo is headed with their defense and it's all an extension of what Botterill and Sexton were doing in Pittsburgh.
Sexton was running the 2017 NHL Draft for Pittsburgh before he left for Buffalo. The Pens took four defensemen in June that fit in with what they wanted. He told the gathered media after the Draft that the defensemen the Penguins were looking for "have to be mobile, they have to have vision and they have to be able to move the puck. We don't like Clydesdales, we like thoroughbreds. So all of these D-men can skate."
The additions of Beaulieu and Scandella, who are in that mold, would help transition Buffalo's defense by pushing the Sabres depth chart down to the Amerks. Solidifying the Sabres top-six means a player like Brendan Guhle will be able to stay in Rochester for a year of seasoning instead of being thrown into the fire in Buffalo. It gives Taylor Fedun another opportunity for top-pairing minutes on defense in Rochester and Casey Nelson will also be able to build upon a strong finish for the Amerks last season. Then there are the prospects that will (hopefully) follow like Devante Stephens, Will Borgen, Casey Fitzgerald and Oskari Laaksonen all of whom will be given ample time to develop at their own pace.
The key, according to Sexton, is building depth reaching all the way to their ECHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones. "The depth that's required across an organization, to ensure that all teams remain successful and competitive, is significant so we do need to add more depth," he told Stevens.
Buffalo's roster is looking pretty well set (barring a trade or unforeseen circumstances) and it looks as if there will be some stiff competition for a few roster spots. Those who don't make the cut will be sent to Rochester meaning Sexton will have some pretty good players falling to him from forwards to defensemen to goalie Linus Ullmark, last year's starter in Rochester. When Botterill signed veteran Chad Johnson to back up Robin Lehner, it meant Ullmark gets another season of development while the Amerks get their starting goalie back.
It's good news for the Sabres and real good news for the Amerks. Rochester has missed the playoffs the last three seasons and haven't made it out of the first round since 2004-05 when the NHL locked out its players for the entire season and Botterill played for the Amerks in his final season.
Botterill said at his introductory presser that he would focus upon revitalizing the Rochester Americans. Both he and Sexton have ties Amerks, both came from an organization in Pittsburgh that had a top-notch AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and it's something they both want for the Sabres. “We are not going to rest until we restore the Americans to what I think is their rightful place among the elite teams in the American Hockey League,” Sexton told the media during Sabres Development Camp. “It will come one day at a time, it will come one person at a time. But we will be relentless in our pursuit of that success.”
Late last month, new Sabres general manager Jason Botterill poached Randy Sexton from the Pittsburgh Penguins and made him GM of the Rochester Americans, Buffalo's AHL affiliate. Sexton was Pittsburgh's director of amateur scouting and played a big part in having young, dynamic role-players fill in around high-priced superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Rochester is not an unfamiliar city to Sexton as he was involved with the Amerks while with the Florida Panthers from 2007-10. Rochester was the dual affiliate of both Buffalo and Florida in 2005 and 2006 before the Sabres moved on to an affiliation with Portland, ME from 2007-11 leaving the Panthers as Rochester's lone parent club.
After being replaced in Florida after the 2009-10 season, Sexton joined the Penguins organization on July 3, 2010 as an assistant director of amateur scouting. He would spend the next seven years working with Botterill and helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup twice.
Botterill gave Sexton the dual responsibilities of being his assistant in Buffalo as well as the title of GM in Rochester but he also asked Sexton to lead the amateur scouting group for the organization. And if that wasn't enough on his plate, Sexton also said he offered his services to Rob Kopacz, Vice President of Business Operations for the Rochester Americans. In an interview with long-time Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens at the recently concluded Sabres Development Camp, Sexton said that he "has built franchises in the past from the business side" and "will do anything he can to help build a stronger business side in Rochester."
However, Sexton's role will be "mostly on-ice, mostly hockey related," he told Stevens. "We need to reshape our organization [in Rochester]. The guys before us have done a really solid job, now what we need to do is add more depth and strength and talent to the stable they've already built."
Botterill certainly helped in that respect as he had a very busy July 1 start to free agency. He began up-front when he started and finished the day by signing forwards Benoit Pouliot and Jacob Josefson, two NHL'ers who fill the NHL depth chart that will keep young players in Rochester for further development. He also signed forwards Kevin Porter and 2017 Calder Cup Champion Kyle Criscuolo to help guide the young Amerks players.
But maybe more important for the Sabres organization is what Botterill has done on the defensive side of the equation since taking over. The Sabres defense last season was a huge Achilles heal for the club and it was a main priority for the new GM. On June 15 Botterill hired Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Housley, who was a premier puck-moving, offensive defenseman in his playing career and was now having success in the coaching ranks with the Nashville Predators. As an assistant in Nashville Housley helped develop what was considered to be the most dangerous defense-corps in the 2017 NHL playoffs.
Botterill followed the Housley hire with trades that brought in defenseman Nathan Beaulieu (MTL) and Marco Scandella (MIN.) Both are mobile puck-movers who fit right into the direction Buffalo is headed with their defense and it's all an extension of what Botterill and Sexton were doing in Pittsburgh.
Sexton was running the 2017 NHL Draft for Pittsburgh before he left for Buffalo. The Pens took four defensemen in June that fit in with what they wanted. He told the gathered media after the Draft that the defensemen the Penguins were looking for "have to be mobile, they have to have vision and they have to be able to move the puck. We don't like Clydesdales, we like thoroughbreds. So all of these D-men can skate."
The additions of Beaulieu and Scandella, who are in that mold, would help transition Buffalo's defense by pushing the Sabres depth chart down to the Amerks. Solidifying the Sabres top-six means a player like Brendan Guhle will be able to stay in Rochester for a year of seasoning instead of being thrown into the fire in Buffalo. It gives Taylor Fedun another opportunity for top-pairing minutes on defense in Rochester and Casey Nelson will also be able to build upon a strong finish for the Amerks last season. Then there are the prospects that will (hopefully) follow like Devante Stephens, Will Borgen, Casey Fitzgerald and Oskari Laaksonen all of whom will be given ample time to develop at their own pace.
The key, according to Sexton, is building depth reaching all the way to their ECHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones. "The depth that's required across an organization, to ensure that all teams remain successful and competitive, is significant so we do need to add more depth," he told Stevens.
Buffalo's roster is looking pretty well set (barring a trade or unforeseen circumstances) and it looks as if there will be some stiff competition for a few roster spots. Those who don't make the cut will be sent to Rochester meaning Sexton will have some pretty good players falling to him from forwards to defensemen to goalie Linus Ullmark, last year's starter in Rochester. When Botterill signed veteran Chad Johnson to back up Robin Lehner, it meant Ullmark gets another season of development while the Amerks get their starting goalie back.
It's good news for the Sabres and real good news for the Amerks. Rochester has missed the playoffs the last three seasons and haven't made it out of the first round since 2004-05 when the NHL locked out its players for the entire season and Botterill played for the Amerks in his final season.
Botterill said at his introductory presser that he would focus upon revitalizing the Rochester Americans. Both he and Sexton have ties Amerks, both came from an organization in Pittsburgh that had a top-notch AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and it's something they both want for the Sabres. “We are not going to rest until we restore the Americans to what I think is their rightful place among the elite teams in the American Hockey League,” Sexton told the media during Sabres Development Camp. “It will come one day at a time, it will come one person at a time. But we will be relentless in our pursuit of that success.”
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