Sabre’s Hockey Hotline

Today was the inaugural show for the Buffalo Sabres new broadcast show, Sabre’s Hockey Hotline, hosted by Kevin Sylvester. The show included talks about the draft and free agency and trades. Also, Cody McCormick joined Sly during the show.

So, at work today, I listened to the show so I could get an opinion about it, and in one listener’s personal opinion, it was alright and has room for improvement. And I expect nothing but improvement. Sly was a former DJ for WGR and seven years ago moved on to hosting the telecast for the Buffalo Sabres.

The show kicked off with Sly making a statement to the fans. He stated that he IS an employee of the Buffalo Sabres and will not talk about topics such as the firing of Lindy and Darcy. They are his coworkers and he does not discuss the work situation of his coworkers, however, he would entertain the fans arguments on the subject.

Following that, the first caller of the show asked about going out and getting a top center. From this the conversation begins to branch out. The caller asked about trading for a center at the draft like they did last season. Sly went on to discuss how to get a player to come to Buffalo, they will need to duplicate what they pulled with Regher last draft when they convinced him to waive his no trade clause. In Sly’s mind, if the Sabres were to go out and get a center, then they need to get a big powerful guy who can “control the pace of the game”(this was sly’s slogan in regards top 6 players). He then went on to talk about the centers on the roster, especially Roy. There are two positions on Roy, either trade him now, right now, or other teams don’t want him so we won’t be able to trade him. Sly addressed this and broke down how Roy is an 70-80 point per year player and any team would be interested in someone like him.

Cody McCormick joined the show for about 30 minutes following a workout at the arena. The two discussed the offseason for players and Cody’s journey to the NHL. Cody spoke highly of the time he was traded to the Sabres and then sent back down to the minors. He said being sent to Portland was heartbreaking but it was the best thing for him.

My biggest knock against the show, which I feel will change in due time. But, throughout the show, Sylvester had to constantly remind the listeners that his opinions and his alone. Apparently fans kept texting and tweeting in that he is speaking on behalf of the organization and is being restricted. He continuously stated that “Never in my seven years with the organization have I ever been told what to say or what not to say.” Also, if you are expecting it to be similar to other WGR programming then you are mistaken. The show lacks the fan passion that shows like Schopp and the Bulldog, and Howard Simon have.

Anyways, it was an ok show to kick it off. It has a lot of room to grow, which I feel it will. Let’s just stay tuned Monday through Friday at 10am – 12pm on WGR550.