Rochester Americans Open Training Camp

As training camp for the Buffalo Sabres continues, another training camp began Monday morning just over 70 miles down the 90, as the Rochester Americans kicked off their AHL camp, which continues all week.

The Rochester Americans will hold on-ice sessions daily through Sunday. All sessions are free and open to the public and will be held at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex on the campus of Monroe Community College. Sessions are at 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, and at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Training camp will see the Rochester Americans participate in a pair of preseason games on Oct. 3 and 4, both against the Toronto Marlies. The Amerks will travel to Schomberg, Ontario to face the Marlies on Oct. 3, with the teams facing off at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex at 7:05 p.m. on Oct. 4.

Tickets for the game in Rochester are just $5 for all seats. They can be purchased at The Blue Cross Arena or at the customer service desk inside Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex.

The week-long training camp for the Rochester Americans will see players added to the roster as cuts are made by the Buffalo Sabres in their own camp. Monday morning’s roster saw a host of players recently cut by the Sabres, in addition to many camp invites. Players will continue to be added to the Rochester Americans camp roster as cuts are made in Buffalo.

Forwards invited to the Rochester Americans training camp:

• Akim Aliu, 25, spent time last season with both the Hamilton Bulldogs and Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. He also appeared in two games for AIK IF of the Swedish Elite League. Aliu was originally a 2007 draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks and has played on a number of AHL and ECHL teams over the years. He has seven games of NHL experience, all with the Calgary Flames between 2011 and 2013.
• Lucas Bloodoff, 25, played for St. Mary’s University last season. He had 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points in 27 games. Prior to his four years with St. Mary’s University, Bloodoff was a member of the Kelowna Rockets organization. He played there from 2006 until 2010 and played alongside Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers for three seasons.
• Brodie Reid, also 25, is a right-winger who spent the last three seasons with the Worcester Sharks. Last season, he had 11 goals and 14 assists in 55 games. He also previously played for Northeastern University of Hockey-East and has played in the BCHL and USHL.
• Thomas Nesbitt, 24, is a Stittsville, Ontario native who spent the last three seasons with the University of New Brunswick after five seasons with the OHL’s Ottawa 67s. Last season, the right winger has 20 points and 56 penalty minutes in 28 games.

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• Ryan Rashid, 24, is a Farmington Hills, Michigan native who already has several ties to the WNY area. Rashid played four years of college hockey at Niagara University from 2010 until 2014. He also appeared in six games with the Elmira Jackals last season, prior to the team’s affiliation with the Buffalo Sabres. In four seasons at Niagara, Rashid had 88 points in 143 games.
• Taylor Stefishen, 24, spent the last three seasons with the University of Calgary. He also has experience playing with Ohio State University and spent one season with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL in 2010-11.
• Matt Tassone, 25, spent last season with the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers, where he had 35 points and 182 penalty minutes in 62 games. He also has prior experience playing with Idao, Ontario and Elmira of the ECHL and has played in the CHL with Wichita and Arizona. Tassone spent four seasons with the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL in his junior career.

These forwards join several who are already familiar to the Rochester Americans organization: Luke Adam, Dan Catenacci, Brayden Irwin, Colin Jacobs, Justin Kea, Kevin Sundher and Phil Varone. Joining these are newcomers William Carrier, Allan McPherson and Jordan Samuels-Thomas.

The Rochester Americans have also invited a pair of defensemen to their training camp. These invitees join Brady Austin, Jerome Gauthier-Leduc, Matt MacKenzie and Chad Ruhwedel.

• Steven Shamanski, 25, spent most of last season with Providence College. He had 16 points and 24 penalty minutes in 39 games. Shamanski also played three games with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL.
• Nick Tuzzolino, 28, is a Buffalo native who spent most of last season with the Rochester Americans. He also played for the Elmira Jackals and Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. Tuzzolino had three points and 43 penalty minutes in 36 games with the Amerks last year.

At this point, all the major goalies who played with the Amerks last season – including Matt Hackett, Nathan Lieuwen and Andrey Makarov – are all still with the Buffalo Sabres in camp. To fill this gap, the Rochester Americans have invited a pair of netminders to training camp:

• Travis Fullerton, 26, spent last season with the Las Vegas Wranglers. He appeared in 45 games and had a 3.26 GAA and .910 save percentage, with a record of 14-22-6. Fullerton has previously played for the University of New Brunswick and spent time in the QMJHL with the now-defunct Lewiston MAINEiacs and the Saint John Sea Dogs.
• Branden Komm, 23, is a Williamsville native who played four seasons with Bentley University. This past season, Komm had a 2.46 GAA and .923 save percentage in 37 games. His record was 19-12-4.

The Rochester Americans continue training camp in the following days, with preseason this weekend and the regular season kicking off Oct. 10.