Buffalo Sabres Daily: Community Outreach, Prospects

Good morning, Buffalo Sabres fans! Tonight, the NHL playoffs kick off with several series beginning this evening. Tomorrow, Friday, and every day after that (for a while, at least) will see at least one NHL game on the schedule — at least until we reach the later rounds.

The NHL draft lottery is also quickly approaching, to be held on Saturday at 8 p.m. prior to the Penguins/Rangers game.

Lots of exciting things happening around the league…. but there are also lots of exciting things happening in the city of Buffalo.

More from Sabres News

That includes a new housing project on the East Side of Buffalo, one that’s being backed by supporters including the Buffalo Sabres, First Niagara and National Fuel.

This article from Buffalo Business First has the details, but it’s great to see the Sabres organization investing locally in their community.

Elsewhere, the NHL has officially announced that its annual awards ceremony will be held on June 24 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. [NHL]

Personally, I’ve never been a huge fan of hosting the awards in Vegas. I understand the draw behind the city, but the fact remains — there’s no NHL team there (at least not yet?) and it’s more about being showy than anything else. I can recall when the awards were still being held in Toronto…. boy, do I miss those days.

Instead of holding the awards in Vegas every year, why not spread it a little? Send it back to Toronto. Maybe even consider NYC, since a) that’s definitely a big-ticket city and b) you’ve got three NHL clubs within a 25-mile radius once the Islanders move to Brooklyn. The closest NHL team to Vegas is 268 miles away in Los Angeles.

Of course, as playoffs approach, so too does the offseason, where many players will undoubtedly become free agents once July rolls around.

Bleacher Report this morning takes a look at what the folks there consider the top 10 free agents heading into this summer.

Also on the horizon are the IIHF World Championships, to be held May 1-17 in the Czech Republic.

Several players have already been named to their respective teams, including Jeremy Morin, Jake Gardiner and Torey Krug (all named to the USA roster) and Sam Reinhart, Tyson Barrie and Matt Duchene for Canada.

More players could be added later, depending on which teams are eliminated quickly from their respective playoffs. One such player is NHL draft prospect Connor McDavid, who could be added to the roster IF his OHL team is eliminated before then.

But as of right now, McDavid and the Erie Otters are headed to the third round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. That includes, of course, Buffalo Sabres prospect Nick Baptiste, as well as another top NHL draft prospect, Dylan Strome.

The Otters swept the London Knights on Tuesday to move on to the conference finals, where they’ll face the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

Baptiste has nine points in nine playoff games so far this season. McDavid has registered 23 points in nine games, while Strome has tallied 11.

The Otters sweep ended a string of Memorial Cup runs for the Knights, who have appeared in the last three Memorial Cup tournaments. Last season, the Knights were the host team, while the previous two years, they came in as OHL champions.

More from Sabre Noise

Home/Sabres News