After the Buffalo Sabres season culminated on Saturday, the team returned five players to the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
As announced via the team on Monday, the Buffalo Sabres have assigned Mikhail Grigorenko, Johan Larsson, Philip Varone, Chad Ruhwedel and Matt Hackett to the AHL.
NEWS: The #Sabres have assigned Mikhail Grigorenko, Johan Larsson, Phil Varone, Chad Ruhwedel & Matt Hackett to @AmerksHockey.
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 13, 2015
Though the Amerks aren’t in a playoff spot, these players will provide great reinforcements for the team to finish up its regular season.
The Amerks have just three games remaining this season. Their final home game is this Friday, April 17, when the Utica Comets come to town for the last time this season. They’ll then wrap up the season with visits to Binghamton and Glens Falls to face the Senators and the Flames.
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Grigorenko returns to the Amerks after playing 25 games with the Buffalo Sabres this season. He registered six points (3-3) in those games and was a minus-10. With the Amerks, he’s appeared in 40 games this season, putting up 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists).
Larsson pretty much equally split this season between Buffalo and Rochester. He registered 16 points in 39 games with the Sabres, including his first NHL goal. He’s also registered 37 points in 41 games with the Amerks and is third overall on the team in scoring, despite having missed so many AHL games.
Varone spent most of the season with the Amerks, a team that he continues to lead in scoring. Varone has registered 43 points in 52 games with the AHL club, including a team-high 29 assists. At the NHL level, he appeared in 28 games with the Sabres this season, registering five points (3-2).
Ruhwedel has spent most of this season in Rochester, appearing in 69 games with the Amerks. He’s registered 10 goals and 24 assists in that stretch. Ruhwedel also appeared in four games with the Sabres, registering one assist and a plus-3.
Hackett did not play most of the season, as he spent most of the year recovering from injury. He appeared in five games with the Sabres, going 0-4-1 with a .884 save percentage and 4.32 GAA. He also appeared in 14 games with the Amerks, going 7-4-3 with a 2.72 GAA and .907 save percentage.
Of course, the Amerks also received Sam Reinhart from the WHL’s Kootenay Ice via the Buffalo Sabres. Reinhart missed last weekend’s games as he was coming off injury, but is expected to be ready for the coming weekend. The reinforcements from Buffalo meant that the Rochester Americans were able to release a few players.
More Roster Moves: Justin Mercier and Michael Pelech have been released from their PTO contracts with the #Amerks
— Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) April 13, 2015
The Rochester Americans have 62 points this season with three games remaining. The team sits 14th in the AHL with an overall record of 28-39-5-1.
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