Rochester Americans make a flurry of moves ahead of 2020-21 season

Ever since the Buffalo Sabres named Kevyn Adams the new General Manager, fans knew changes to the Rochester Americans were imminent.

The Rochester Americans have made a flurry of changes to their coaching staff and player roster since naming Kevyn Adams the new General Manager of the Buffalo Sabres. Personally, I think the moves are going to bode well for the team’s future — both in the AHL and NHL.

Kevyn Adams stepped into his new role on June 16th, the same day owner Terry Pegula let go of the Sabres’ GM and Assistant GMs — as well as the Rochester Americans’ GM, head coach, and assistant coaches.

It was something fans and even players have become far-too familiar with in the past decade.

With the Sabres not being invited to the bubble and the Americans’ season being cut short, both teams knew they had an opportunity to start this new era off right.

And in my opinion, they have.

Two months after the Kevyn Adams hiring, it was announced that Seth Appert would join the Rochester Americans’ coaching staff as the Head Coach. It was the first major move for Kevyn Adams and one that makes a lot of sense.

A week later, the Amerks announced the signing of defenseman Ryan Jones to a one-year AHL contract.

Since then, they’ve also inked goalie Micheal Houser to a one-year deal, hired Matt Ellis as the Sabres’ Director of Player Development, and announced the signing of two Rochester assistant coaches — Adam Mair and Mike Weber.

Not to forget the trade that recently brought veteran center Eric Staal to the Sabres.

It should also be noted that the Rochester Americans have lost left winger Pascal Aquin to the Laval Rocket. Aquin spent 16 games with the Americans last season, recording three goals and two assists.

What does this mean for the coaching staff?

While fans, media, and even the players were expecting some changes to the coaching staff for the Rochester Americans, I don’t think anyone was expecting Head Coach Chris Taylor to walk — including himself.

Taylor had a 116-65-33 record with the Rochester Americans and was on his way to a third postseason performance if the season hadn’t been shut down early. He was clearly the best man for the job and had proven success with Jason Botterill.

Unfortunately, that success got shut down early as well with the firing of Botterill.

With Seth Appert now at the realms for the Rochester Americans, fans should feel a little better. That’s not to say the Americans are guaranteed to see as many wins, but there’s one thing Seth Appert is focused on more than anything — player development.

And as he said it in his introductory press conference, developing better players means developing a better team overall — which translates well on the ice. You can check out his full press conference below:

His experience at the NCAA and international levels is what I’m most impressed with, especially from a player development angle. He spent the past three seasons with the United States National Team Development Program.

During his time there, Seth Appert helped produce a record-breaking 17 draft picks in 2019, which included eight first round draft picks. If he can help the Sabres’ young talent develop into reliable NHL playmakers, the Buffalo Sabres can stand to benefit from this man for a long time.

To help ease the situation for many fans, the additions of Mike Weber and Adam Mair help bring familiar faces to the table. Adam Mair and Weber each spent time with the Buffalo Sabres as players and were members of the team when Kevyn Adams was previously with the team.

Adam Mair spent 7 years in Buffalo as a player, adding another 5 with the team as a player development coach. Weber, on the other hand,  spent 8 years in Buffalo and the past two seasons coaching elsewhere.

Another fun fact, Mike Weber has experience playing with Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Olofsson for the Sweden international team.

Finally, the addition of Matt Ellis as Sabres’ Director of Player Development is a good move for Buffalo. He spent his final seven years in the NHL with the Sabres, but has continued his hockey success in player development.

Ellis not only has experience as the head coach of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres, but he also spent the past four years in player development at the Academy of Hockey in LECOM Harborcenter.

There’s going to be a lot of familiar faces inside both the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans locker rooms, which will help bring a sense of unity between the two teams.

Of course, this is all still new to both teams and we still have to see if it translates on the ice. Either way, it’s certainly nice to see the teams taking a player-development-first approach to their new hires.

What do you think this flurry of moves means for the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans?

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