Sabres AHL affiliate opens their season Friday night

The Buffalo Sabres AHL affiliate will open their season on Friday night. The Rochester Americans will begin their 32-game schedule tomorrow at 7:05 pm at Blue Cross Arena against the Utica Comets. This will be the first of 16 home games Rochester will have throughout this season.

For the fans that have the urge to watch the Amerks and have access to local Rochester TV, you are in luck. The team announced that they will broadcast eight of their 16 home games on local TV on CW Rochester.

This will be the Amerks’ first year under new head coach Seth Appert. Rochester also has two new assistants, and their names might sound familiar to Sabres fans. Former members of the Buffalo Sabres, Mike Webber and Adam Mair, will be assistant coaches this year for the Americans. We last saw Mair in Buffalo in 2010, and Webber spent almost his entire career in Buffalo and retired after the 2015-2016 season.

We could see some of the Sabres’ top prospects get time in Rochester this year. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Jack Quinn, Will Borgen, and Rasmus Asplund are just a few of the names we could see get significant playing time for Rochester this season.

The AHL season is scheduled to start on February 5th and end on May 16th. The AHL had to undergo division realignments much like the NHL. Due to travel restrictions on the US-Canada border, the Americans will not play any divisional games against any Canadian teams this year.

Rochester’s entire season consists of games against three teams. They will play 14 games against the Utica Comets, 12 games against the Syracuse Crunch, and six games against the Cleveland Monsters.

Even though it is a shortened season, it is great to see that the AHL will have a season this year. It will play a significant role in getting some younger Sabres prospects some game experience that could play a significant role in their development going forward.