Sabres news: Multiple Sabres players having successful offseason so far
Most players use the offseason to rest up and maybe spend some time away from hockey for a bit before coming back for the following season, especially if they have an extended offseason due to missing the playoffs. But multiple members of the Buffalo Sabres have spent the beginning of their offseason playing in the 2021 IIHF World Championship in Latvia. And a few of them had a very successful tournament.
The tournament concluded this past weekend with Team Canada defeating Team Finland in overtime, 3-2, in the gold-medal match. There were two members of the Sabres that were part of the final two teams, and one potential future Sabre as well.
Colin Miller was part of Team Canada, but he was injured after playing in four games. He was unable to play in the championship, but he will be coming home with a new gold medal regardless. Potential first overall pick in this upcoming 2021 NHL Draft, Owen Power, was also part of Canada’s first-place winning team. He played a crucial role in their success throughout the tournament, including winning Player of the Game honors in the quarterfinals.
Arttu Ruotsalainen was a member of Team Finland and will be bringing home a silver medal for his efforts in this year’s IIHF World Championship. He played throughout the tournament for Finland and was a consistent threat on offense. He tallied five points on four goals and one assist in this year’s tournament.
Even the bronze-medal game had multiple Sabres involved. Team USA defeated Team Germany 6-1 to capture third place. Tage Thompson was part of the United States bronze medal winning team. Team Germany had two members of the Sabres organization as both JJ Peterka and Tobias Rieder played for them.
Next. Who might the Sabres take with top pick in 2021 NHL Draft?. dark
So it was a good offseason for some Buffalo players as they will be coming home with some new hardware. Pair that with the Sabres winning the draft lottery for this upcoming draft, it seems like the beginning of this offseason has gone about as well as the Sabres could have hoped.