Sabres news: Sabretooth ranked 2nd in best mascot poll

The Buffalo Sabres started to come alive after coaching and personnel shakeups last season, showing signs of encouragement and promise amidst a youth movement the team doubled down on during this offseason.

The only way the team can trend from a disappointing year is upward, and that began with taking Owen Power with the first overall pick in this summer’s NHL Draft.

And now the team has been awarded yet another high-ranking numerical position, albeit to a member of the team who, himself, is not a player.

Beloved Sabres mascot Sabretooth has been voted by a pool of 2,000 fans as the number two overall in a list of their favorite NHL mascots.

The poll was run by betting site Play Canada in the U.S. and Canada. Fans were asked to rate the mascot of each team on a scale of 1-5.

Sabretooth (3.74 rating) came in as a close second to only the Toronto Maple Leafs mascot, Carlton the Bear (3.81 rating).

In the 1980s, then Buffalo Sabres owner Seymour Horace Knox III suggested the idea of a mascot to bolster fan engagement, having reportedly been inspired by their AAA minor-league baseball neighbors, the Buffalo Bisons, who had introduced their own mascot, Buster Bison. Team Public Relations Director Paul Wieland and employee Budd Bailey are credited with introducing the idea for Sabretooth in response.

He would even go on to double as the mascot for the Buffalo Bandits National Lacrosse League team from 1992 to 1998 as well.

According to his bio on the teams’ official website, Sabretooth was “born in an alpine forest filled with tall trees and frozen lakes, where he learned to skate at a young age. He loved the scenery of his youth, but he yearned for the bright lights and high intensity of NHL hockey. Since migrating to downtown Buffalo, he’s specialized in thunderous roars, powerful high-fives, and making memories for the best fans in the league.”