It’s been a year of milestones for Rochester Americans coach Seth Appert

Seth Appert has reached a couple of milestones this season in coaching the Rochester Americans and the Buffalo Sabres.

Rochester Americans v Laval Rocket
Rochester Americans v Laval Rocket / Minas Panagiotakis/GettyImages

When Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato was too sick to perform his coaching duties for the final two games of the calendar year, general manager Kevyn Adams decided to give Rochester Americans coach Seth Appert a chance to coach the big club. It gave Appert the opportunity to see what it felt like to win in the NHL, and he experienced it when the Sabres defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in what was their final win of 2023.

Last night, the Amerks won a close duel against the Charlotte Checkers, and in doing so, they earned Appert his 100th win in Rochester. Ironically enough, the final score of that game was 3-2, and per Amerks.com, only six other coaches have reached the 100-win mark since the franchise’s inception in 1956.

Seth Appert has been reaching milestone after milestone in 2023-24 

Under Appert, the Amerks made two playoff appearances, the first of which saw them advance to the division finals in 2022 before the Laval Rocket swept them. That season saw Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka become two of the AHL’s top players. They are now both in the Sabres top-six and two of their more prolific scorers so far in 2023-24.

Last season, Rochester made it one step further, and clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Hershey Bears. While the Amerks lost that series 4-2 along with an opportunity to play for the Calder Cup, it was their deepest playoff run in two decades. 

The 2022-23 season also saw forwards Isak Rosen and Jiri Kulich pick up where Quinn and Peterka left off. This year, the duo has remained dynamic, becoming two of the better scorers in the AHL at midseason that saw the pair earn roster spots in the 2024 All-Star Game

Overall, Appert has been clearing milestones for the past calendar year, taking the Amerks deep into the playoffs, snagging his 100th win, and even experiencing a victory in the NHL. The only burning question now is, What will the Amerks coach accomplish next?

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(Data provided by Amerks.com and theAHL.com)