Reporting in from Sabres training camp
It was a real zoo down at HSBC Arena today. A fund raiser called the “Heart Walk” was being staged from the arena pavilion; Sabres single game tickets went on sale this morning, and business was brisk. And on the ice it was day three of Sabres training camp, which was open to the public. About 1000 fans were in the stands to watch the show.
I got down early and had a chance to talk with Media Relations Coordinator Chris Bandura, and with absolutely no other media reps around I sort of had the place to myself. I picked up notes and the training media guide and settled in to watch the goings on.
The session started with eight players and goaltender Ryan Miller going through a “practice session” which consisted of calisthenics, stick handling and sprints, all under the watchful eye of Assistant Coach James Patrick. Just watching Patrick do his stuff had me thinking, “why the hell is he still not playing?” He looks like he could suit up today without missing a beat.
Things I wanted to find out were — what’s the poop with the new scoreboard? (No comment). How are plans progressing with the January 1 game at Ralph Wilson Stadium? (The big press conference is Monday and we will learn all we need to know then). When are season tickets going to be mailed out? (Next weekend at the earliest).
The last time I was in this building was in early July when the Sabres had the presser explaining the departures of Daniel Briere and Chris Drury. You remember that don’t you? That’s when Drama Queens Luke Moretti of Ch. 4 and Scott Brown of Ch. 2 somehow finagled their way into the media room to belch out their howls of anguish, and Bucky was playing his “Maybe I know something you don’t” routine. It was a dreary and depressing day back then, but you wouldnt know it now. There was a real sense of energy and optimism in the corridors, in the dressing room and on the ice today, and I got a real feeling that these men are anxious to get down to business.
After interviewing Paul Gaustad, I watched a bit of part two of the show, an on ice scrimmage between blue and gold squads of the team. Adam Dennis and Jocelyn Thibault were between the pipes, the playmaking looked ragged, and the best part of the period was watching Andrew Peters almost level Nathan Paetsch with a body slam type of hit in the corner (no penalty was called… heh heh).
One more ditty, which Tim Graham had posted at the Buffalo News blog the other day. Indeed, Sabres home games will be telecast in amazing high definition, so that is awesome news as well.
Monday is the BIG news conference at the Ralph, called by the NHL, and pretty much everybody is going to be there from the media. That should be round one of the extravaganza, and I am really psyched about seeing this all play out. I’ll have a full report on the presser after it’s over.
