The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team is an independent barnstorming hockey (and occasionally basketball) team located in Buffalo, New York. Its roster consists entirely of retired National Hockey League players, mostly former members of the Buffalo Sabres. The team is operated by the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association.
| Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team | |
|---|---|
| City | Buffalo, New York |
| League | Independent barnstormer team |
The team plays teams assembled by various local organizations around Western New York primarily as charity fundraisers. Its uniform is identical to the classic "blue and gold" Sabres home (white) uniform from 1970 to 1996.
The team considers KeyBank Center to be its home arena but rarely plays there.
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The Alumni Team played at HSBC Arena as part of the pre-game events for the 2008 NHL Winter Classic held at Ralph Wilson Stadium on January 1, 2008. They were also a part of the 2013-14 AHL Outdoor Classic as the opponent of the Rochester Americans alumni team in December 2013.
One of the key initiatives of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni is to fund-raise and support their family of scholarships they award to high school seniors attending college.
Players
editAs of November 13, 2024[1] in their game against the cast of Shoresy:[2]
Current roster
edit- Martin Biron
- Eric Boulton
- Tim Connolly
- Brian Gionta
- Cody Hodgson
- Patrick Kaleta
- Tim Kennedy
- Zenon Konopka
- Cody McCormick
- Craig Muni
- Ted Nolan
- Andrew Peters
- Rob Ray
- Derek Roy
- Darryl Shannon
- Rick Vaive
- Mike Wilson
Past players
editSeveral other players have played on the Sabres Alumni team, depending on the importance of the event, including The "French Connection" line of Rick Martin, Gilbert Perreault, and Rene Robert; Larry Playfair, Fred Stanfield, Bill Hajt, Lindy Ruff, Danny Gare, Tony McKegney, Mike Boland, and Daren Puppa[3]
Notable non-Sabres to have played for the team include:
- Mark Laforest, a Welland, Ontario native and journeyman NHL goalie
- Kevyn Adams, who played most of his NHL career with the Carolina Hurricanes. Adams grew up in Clarence; he joined the team in 2009. Adams formerly served as an assistant coach with the Sabres. Adams serves as the general manager of the Sabres as of 2024.
- Seymour H. Knox IV, son of former Sabres owner Seymour H. Knox III and nephew of Northrup R. Knox, the only non-professional hockey player to have ever played for the team, playing goaltender on at least one occasion.
- Marcel Dionne, Hockey Hall of Fame centreman. Dionne resides in Buffalo but never played there in his career (he spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Kings). He has thus far played in two Sabres Alumni games—the first in 1997 (a fundraiser for Ted Darling[4] as an opponent and again in 2007 (the Parete fundraiser) as a member of the team,[5] thus making him the most prominent non-Sabre to play for the team. Dionne at one time was affiliated with the Sabres' then-ECHL affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina.
References
edit- ^ The Sabres alumni are reppin' for the Shoresy Classic this Wednesday at KeyBank Center! Buffalo Sabres official social media. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Moser, Jason (2024-11-14). "Sabres Alumni, Cast of Shoresy Did Not Disappoint in Entertaining Event". Buffalo Hockey Now. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
- ^ "Return to ice special for former Sabres goalie Daren Puppa, family". 2 April 2019.
- ^ "Buffalo Sabres to Honor Former Announcer - Business First of Buffalo". Archived from the original on 2008-09-08.
- ^ "A night of warmth on ice: Sabre Alumni, police puts hearts in hockey to aid injured officer". Buffalo, NY: The Buffalo News. March 30, 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16.