By Ryan Harr / Rochester Americans
With the calendar set to turn to July, nearly all 31 National Hockey League teams are holding their annual development camps over the course of this week or next. The roster for their annual camp features a balanced mix of young players, most of whom have been drafted by their respective club in recent years. Some have already turned pro, others are getting ready to make the jump to the professional ranks and a few will return to their respective college or junior teams in the fall.
But the objective for all of summer camp is the same across the hockey land: make an impression on the coaches and front office staff while improving their game.
At Buffalo Sabres’ Development Camp, now in its eighth straight year and fourth at Harborcenter, Wednesday’s two-hour practice session served as an unofficial introduction to the organization. The players were divided up into two groups and were put through a series of drills that emphasized skill development and further exposed them to NHL rules.
“The first day is always the hardest on guys,” Rochester Americans head coach Chris Taylor said. “The guys had so many things going on prior to going on the ice and it is a long day for them with traveling the day before to meetings and testing in the morning to getting on the ice, it is not easy. A lot of the guys were nervous because sometimes they try too hard to make an impression. I told them to enjoy the moment, but more importantly, to relax and play and not worry about making mistakes. This is a time to learn how to be a professional.”
Being 23 years old and one of the “older” players in camp, Amerks defenseman Brandon Hickey, who is attending his sixth camp and second with Buffalo, is also trying to serve as mentor to the younger prospects while improving his game.
“Getting back on the ice is really good,” admitted Hickey earlier during development camp. “I am just trying to grow my game both on and off the ice. There are some things that I have picked up on that can give me a bit of an edge going into the remainder of the summer and into next season.”
In addition to Hickey attending his first camp after a full professional season under his belt, Victor Olofsson, who led all Rochester skaters last year in goals (30), assists (33) and points (63) in 66 games, is using the camp as a refresher course.
“This is my first time skating since the end of the playoffs in Rochester, so I want to be here for my teammates whether it be on or off the ice,” said the Sweden native. “I am not only trying to help the young guys know how to do the drills, but this camp also serves as a refresher for me.”
The camp is not only designed for the players to learn how to be a pro hockey player, but it is also for the management to learn about the prospects.
“We are very happy to have all of our young players here in Buffalo under one roof,” said Randy Sexton, who is entering his third season as the Sabres assistant general manager and Amerks general manager. “It gives the players an opportunity to work with our coaches and develop their skills while we adopt them into the Buffalo Sabres brand of hockey and organization.”
Sexton has had a different thought process each of the development camps so far since returning to the organization.
In his first development camp, both he and Taylor were not even a month into their jobs. Then to compare last year to this year, the duo has a completely different coaching staff in Buffalo to work in conjunction with newly appointed Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger and his staff of Don Granato and former Amerk goaltender Mike Bales, all whom are new to their respective coaching roles.
While Taylor and his assistant coaches Gord Dineen and Toby Petersen are participating in their third consecutive camp, they, too, are using the camp to improve on their own practice habits and ideas.
“I know I have got to grow as a coach,’’ said Taylor, who will be behind the Amerks bench for the sixth year and third as head coach later this fall. “I am learning every day. Just by being here I am growing. It is development camp for me as well.’’