TheBuffalo Sabres today announced the team will be holding a ‘Fan Appreciation Sale’ to mark the beginning of training camp and the opening of the 2012-13 season. The sale, which runs for the duration of training camp and ends after the team’s first home game, will offer fans a 50% discount on all merchandise in the Sabres Store at First Niagara Center.
“Our fans showed tremendous patience and loyalty during the past few months,” said Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black. “Nothing will erase the pain of a lockout and cancelled games but we wanted to give back to our fans in this way to get them excited for what is sure to be a fast-paced and thrilling 2012-13 season.”
The Sabres Store will be offering extended hours throughout the Fan Appreciation Sale to give fans ample time to take advantage of the sale. In addition to its normal hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the store will be open for all training camp practices that are open to the public.
Training camp dates will be announced in the coming days as the NHL releases an official schedule for the 2012-13 regular season.
New faces on the ice: Tyler Myers, Reggie Sekera, , Jhonas Enroth and Adam Pardy.
Deputy coaches, Jay McKee and Andrew Peters, skated the boys hard for 90 minutes. “I’m watching the legs to see that they are working hard, and they were all working hard, you can tell”, said Peters after the session. Petey said that he contacted James Patrick after he had heard that the lockout had ended. Petey and Jeep discussed running NHL style drills that will challenge the NHLers. The goal is to have 2-3 hard skated before the team opens camp on Sunday at First Niagara Center. McKee aqnd Peters ran Sabres optional skates for the first few weeks of the NHL lockout. Guys like Stafford, Pominville, Ellis, Leopold, Kaleta, were accustomed to the rigorous skates as they had opted to stay in Buffalo for the duration of the lockout. Vanek, Myers, Ehrhoff, Sekera, Ennis, Sulzer, Enroth, and Weber opted to play in Europe. Judging by the players and their honest admissions, the workouts are a reminder that the NHL season is approaching fast. Tyler Myers admitted after the skate that he was “sucking wind”. Myers played in Klagenfurt, Austria during the lockout. He said he couldn’t recall working as hard in KAC as he had in his first day back in NHL per-camp workouts.
Asked about his ankle. Myers said that its "100%".
He looked good to me.
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Myers arrived back from Austria on Tuesday night. Since then, he’s been champing at the bit to get this season in motion.
“There’s going to an adjustment coming back here. You know, I was sucking wind a little bit out there today”, Myers said.
Myers played 17 games for Klagenfurt. His recent injury sent shock waves through Buffalo, NY, to which Myers said today “no worries”.
“Its fine. Getting back for one game in Austria, it felt fine. I made sure it was ready to go before I came back (from three week rest period). I’m feeling 100% right now”. Myers admitted that there were nerves regarding his being injured, during the lockout, in a foreign country. “It got me a little nervous at the start, but, once we figured out what it was, I knew it would be pretty quick. I didn’t want to push it to try and come back too early in case the (NHL) season did come back , so I think that helped me out”. Myers injured the ankle in a battle with an opponent who was going to the net.
“We know what kind of team we have and what kind of potential we have, we just have to come together as a group and have a strong start. With a short schedule there’s not much time to do some work here”
Video courtesy sabres.com
Myers said that playing against Thomas Vanek in his home land was a neat experience. Vanek is a rockstar in Graz and throughout his birth country. Myers admitted that he wasn’t aware of the depth and fervor of ‘Vanek Nation” in Austria.
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After the skate, I caught up with Big John Scott in the lobby. The 6’8 270 pound giant posed for pictures and scrolled autographs for a couple of dozen Sabre fans. During our chat, he told me a few things I didn’t know about himself.
Scott grew up a diehard Sabares fan. “Yep, early ‘90s with LaFontaine, Ray, May, Boogie Man… that was my style of team. I used to come to a lot of games. I grew up in St. Catherines, so I was just a few minutes away from all the excitement”. Whats more, he dislikes the team in Toronto.
"I hated the Leafs", he said matter if factly.
Alrighty then.
The Sabres signed Scott to add some needed jam and ass kickery to their lineup.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here. These fans already are pumping me up. Its great!”, he told me.
Scott spent the lockout in Michigan, where his wife hails from.
“I’m so pumped to be here. The guys have been so cool to me”.
When I told him that the Sabres may open the season with back-to-back games versus Philly and Boston, he smiled, paused, and said:
“Great! Two quick fights, right off the bat!!”
And, so begins the “The Legend of Big John Scott”!
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