Hudson Fasching signed his entry level contract on Monday night and skated in his first Sabres practice today.
Fasching skated on the fourth line alongside Matt Moulson and David Legwand. Cal O'Reilly platooned with Fasching.
"I've been learning systems rapidly over the past couple of days," Fasching said. "I'm trying to soak it right now, everything from learning systems to where to put my dirty laundry almost. I'm just learning everything, all the little details and just getting into the routine."
Dan Bylsma said that he isn't certain when Fasching will play his first pro game.
My guess is that the University of Minnesota Gopher will make his debut on Saturday afternoon when the Winnipeg Jets visit Buffalo.
Fasching was given the #52, previously worn by former captain Craig Rivet.
He's looking California
But Feelin' Minnesota, oh yeah.......
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Minnesota State D-man Casey Nelson also practiced with the Sabres for the first time on Thursday after signing his entry level pro contract on Tuesday.
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What's new with injured forward Tyler Ennis?
Dan Bylsma said Thursday that Ennis is making progress in his concussion recovery.
The veteran twenty goal scorer skated and worked out on Wednesday morning.
Bylsma said that he is hopeful that Ennis will be back on the ice "sooner than later". Ennis has missed 37 games this season with a concussion.
Robin Lehner has now missed three games due to discomfort in his ankle. Lehner will be evaluated agin by team docs on Saturday.
Cody Franson suffered an injured neck when he was blasted from behind by Boone Jenner in Columbus on February 19. Franson has missed 15 games with the neck injury. Franson has not skated nor worked out.
Recent ELC signee goaltender Jason Kasdorf aggravated his groin at the end of his RPI season. He will skate with Sabres goalie coach Andrew Allen and may participate in a full practice later this week.
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Tyler Myers will not be making his long awaited return to Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.
Myers saw an orthopedic surgeon on Thursday morning and is done for the season.
The former Buffalo Sabres D needs not one, but two surgeries: one procedure on his hip, and another on his knee.
Myers had knee surgery this morning. When the knee is fully and completely rehabilitated, his hip will be operated on.
The recovery time is expected to take 16-20 weeks, and perhaps longer if there are complications. Myers will be on the mend until mid-August or perhaps until training camp opens in mid-September.
Jets head coach broke the news about Myers this morning.
“The hip he’s been dealing with over years. You can play with it until you can’t. It just got to the point that the doctors felt this was the time to get it done,… said Maurice. “The knee is not something that’s necessarily a problem again. You can just not get anything done with it, it just hit that threshold of ‘we’re going to have to fix this knee’, and that was very recent.…
Myers joins fellow defenceman Toby Enstrom, and forward Anthony Peluso as members of the Jets going under the knife in the last week.
Buffalo selected Myers 12th overall at tge 2008 NHL Draft. He scored 9 goals and added 18 assists in 73 games this season.
In his six year Buffalo career, Myers played in 365 games, scored 45 goals and added 106 assists for 151 points.
In February 2015, Myers was moved to The Peg in a blockbuster trade that sent power forward Evander Kane and top four defenseman Zach Bogosian to the Buffalo Sabres for a package that included Myers, forward Drew Stafford, two prospects and a first-round pick.
Forwards Joel Armia and Lemieux were the prospects the Jets acquired in the trade. Goalie Jason Kasdorf, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute product, was also going to the Sabres.
Kane scored his 20th goal of the season in the 3-2 win at Raleigh on Tuesday night.
Bogosian and Jake McCabe have formed an aggressive, fast second pair on the Buffalo blueline.
Kasdorf signed his ELC last week.
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