USA Hockey and the Buffalo Sabres will be holding a presser this afternoon to officially announce that the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships will be played in the Queen City. Buffalo hosted the event in 2011 and it set all sorts of records in terms of revenue, attendance and TV ratings increases.
Time flies when you are having fun.
Of the WJCs, Sabres center Samson Reinhart knows a thing or two about memorable tournaments.
We are nearing the one year anniversary of the Team Canada gold medal victory at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championships. Reinhart was team Canada's tournament MVP. Reinhart scored the game winning goal in the gold medal game versus Russia. On a team loaded with future NHL stars like Connor McDavid, Reinhart took the spotlight for his dominating play on the faceoff dot, his deft play making and timely goal scoring.
Reinhart's first experience the love that Buffalo has for the WJCs by watching the 2011 event on TV at home in British Columbia. He was 15 the last time Buffalo hosted the event. He dominated the event as a 19 year old last December and January.
"It was a blast. It was one of the best times of my life. I remember it when it was in Buffalo (2011) and know how great the crowd can get".
Reinhart and I spoke Friday morning about his WJC experiences. Most notable playing on one of the best lines in WJC U-20 history with his friends Max Domi and Anthony Duclair.
“ At this time of year it's on my mind. Right from Day One, we were playing together. I don't think it changed once. I think Max and I were comfortable with each other the first time we played together at the U-18 tournament and the summer before I played with Duclair so we were familiar with each other….
The Duclair-Reinhart-Domi trio straight dominated the WJC tourney from start to finish. The trio created 29 points in 7 games played. Reinhart scored 5 goals and 6 assists. Domi scored 5 goals and 5 assists. Duclair scored 4 goals and added 4 assists.
I asked Samson if it was peculiar that he found such great chemistry as a WHL star playing alongside an OHL sniper and a QMJHL scorer.
“No. Everybody knows each other by the time the tournament starts so we were pretty good buddies from the beginning. It makes no difference where you come from….
That was then. This is now.
The three young guns are creating quite the hockey buzz for one another in the NHL this season.
Coyotes rookies currently lead NHL teams in rookie points (45) and goals scored (21). In fact, Max Domi and Anthony Duclair have a combined point total of 35 points, which is more than every other NHL team except Chicago. Domi and Duclair are tied for 3rd among NHL rookies in goals with 8 apiece.
Not to be out performed, Sabres sniper Jack Eichel also has 8 goals. Reinhart has 6 goals and 3 assists. With a combined 14 goals through Buffalo's first 25 games, Eichel and Reinhart are currently on pace to become the second pair of rookies in Sabres history to each score 20 goals in the same season. The other pair was Danny Gare (31) and Peter McNab (22) in 1974-75. If they maintain their current pace, Eicheil (8G,4A) and Reinhart (6G,3A) will also be the first pair of Buffalo rookies to surpass the 30-point mark since Thomas Vanek (48) and Jason Pominville (30) did so in 2005-06.
The Yotes played in Detroit on Thursday night. They held an optional skate on Friday afternoon. Reinhart was not able to speak with Domi nor Duclair in advance of tonight's game. They will likely reunite for a minute or two tonight after teh game.
The NHL is much different than major junior hockey. Reinhart and his Sabres want to knock off the Desert Dogs tonight to send them stabbing westward off to their three game road trip to Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary with a bang.
Dan Bylsma said in his post-game day skate presser that he has asked Reinhart to address Domi and Duclair's scouting tendencies in the Buffalo pre-game meeting.
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Rasmus Ristolainen is ranked in the top 15 among NHL D-men in goals (tied for 12th, 4), assists (tied for 8th, 13), points (10th, 17), shots (tied for 9th, 65), and multi-point games (tied for 5th, 5). He is the first Sabres D-man to record five or more multi-point games in a season since Christian Ehrhoff had six in 2011-12.
Ristolainen is averaging 24:14 of ice time per game. He is the only NHL player with an average of 20+minutes TOI per game and zero penalty minutes this season.
Ristolainen has 12 points (3Gs, 9As) in his last 12 games played.
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* Brian Gionta has 10 points (4G, 6A) in his last 8 games against the Coyotes, including two pints in each matchup last season.
* Jamie McGinn is on a thre egame point streak (1G,3A).
* Evander Kane enters tonight's game with two straight two-point games for the first time since he recorded three consecutive two-point games from 1/22 to 1/27/13.
* Ryan O'Reilly has four points (1G,3A) in his last 4 games. ROR has seven points in his last seven games versus the Coyotes.
* Jack Eichel has scored a goal and an assist in each of his last two home games.
* Chadd Johnson, tonight's starter (vs. Mike Smith) was 3-1-1 with a .954 save % and a 1.28 GAA in seven appearances in November.
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O'Reilly has a 59.3% faceoff opercentage and is ranked 4th in the NHL in faceoff win %. He is also ranked thrd in the NHL with 594 faceoffs taken, accounting for 40.1% of the Sabres' total faceoffs.
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The Sabres are 18 for 80 (22.5%) on the power play this season.