Buffalo is known as a city of good neighbors. Visitors will often comment about how down to earth and real the folks here can be. Whether its holding the door at the coffee shop for an elderly woman, helping a young mother pushing a baby stroller to get her groceries and her kids to her car at the supermarket, or just stopping over to your neighbor's house to check on how he/she is getting along, that's Buffalo. Kindness, compassion, and lending a hand to others in need are key characteristics of Buffalonians and folks who were raised on the Niagara Frontier.
Some twenty years ago, Hockey Hall Of Famer Bryan Trottier was touched by Buffalo's pay-it-forward spirit. Had he not been, he may not have ever met a man named Ted Nolan.
“When he (Ted Nolan) was just a young coach in the NHL, for whatever reason, I was walking from the old "Aud" back to the hotel-- in the middle of winter-- and I’m walking through the snow and Ted says, "Hey you want a ride?" I jumped in and we had a quick five minute conversation and from that a mini friendship was born.…
The two hockey men would cross paths would cross again years later on Long Island. “When he became coach of the New York Islanders, it just cranked up again through the years. I met his family and got to respect the kind of game that he coached.…
Trottier was named the Executive Director of Player Development when he returned to the franchise in which he started his illustrious NHL career in June of 2006. In that role, Trottier assisted in the development of the team's prospects.
Trottier is the Islanders franchise leader in games played (1,123), points (1,353) and assists (853) and is second behind Mike Bossy in goals (500).
Trottier began his coaching career as an assistant for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1994 - 1997. The following season he served as head coach of the Portland Pirates, the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals. Trottier then spent the next four seasons as an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche, earning his seventh Stanley Cup ring when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2001.
Working in player development with the Islanders gave Trottier instant access to Nolan. The two men would often met after practices and after games to talk about specific players and their growth and development and lack thereof. Trottier says that the two men didn't always see eye to eye on certain players, but it didn't matter. Both men learned to express one another's point of view and both walked away from their interactions with trust and respect for the other.
Give and take. Trottier and Nolan have learned to work with one another over the years. Unlike Muckler and Nolan, which is another story for another day.
Nolan, the adopted Buffalonian, did what good and decent Buffalo people do when they see a neighbor in need. They stop them and ask if they need help. On that frosty day back in the '90s, Nolan had no idea that it was seven time Stanley Cup champion Bryan Trottier struggling to walk through the Buffalo lake effect polar vortex. It didn't matter. Nolan stopped, Trottier accepted the hospitality and away the two men went.
Once inside the warm car, the two men bonded, shared a conversation, then went their separate ways.
Some twenty years later, they have been reunited in Buffalo where they hope to impart their wisdom and their perspective on their young, impressionable NHL players.
" Thanks, Sabres Hockey Hotline
Trottier received a phone call from Nolan a couple of months ago. Nolan had just excused his assistant coaches Joe Sacco and Jerry Forton. The contracts of incumbent coaches Teppo Numminen and Jim Corsi were not renewed. Nolan had a job offer for his old friend Trottier, who gladly accepted.
“We had a chat this spring about what he was looking for in coaches. He asked me if I wanted to get back into the game and I said I’d love to help with the young players and player development and he just thought long and hard about it and he said, ‘I’ve got an idea and I just want you to consider it. I’d like you back here 24/7 as an assistant coach with me, you could mentor and work with all the young guys’. I thought long and hard and said, ‘It would be a real fun thing to do’. To work with Ted and Danny Flynn who I met with the Islanders and get back into the role got to gain energy.…
“I’m all in.…
Trottier, Flynn and Arturs Irbe were officially hired a couple of weeks ago. With the Traverse City prospetcs Tournament four weeks away, and Sabres training camp starting directly after that, Trottier and Nolan have a lot of work to do.
Trottier isn't gripping the stick too hard right now. He is going to rely on the experience and the knowledge that he has accumulated over the past four decades in the game of hockey to guide him on his new rebuilding journey in Buffalo. Trottier learned from Al Arbour that professional hockey teams will play in games the same way they practice. Don't expect to see loosey-goosey, soft practices with Trottier on Nolan's coaching staff.
“My message for the young guys coming into camp is bring your best game to practice and bring it to game time. We’re going to build confidence, we’re going to build just a real consistency here so that when you step on the ice, you’re building good habits.… Next is a concept that I think will make Sabre fans excited, “I want to bring my philosophy as a player as well as some of the philosophies that worked when I was an assistant coach here in Pittsburgh and Colorado, things I believe that have been consistent throughout championship teams. There are just things that are tried and true and they always work and I believe in those things with all my heart.…
Now it s up to Nolan, Trottier, Flynn, Tom Coolen and Arturs Irbe to shape the hearts and minds of the special group of young players that have been assembled in Buffalo.
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Speaking of the Traverse City Tournament....
According to the tourney's official website, eight NHL teams will be competing in this exciting tournament that pits the prospects of Team Gordie Howe against the prospects of Team Ted Lindsay.
2014 NHL PROSPECTS TOURNAMENT TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN SEPTEMBER 12-16, 2014
Gordie Howe Division: Columbus, Detroit, Minnesota, St. Louis, NY Rangers Ted Lindsay Division: Buffalo, Carolina, Dallas, NY Rangers
The tournament format is simple. Each team plays every team in its respective division once. In 2011, the Buffalo Sabres won the tournament. The tourney was postponed in 2012 die to the NHL lockout. The Sabres finished second overall last season to the host Detroit Red Wings.
Games will begin on Friday September 12th.
Friday, September 12th 3:30 p.m. Columbus vs. Minnesota 4:00 p.m. Buffalo vs. Carolina 7:00 p.m. NY Rangers vs. Dallas David’s 7:30 p.m. Detroit vs. St. Louis
Saturday, September 13th
3:30 p.m. Carolina vs. Dallas 4:00 p.m. St. Louis vs. Minnesota 7:00 p.m. Buffalo vs. NY Rangers 7:30 p.m. Detroit vs. Columbus
Sunday, September 14th *All Teams Practice only
9:30-10:30 a.m. Carolina Dallas 10:45-11:45 a.m. St. Louis Minnesota 12:00 -1:00 p.m. Columbus Detroit 1:15-2:15 p.m. NY Rangers Buffalo
Monday, September 15th
3:00 p.m. Dallas vs. Buffalo 3:30 p.m. Columbus vs. St. Louis 6:30 p.m. NY Rangers vs. Carolina 7:00 p.m. Minnesota vs. Detroit
Tuesday, September 16th
3:00 p.m. 7th place game 4th Lindsay vs. 4th Howe 3:30 p.m. 5th place game 3rd Howe vs. 3rd Lindsay 6:30 p.m. 3rd place game 2nd Lindsay vs. 2nd Howe 7:00 p.m. Championship
The NY Rangers announced the Traverse City Tourney roster on Tuesday afternoon. Look for the Buffalo Sabres and the other six participants to follow suit in the days to come.
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