This is my first year being a STM, and man it’s actually crazy hard to make it to all the games. So in light of the Holiday season, I’m giving away two tickets to this game, located in Section 112 (behind the net where we shoot twice) Row 12. The rules are simple, you simply have to state your favorite player, former or current, who has NOT played for the Sabres, and why. And I’ll pick a winner once the post officially dies down, good luck everyone!
by YanisAdetokumbo
36 Comments
Marty St.Louis. My growth spurt came late so I really loved a short king out there. Gave me some hope
I loved Paul Kariya growing up, such a fluid skater and so good at everything
Shoresy, dude has the chirp talents of the gods and skills to back it up. Just ask Riley and Jonesy’s moms
Steve Yzerman. Man made NHL 94 for me. I won so many games with the slap shot in the high slot.
Brian Leetch… Always been defensive minded and absolutely loved his style of play with the Rangers… Also Scott Neidermeyer for the Devils… The two of them got me into the offensive minded defenseman.
Mario Lemieux. He was an absolute force out there, so much talent and love for the game.
Matt Barzal is my favorite hands down. Dude can score and grinds it out day after day. Disciple and work ethic like that is attractive and coupled with great hockey IQ is great to watch in my opinion
Martin Brodeur. I remember lacing up those awful Mylec street hockey pads and pretending I was making Stanley cup winning saves.
Pavel Datsyuk. Mainly because I always loved played with him in NHL on Xbox because he could just dangle everyone lol.
Also honorable mention to Teemu Selänne, always seemed like a genuine dude and has a top-tier name.
Thoughtful of you to do a giveaway!
Willie O’Ree. Obviously an amazing man in his own right. When I met him though I handed him a puck to sign and he jokingly said “what the heck is this?!” (He’s legally blind in one eye). Signed the puck and gave it back to me with a smile. I must have been 12 years old but it stuck with me all this time.
Probably Yzerman! Loved the leadership he provided and always enjoyed that he was a two way player.
Patrick Kane. Buffalo kid and he was the 1st player I liked when I first got into hockey
I loved watching Chris Pronger play. The man was a wrecking ball and such a pain to play against.
Honorable mention is Paul Kyria, so fast and fun to watch.
Letang. Dude has been through a helluva lot with his health and losing one of his best friends early in his career, but he’s powered through. He’s quiet and just keeps his head down and plays the shit outta some hockey. Also people tell me I look like him.
Ilya Kovalchuk, an absolute sniper who I always remember scoring against us. Watching him dangle and snipe in the beautiful teal Thrashers uniforms as a kid was a core memory. Watching him rob the devils of all that money was cool too.
My favorite hockey player is my friend Derek. We used to play beer league together before he had to retire due to hip issues. We’re in our 30s, so it sucked losing my best friend on the team, as it was the only thing that made sure we consistently hung out with our busy schedules.
Whenever we’d play, there was ALWAYS a moment during a game where everyone on the bench would be shaking our headings going “fuckin’ Derek, doing fuckin’ Derek things”… usually it would be something like hardcore forechecking with his cement skates while on the penalty kill, but would also somehow end up with him scoring some stupid goal out of it (like on said penalty kill he was forechecking on, the goalie shot the puck DIRECTLY at him, it bounced off his chest and down to his stick. Since the goalie was on the boards to recover the puck and trying to dump it past him, Derek had a WIDE OPEN NET).
Ray Bourque. He was always a class act and was great with autographs and meeting kids back in the day. I have always hated Boston but I remember cheering for Bourque even when he scored against the Sabres.
Chris Chelios. That man got me into hockey. I loved his grit and his best ability being availability. When I finally decided to pick a team, I stayed local (for once) and went with our SABRES. Win or lose, those are my boys!
patrick kane! he’s the only first overall pick from buffalo and he’s had an amazing career so far
Marc Andrea fleury name a guy that has better hair style and plays amazing! Not to mention the cups he has won! He’s my all time favorite goalie that is not Dominik.
When I was a kid I remember hearing about rumors (that obviously never materialized) of Jarome Iginla to Buffalo. I was so hyped about that that even after that didn’t happen, he remained my favorite non Sabre.
Obviously he’s an incredible player, but also, as a mixed-race person who played hockey, we don’t have a lot of representation in the game. I’m always a little bit extra happy when the Sabres and the league get a little more diversity in their star players.
Marc-Andre Fleury, he’s genuinely such a nice guy and funny too. On top of that I’ve always been impressed by him when we play against him.
Steve Yzerman – I loved the grit and determination he showed!
patty kane, the buffalo born goal scorer was always making highlight reel plays with chicago.
Ryan Miller. Stone. Cold. Thief.
Zetterberg. Don’t even have a good reason but I always liked those red wings teams after Hasek went there. Guy seemed like a great leader and that many years of making the playoffs is an impressive run
Craig MacTavish – last helmetless player in the NHL. You could always find him in NHL ‘94 because he was the only one without a helmet.
Growing up it was Jarome Iginla for sure. So consistent, could do everything. Score, dish, stick up for his teammates.
Now his kid is one of my favorite guys to watch (fuck I’m old) and it would be unreal to draft him to Buffalo.
Currently, I would have to choose ethier the Tkachuk brothers. I love the fact that they play that slightly dirty style but also have silky hands. I feel it’s what the sabres have lacked since I’ve watched hockey. And for the past, I’d go with Nicholas Lindstrom
Jaromír Jágr. He was a rookie when I was in high school and is still playing at a high level. The guy is a fucking machine.
Edit: Forgot to mention how cool it is for you to be doing this. Kudos!
Jaroslav halak. He was one of my favorite Sabres that never suited up for the team. Gone (from our team) but not forgotten
Milan Hejduk is my all-time favorite player, non-Sabres division. He was always such an underrated talent and he really was a bright spot on some very underachievkng Avs teams.
Temu Selanne because every interview I saw with he seemed like an all around decent guy.
Mike Gartner. I know he played for our rival Maple Leafs eventually but I first noticed him in the Capitals late 80s and followed him for the rest of his career. He’s the first player I watched other games to see and opened up my eyes to loving all hockey in general and not just thinking our Sabres were the best. I think he’s still considered one of the better players all time and he’s also the reason my favorite number is 22😊. I know he also had number 11 in Washington and Toronto but I feel like he was his best in NY and he had 22 because he was twice as good.🙂
Also fun fact he scored the first hat trick in Phoenix history.
Jeff Skinner!! He is always a good sport and does so much media stuff for the Sabres, it’s nice to see him so involved. And I got to meet him at fan fest!!!
Alexander Mogilny. I was a teenager who had started to lose interest in hockey. Then the whole defection thing happened and I got sucked in by one of the most talented skaters I have ever seen.
Honorable mentions to Hasek and Taro Tsujimoto