September 16, 2011
Role model franchise
Installing former Buffalo Sabres great Peca as GM the latest bold move for expanding Jr. Sabres program
by Michael Mroziak/Correspondent
New Jr. Sabres GM Michael Peca (center) is flanked by head coach Grant Ledyard (left) and club president Larry Playfair, who also is the president of the Sabres Alumni Association.
Throughout the NHL, former players give back to the communities where they earned their wages, and often times settled after retirement, through participation in their team’s alumni association. Most commonly, these alumni give back by raising dollars for charitable causes by playing in old-timer games of making celebrity appearances.
The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association is very active in the Western New York area. For example, this month they’ll help dedicate a new local baseball field built specifically for physically challenged youngsters, a field known as the Miracle League.
The Sabres Alumni are also actively giving back to the local amateur hockey community by operating a junior level team that bears the same colors and crest that they once wore: the Buffalo Junior Sabres, a Junior A level club that competes in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
This summer, the Sabres Alumni increased their involvement with the Junior Sabres by bringing in more former NHL players into the front office. The most significant move came last month, when Michael Peca, a former Sabres captain who lives in suburban Buffalo, was introduced as the junior team’s new general manager.
“It kind of all stemmed from the way I’m getting involved with youth hockey in general in the Buffalo area,” said Peca, who also coaches a local youth team. “I just think there’s so many great young hockey players here. Year after year, I find there are more who are leaving Buffalo to find the development they need somewhere else. At the youth hockey level we’re trying to create a system that kids can get up and get into a Junior Sabres program that we feel can be second to none as far as producing great college players.”
Since 2008, Grant Ledyard was handling both general manager and head coaching duties. With Peca joining the team, Ledyard, who played for the Buffalo Sabres from 1988-93, will focus specifically on coaching.
With the OJHL contracting from 36 to 27 teams over the past two years, the Junior Sabres’ competition has gotten tougher, and the team wants Ledyard to be free to prepare his players for that competition. After helping Peca settle in and learn the ins and outs of dealing with the OJHL, USA Hockey and Hockey Canada, Ledyard said he can’t wait to get more involved with player development.
“It’s going to be a fantastic addition for us,” said Ledyard of his new GM. “Yes, I’ll have a chance to concentrate on the hockey aspect, the coaching, but also the player development. I’d like to scout not only in this area but also in the Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas. We’re going to be busy trying to expand our program.”
Since their inception in 1975, the Junior Sabres have competed in several leagues on both sides of the border. During its history, the franchise changed its name twice as the result of sponsorship or ownership changes, going by the names Niagara Scenic and later the Buffalo Lightning. In 2005, the Junior Sabres’ name and colors were restored with the blessing of the NHL team. The Sabres and Sabres Alumni jointly took over the team in 2008, with the Alumni Association assuming control of daily operations.
During its history, the franchise has produced hundreds of college-bound players. Some have gone on to NHL careers, including Todd Marchant (Buffalo, N.Y.), Aaron Miller (Buffalo, N.Y.), Bob Beers, Jeff Farkas (Williamsville, N.Y.), Kevyn Adams, Brian Gionta (Rochester, N.Y.), Ryan Callahan (Rochester, N.Y.) and Lee Stempniak (West Seneca, N.Y.).
The problem is, many other Buffalo-area talents have left town long before their junior years to develop their game. The Junior Sabres would like to change that.
“I believe that the sky is the limit. We are in a very competitive league that produces outstanding results for college hockey,” said Peca. “Having said that, I believe we can become an organization that can become a model franchise for and team in any league to want to emulate. “
As Ledyard mentioned, his desire is to scout beyond the Buffalo area into other regions, including Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Other parts of New York State are certainly not out of the question, as proven by the appearance of players from Rochester and Long Island in the Junior Sabres training camp at press time. The team is also expected to welcome a defenseman from Sweden into the lineup this season.
So, why bring in out-of-towners and imports if the idea is to build a better program from Buffalo-area kids?
“The reason we would do something like that is to push these kids in this area to be a little bit better than they are right now,” said Ledyard. “We have plenty of opportunities here to excel as a Buffalo group, but it’s important that the outside influences push these kids so they’ll push each other.”
Another Buffalo Sabres alumnus is lending his voice to the junior team this season. Ric Seiling, a former Sabres forward and broadcaster for the AHL’s Rochester Americans for the past five seasons, will also call the play-by-play for the Junior Sabres this season, most of which will be available online.
“They’re a good program to be involved with, so when the opportunity was presented to me, I was very glad to accept it,” said Seiling.
This will be Seiling’s second time getting involved with the junior franchise. During its Niagara Scenic era, Seiling served for three seasons as an assistant/associate coach. He and Ledyard are just two of several ex-Sabres who have offered their services as coaches for this franchise through the years. Also serving as coaches in the Junior Sabres’ early years were Larry Mickey, Morris Titanic and Jim Lorentz.
“I think one of the things that people don’t realize just how far and how much help they (Junior Sabres) can do to this community on a hockey level,” said Seiling. “Buffalo is a real hotbed for hockey, and it’s a great opportunity for kids to be seen and possibly move on, whether they make it to the pros …”
As Playfair explained, the Sabres Alumni are in the junior hockey business to give local kids an opportunity to pave their path to a college hockey career, and even a pro career if they have that ability. It’s a business the alumni take very seriously. To create a steady revenue stream to support the Junior Sabres, they reached an agreement with the Buffalo Sabres to sell 50-50 split raffle tickets at the NHL club’s home games. To be able to do that, they had to state their case to the New York State Legislature.
“We were fortunate enough that, once we got to Albany, they listened to what we were asking them to do,” Playfair said. “I’m not going to give us credit for convincing them. I think they just had some good old-fashioned common sense and said, ‘Yes, let’s do that.’ It’s allowed us to do a lot more than just the Junior Sabres.”
Like that Miracle League baseball field, for example.
“It’s a good feeling to know that the fans, when they buy a ticket, if they don’t win that night, then their money didn’t go nowhere,” Playfair added. “It went to the Miracle League field or to something like that down the road. Our plan is to put more money into the community as we continue to do the raffles.”
And it’s the hockey community that can benefit. If the Sabres Alumni and Buffalo Junior Sabres have their way, the next Pat Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) or other top local prospect will never need to leave town until it’s time to accept that college hockey scholarship or invitation to turn pro.
Michael Mroziak can be reached at feedback@nyhockeyjournal.com.
