Sabres encouraged after fast, physical first practice: 'We have to be ready for day one'
Urgency was apparent from the first time coach Lindy Ruff blew his whistle Wednesday morning.
Easing into training camp wasn’t an option for the Buffalo Sabres.
The final warning was delivered by general manager Kevyn Adams and coach Lindy Ruff on the eve of their first practice Wednesday in KeyBank Center.
“We are treating today as not day one of training camp, but basically as the season starting,” Adams shared during his news conference to open camp.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff huddles with his players during Wednesday’s practice on the opening day of camp. Derek Gee, Buffalo News
The Sabres and their opponent in Prague on Oct. 4, the New Jersey Devils, have one fewer week of camp because their seasons start earlier. Ruff has only three practices before the first exhibition game Saturday, and most of the players expected to be on their season-opening roster board a plane for Munich in just six days.
Not only are the Sabres trying to address myriad issues that contributed to them finishing with eight fewer standing points and missing the playoffs for a 13th year in a row, they’re adjusting to a new coach with different philosophies and practice plans than those of Don Granato.
Urgency was apparent from the first time Ruff blew his whistle Wednesday morning.
Tage Thompson, the Sabres’ top-line center and leading goal scorer in each of the past three seasons, saw firsthand how different training sessions like this one will be. He fell to the ice, and seemed to labor through discomfort for several minutes, following a hard check by Peyton Krebs along the boards.
Thompson cracked a smile afterward when a reporter mentioned the collision, one of the numerous signs that there’s a new coach in charge.
“It starts in practice,” Thompson noted. “If you’re tough in practice, then when it happens in games, you’re ready for it.”
The fast, physical practice was the latest step in Ruff’s plan to bring the defensive structure and accountability that players were calling for at the end of last season. There were battle drills to “push them to the limit,” according to Ruff, and others that forced them to skate up and down the ice. The overall focus was making players compete.
Instilling toughness into the group began with Ruff’s hiring and continued in the offseason with the arrivals of Beck Malenstyn, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Sam Lafferty. Adams and Ruff want this team to play faster, though. The emphasis led them to acquire Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker, but personnel wasn’t the only issue in 2023-24.
Too often, the Sabres took too long to get out of their own zone, and Ruff stopped practice a few times Wednesday to correct the minor mistakes that, if ignored, can become bad habits over time.
“Obviously, he blew it down right there right away,” Thompson added. “But I think the accountability thing starts with yourself, too. You’ve got to look in the mirror and make sure that you know you’ve got more to give. And if you’re not, then it’s got to be the teammates. And then if it’s not your teammates, it’s going to be the coach. And, obviously, he’s blowing it down, making sure you’re doing the right thing.
“Those things will add up over time, they’ll transfer to games, and then those games will transfer down the road into hopefully making a push and making the playoffs. That’s just how you create a winning culture, I think. It’s good to see that day one.”
Several players were hunched over and catching their breath less than 30 minutes into the skate. A large contingent of the NHL roster arrived in Buffalo approximately one month ago to begin player-run practices at LECOM Harborcenter, but no summer skate can prepare a player for an exhaustive first practice like this.
A typical NHL training camp features as many as four practice groups with prospects mixed in among experienced veterans. The Sabres chose a different approach because of the coaching change and unusual preseason schedule.
Jiri Kulich was the only prospect in Ruff’s first skate and it’s possible, if not likely, the Czech forward was slated to be with another group until his exceptional showing at the Prospects Challenge. Fostering internal competition can be challenging in a normal camp, let alone one as nontraditional as this one, but Adams and Ruff are taking their own distinctive approaches to getting more out of the returning players.
“The cliché is you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable,” said winger Alex Tuch. “I think that’s what Lindy is going to bring in. I think that’s what Kevyn is trying to do, bringing in a lot of different guys with a lot of different skill sets. We have guys that can move up and down the lineup that are going to put pressure on the top guys, that are going to put pressure on guys who have been here for a while. It’s going to be a lot of compete. … We’ve got guys that are going to be pushing for spots and looking to get into the lineup and that’s what you’re going to need to have.”
Implementing systems began in the second half of practice Wednesday, as Ruff drilled his players on breakouts and defensive-zone coverage. The Sabres aren’t overhauling their approach. You’ll still see Buffalo using a zone scheme near their own net, but he’s adding man-to-man principles for when their opponent is set up on the perimeter. A complete schematic overhaul would take too long and isn’t necessary. Instead, Ruff wants to provide his players with clarity on where they should be while defending.
Adjustments to breakouts will be subtle as Ruff tries to get the speed and skill on this roster to spend more time on offense than they did last season.
Assistant coach Seth Appert talks with Sabres players on Wednesday Derek Gee, Buffalo News
The power play is going to be a point of emphasis in the coming days. Ruff is collaborating with assistant coach Seth Appert to get Buffalo’s forwards and defensemen to outwork opponents on the man advantage instead of relying on their skill to score. Faceoffs, shift length, conditioning and backchecking are on the long list of areas Ruff wants to improve. Improving in each of those also should address the Sabres’ terrible first periods.
Adams reminded players Tuesday that it’s time for them to show they are ready for the various changes that Ruff will make. Ice time is going to be cut for any player if they miss a defensive assignment or make a bad play. The term “nonnegotiable” is a common refrain used by Ruff, and it was repeated by players Wednesday as they discussed their early impressions of their new coach.
The season begins in two-and-a-half weeks with a back-to-back series against the New Jersey Devils. The home opener against the Los Angeles Kings is Oct. 10, only a few days after they return from Europe. We may learn as soon as Thursday which line combinations Ruff wants to try as they prepare for an exhibition game in Germany against Red Bull Munich on Sept. 28. And, though there’s much to accomplish between now and puck drop in Czechia, all involved showed Wednesday that they understand the objective and what’s at stake.
“We have to be ready for day one,” said Tuch. “I think in years past when we haven’t been and, that’s where later on in the season when we needed to make that push, you’re kind of regretting your first 10 games. You wish you had a better start and you can’t do that during the year if you want to make the playoffs. It’s that five-game mentality.”