Buffalo - October 13, 2014 - All eyes are on the 2015 NHL Draft, especially those of Buffalo Sabres fans, where Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel will be available to turn around the fortunes of whoever selects them.
It’ll be the 2016 NHL Draft, however, where Buffalo takes the forefront. It was announced by the Buffalo News that the city will be hosting the event in June 2016 and it is expected that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will be in Buffalo today to make the official announcement.
For all the hype the 2015 class is getting, the 2016 group isn’t shabby. Names like Auston Matthews, Jakob Chychrun, Sean Day and Max Jones will be the ones we all become very familiar with heading into that June weekend that will determine their futures.
Of course, this is all a part of Buffalo’s plan to host every major hockey event ever. Last month, they hosted the USA Hockey All-American Prospects game. Currently, Buffalo is set to host the 2015 U-18 Women’s World Championships, the International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships in May and the next two NHL Scouting Combines.
This will be the first time the Sabres have hosted the draft since 1998, when Vincent Lecavalier went first overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sabrs used their first pick (18th overall) on defenseman Dmitri Kalinin.
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When not inanely bantering about the Sabres, Ryan Womeldorf can be found here and at TwoPadStack.net talking all things hockey. He's usually got a lot to say, but sadly most of it is wrong. If you have any questions, feel free to contact him at rwomeldorf@hometownhockey.ca
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