PECA IMPRESSED BY LEVEL OF TALENT AT SABRES DEVELOPMENT CAMP
Jul 15, 2022By Suzie Cool
It’s been more than 20 years since Michael Peca last played for the Buffalo Sabres but the smile that’s been plastered on his face the last few days since the start of Development Camp is a good indication of just how much fun he’s having. Almost like he’s still playing.
Making it even more exciting is the elite level of talent that comprises this year’s roster, which includes draft picks from this year and recent years highlighted by eight first-round picks in all.
“It's pretty exciting,” said the Rochester Americans assistant coach when asked how the first few days of Development Camp has been. “I mean, the talent that’s out there is remarkable. Even the fresh crop from this most recent draft, but it's the vibe off the ice that's just as impressive.”
Sabres Development Camp has been underway since Tuesday evening, consisting of physicals, conditioning and nutrition sessions, on-ice practices and off-ice fun for the first time in over three years. It’s been an exciting week not just for the players, but coaches like Peca who haven’t been able to coach at this event since beginning his tenure with the Amerks last season.
Although this week consists of returning players that have experience with both the Sabres and Amerks, there’s a lot of new faces that were either drafted or invited to the event that have never met some of the players they’re sharing the ice with over the four-day camp. However, that tight-knit culture that the Buffalo organization was beginning to form together by the end of the 2021-22 campaign throughout is already being felt here at Development Camp.
“I know everybody that spoke in front of a microphone, the second half of last year talked about the culture and the environment and how it's has changed so much and for the better,” stated Peca when continuing to talk about the excitement following this week. “It’s carried over and I think it's just going to continue to build momentum and everybody can feel it.”
Between the little taste that everyone got in Buffalo and Rochester last year, Peca feels this week further proves how committed this organization is to maintaining and building on that all-in-for-each-other culture.
“It's the start of something, right? I mean, we've kind of reignited the fire and that's a difficult process to get going,” continued Peca when asked how the organization can continue to feed off last year’s energy. “Especially mirroring Buffalo and Rochester together. But the difficult part is, is maintaining it now and continuing to build upon it and I think we've got the staff in both organizations that are committed to doing that.”
There’s just one more day left in Development Camp to continue to instill the culture in prospects that may be returning to their respective college or junior teams next season, while others are just excited to be back with one another picking up right where they left off.
The culmination of the four-day camp comes on Saturday featuring the French Connection Tournament, beginning at 9:15 a.m. at the LECOM Harborcenter. It’s a ticketed event for Sabres Season-Ticket Members available on a first-come, first served basis and will be streamed live on Sabres.com and the team’s social media channels.