2014 IIHF World Junior Championship Camps Open, Scrimmages Begin
The 2014 WJC watch has begun, as camps opened this weekend, and the invitees began their quest to represent kin and country at the tournament in December.
The Buffalo Sabres had three 2013 draftees invited, as J.T. Compher and Justin Bailey are in Lake Placid with the US team, while Gustav Possler is hanging out with Team Sweden, though the Swedes are also practicing in Lake Placid along with the Americans, Canucks, and Finns.
You can follow the evaluation camp and find recaps of the scrimmages from the always-excellent Kris Baker daily on the Sabres website, though Team USA will be trimming their roster from 43 to 30 players after the scrimmages tonight. If they survive the cuts, Bailey, Compher, and Possler will see their scrimmages continue through the end of camp on Saturday.
No News On RFAs Tropp, Hodgson, Though Others Have Been Re-Signed
One of the biggest stories of the summer is the contract negotiations between Darcy Regier and Rich Winter, the agent for Cody Hodgson. The Sabres absolutely need their budding young center in the fold for next season, but just because we haven’t heard much from either side, that shouldn’t be cause for concern.
Most of the big RFAs this offseason are still unsigned, and the Sabres have taken their time in the past with bigger-name RFA players. Tyler Ennis didn’t sign his contract until the middle of September last year, and I’d expect the same with both Hodgson and Tropp. Hodgson should get something close to Tyler Ennis’ two-year, $5.625 million contract, while Tropp will be significantly cheaper.
Other RFAs have re-signed with the Sabres, however, including Brian Flynn, Luke Adam, Matt Hackett, and Nick Crawford. Hodgson and Tropp are the last of the bunch, but don’t expect too much chatter about them for a few more weeks.
Jamie Tardif Signs With Buffalo, Will Play In Rochester
Darcy Regier continues to add to the Amerks available firepower by signing 28-year old AHL veteran Jamie Tardif. He recently played for the Providence Bruins, and even saw two games in Boston, however there’s little chance he’ll see more than that with Buffalo. Still, he netted 30 goals last year for Providence, and will bring some oomph to Chadd Cassidy’s team in Rochester. Also, his last name is ripe for fantastic Doctor Who PhotoShops.
More on all of these stories if we hear anything further this summer.