As the Buffalo Sabres prepare for another NHL season, just like any other NHL team, there have been a number of employee turnovers and job title changes over the last few months. Inspired by this post from Pension Plan Puppets, I embarked on a similar task to see who’s in, who’s out and what’s changed on the Sabres/KeyBank Center/etc. staff.
I compared the current Sabres staff directory page to the same one on October 18, 2021. Here are the notable, or somewhat notable, changes. This list isn’t comprehensive, and I didn’t include every switch in departments like maintenance, engineering & security.
Longtime equipment manager Rip Simonick had spoken for years about retirement, or at least shifting to part-time work, but this is the first time in a long time that he isn’t listed at all on the Sabres’ website to start a new hockey season. It would appear that he has quietly retired, for real this time, and if that’s indeed the case, it would behoove the Sabres to properly honor him.
When it comes to the coaching staff, everything is pretty much status quo entering the season. Some of these changes we already knew about over the course of the past year, including the addition of two data/analytics positions. Regardless, it’s interesting to see where the turnover has occurred and what’s new heading into the season.
New Positions
| Name | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Domenic Galamini, Jr. | Data Scientist | Hockey |
| Matt Barlowe | Data Engineer | Hockey |
| Don Dudley | Team Chiropractor | Performance |
| Laura Hettrick | Senior Event Manager | Arena Operations |
| Gerald McNamara | Chief Engineer | Arena |
| Michael McCrea | Maintenance Manager | Arena Operations |
| Kayla Burns | Marketing Coordinator | Marketing & Ticketing Operations |
| Amber Murphy | Fundraising Coordinator | Marketing & Ticketing Operations |
| Zach Johnson | Director of Ticket Sales & Services | Marketing & Ticketing Operations |
| John Ricotta | Associate Manager, Premium Hospitality | Marketing & Ticketing Operations |
| Kevin Bailey | Premium Sales Representative | Marketing & Ticketing Operations |
| George Blas | Studio Production Assistant | Media & Content |
| Kurt Haumesser | Social Media Coordinator | Media & Content |
Position Switches
| Name | New Title | Old Title |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Whitney | Markerting Manager – Live Events & Bandits | Copywriter |
| Tyler Ford | Community Relations Coordinator | Mascot Coordinator |
| Christopher Miller | Ticket Operations Administrator | Account Services Representattive |
| Roxanne Anderson | Senior Account Services Representative | Account Services Representattive |
| Brian Bilski | Ticket Sales Representative | Account Services Representattive |
| Michelle Girardi Zumwalt | Supervising Producer | Senior Producer |
| Jay Harris | Senior Producer | Producer |
| Kelsey Sweet | Social Media Strategist | Senior Social Media Editor |
Departures
| Name | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|
| Rip Simonick | Equipment Manager | Equipment |
| Joe Collins | High Performance Manager | Performance |
| Mike Taboni | Event Manager | Arena Operations |
| Timothy Schmitt | Security Manager | Arena Operations |
| Jon Latke | Manager of Corporate Sales | Business Development/Merchandise |
| Chelsea Kowalik | Graphic Designer | Creative Services & Game Presentation |
| Sara Schuller | Account Manager, PicSix Creative | Creative Services & Game Presentation |
| John Durbin | SVP of Marketing & Business Strategy | Marketing & Ticket Operations |
| Gregg Pastore | Sr. Director of Digital Media & Strategy | Marketing & Ticket Operations |
| Nick Fearby | Coordinator of Community Relations | Marketing & Ticket Operations |
| Mark Preisler | EVP of Media & Content, PSE | Media & Content |
| Don Heins | Director of Communications, PSE | Media & Content |
| Alexandra Napoli | Social Media Editor | Media & Content |
Despite his retirement, Rick Jeanneret is still listed as the team’s Play-by-Play Announcer, so I’d expect that further updates will be forthcoming.