The Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team is an independent

barnstorming Barnstorming was a form of entertainment in which stunt pilots performed tricks individually or in groups that were called flying circuses. Devised to "impress people with the skill of pilots and the sturdiness of planes," it became popular in t ...

hockey (and occasionally basketball) team located in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. Its roster consists entirely of retired

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

players, mostly former members of the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. The team is operated by the ''Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association''. The team plays teams assembled by various local organizations around

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY in ...

primarily as charity fundraisers. Its uniform is identical to the classic "blue and gold" Sabres home (white) uniform from 1970 to 1996. The team considers

KeyBank Center KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey Leagu ...

to be its home arena but rarely plays there. One of its more recent and most notable games took place on March 29, 2007, when the team played a home game against the Buffalo Police Department as a fundraiser for police officer Patty Parete, who suffered spinal injury from a gunshot wound. The game drew over 7,000 fans as the Sabres Alumni won. Team Niagara vs

The Alumni Team played at

HSBC Arena Jeunesse Arena is an indoor multi-purpose arena, located in the region of Barra da Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named for the American cosmetics company Jeunesse Global through a naming rights deal closed in 2017. Before, the spons ...

as part of the pre-game events for the 2008 NHL Winter Classic held at

Ralph Wilson Stadium Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park, New York, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 as Rich Stadium and is the home venue of the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). It was kn ...

on January 1, 2008. They were also a part of the 2013-14

AHL Outdoor Classic Teams in the American Hockey League first hosted games List of outdoor ice hockey games, outdoors in 2010. Paralleling the National Hockey League's NHL Winter Classic, Winter Classic and NHL Heritage Classic, Heritage Classic, these outdoor games ...

as the opponent of the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

alumni team in December 2013. One of the key initiatives of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni is to fund-raise and support their family of scholarships they award to high school seniors attending college.

Roster

Rob Ray Robert John Ray (born June 8, 1968) is a Canadian sports broadcaster and former professional ice hockey player for the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators. He was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy by the National Hockey League in 1999 for ...

Grant Ledyard Grant Stuart Ledyard (born November 19, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Beginning his career in 1984 as an undrafted free agent, Ledyard spent 18 seasons in the NHL as a journeyman; he played at least one game with n ...

* Craig Muni *

Ric Seiling Richard James Seiling (born December 15, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He spent the majority of his 738-game National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Buffalo Sabres, but also played one season for the Detroit Red ...

Richie Dunn Richard L. Dunn (May 12, 1957 – September 20, 2016) was an American professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, and Hartford Whalers between 1977 and 1989. In his NHL caree ...

* Darryl Shannon *

Morris Titanic Morris Steven Titanic (born January 7, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was selected 12th overall in the 1973 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres and played 19 games with them between 1974 and 1975. The Quebec Nord ...

* Derek Smith *

Yuri Khmylev Yuri Alexeyevich Khmylev (russian: Юрий Алексеевич Хмылëв, ''Yuriy Alekseevich Khmylyov''; born August 9, 1964) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player. Khmylev played 11 seasons in his native Russia for Krylya So ...

Richard Smehlik Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

Several other players have been known to play on the Sabres Alumni team, depending on the importance of the event. Such players, whose participation varies widely, include: * The "French Connection" line of

Rick Martin Richard Lionel Martin (; ; July 26, 1951March 13, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who played in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1982. He was most famous for playing on the ...

(prior to his death),

Gilbert Perreault Gilbert Perreault (born November 13, 1950) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played for 17 seasons with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990. Known for his ability ...

, and Rene Robert *

Larry Playfair Larry William Playfair (born June 23, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Playfair had a reputation as being a hard-working, pugnacious defender. He played for the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings in the NHL and he has w ...

Fred Stanfield Frederic William Stanfield (May 4, 1944 – September 13, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1964 until 1978. He won two Stanley Cups with the Boston Bruins, in 1970 and ...

Bill Hajt William Albert Hajt (born November 18, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the NHL from 1973 until 1987. He is the father of Ontario Reign assistant coach Chris Hajt who played six games in the National Hoc ...

Lindy Ruff Lindy Cameron Ruff (born February 17, 1960) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach who is the head coach for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ruff was previously the head coach of the Dallas Stars of the NHL, and al ...

Danny Gare Daniel Mirl Gare (born May 14, 1954) is a Canadian broadcaster, ice hockey coach and former National Hockey League (NHL) player, most notably of the Buffalo Sabres. During a 13-year professional career, Gare also played for the Detroit Red Wings ...

Tony McKegney Anthony Syiid McKegney (born February 15, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1978–79 until 1990–91. He is the first black player in NHL history to score 40 goal ...

Andrew Peters Andrew Peters (born May 5, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. Peters played in the National Hockey League for the Buffalo Sabres, and the New Jersey Devils. Throughout his playing career, Peters was best known for h ...

* Mike Boland, a regular member until his death in 2017 *

Daren Puppa Daren James Puppa (born March 23, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League, NHL. During his career, he played for the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the ...

, returned in 2019 Notable non-Sabres to have played for the team include: *

Mark Laforest Mark Andrew Laforest (born July 10, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 103 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ottawa Senators ...

, a

Welland, Ontario Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Ontario, N ...

native and journeyman NHL goalie *

Kevyn Adams Kevyn William Adams (born October 8, 1974) is an American former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), center and current general manager of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. During his career, Adams played for the Toronto ...

, who played most of his NHL career with the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. Adams grew up in

Clarence Clarence may refer to: Places Australia * Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division * Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow * Clarence River (New South Wales) * Clarence Strait (Northern Territory) * City of Clarence, a l ...

; he joined the team in 2009. Adams formerly served as an assistant coach with the Sabres. Adams now serves as the General Manager of the Sabres as of 2020. * Seymour H. Knox IV, son of former Sabres owner

Seymour H. Knox III Seymour Horace Knox III (March 9, 1926May 22, 1996) was a philanthropist and sports entrepreneur. He owned the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League from their foundation in 1970 to his death in 1996, and served as chairman of the team. ...

and nephew of Northrup R. Knox, the only non-professional hockey player to have ever played for the team, playing goaltender on at least one occasion. *

Marcel Dionne Marcel Elphège "Little Beaver" Dionne (born August 3, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. Marcel Dionn ...

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

centreman. Dionne resides in Buffalo but never played there in his career (he spent most of his career with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

). He has thus far played in two Sabres Alumni games—the first in 1997 (a fundraiser for

Ted Darling Edgar Lee "Ted" Darling (June 9, 1935 – December 19, 1996) was a Canadian sports announcer best known as the original "Voice of the Buffalo Sabres" ice hockey team for twenty-two seasons, calling the team's games on television from the team's i ...

as an opponent and again in 2007 (the Parete fundraiser) as a member of the team, thus making him the most prominent non-Sabre to play for the team. Dionne at one time was affiliated with the Sabres' then-ECHL affiliate in Charleston, South Carolina.

References

External links

Official Sabres Alumni Association Web site
{{Buffalo Sabres Sports in Buffalo, New York Buffalo Sabres Ice hockey teams in New York (state)