Stanley Cup-Winning blueliner played with Cozens, Krebs, and Quinn for Team Canada
The trade that sent center Casey Mittelstadt to the Colorado Avalanche was a surprise to many Buffalo Sabres players, but in the deal, the club is getting defenseman Bowen Byram, who is not exactly a stranger to some of his new teammates.
"(Bowen) was my teammate and midget, we played together with Team Canada (at the U-17's, U-18's, World Juniors twice, he's one of my best friends." Sabres center Dylan Cozens said after the 2-1 overtime loss to Toronto on Wednesday. "I'm really excited to add him to this team, he's gonna fit in so well. He's just such a great player with so much potential. He's not even close to his ceiling yet. He's gonna fit in so well with this group on and off the ice and I'm just very excited to see him get here."
The 22-year-old blueliner was also a Team Canada teammate with Peyton Krebs and Jack Quinn. Krebs learned about the deal from his wife via Facetime.
"I was having my pregame nap and Bo's gal texted my gal,” Krebs said. “I instantly got a call from Bo and was happy to see a smile on his face."
The Sabres now have a nice problem on their hands with a defense of Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Owen Power, Byram, Henri Jokiharju, and Ryan Johnson all who are under the age of 25. Head coach Don Granato will have to sort out the pairings with five left-handed shots and only Jokiharju as a righty, but Granato indicated that Byram will start playing alongside Dahlin in his first game against the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
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