Six Buffalo players are playing for their country in Czechia
Participating in the World Championships every spring means usually a few things. You are a player looking to make your mark and be on the radar to play for your country internationally in a World Cup or Olympics, and that you play on a club that either did not make the playoffs or had been eliminated in the first round.
The most frequently asked question at the Buffalo Sabres locker cleanout last month was whether players were heading to this year’s Worlds in Czechia. In recent years, Sabres players have made their mark at the tournament, including Dylan Cozens two years ago when he scored seven goals for Canada, or last year when J-J Peterka won the top forward of the tournament leading Germany to a silver medal, and Jack Quinn, Peyton Krebs, and Devon Levi won gold as members of Team Canada.
This year, players such as Henri Jokiharju, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, Quinn, and Krebs opted not to head to Europe due to their contractual status, injuries, or family considerations, but six Sabres (Cozens, Peterka, Rasmus Dahlin, Victor Olofsson, Owen Power, and Bowen Byram) are participating.
In the opening weekend tournament, Peterka (who had a career-best 28 goals with Buffalo this season) is pointless in two games against Slovakia and the United States. Dahlin and Olofsson were also held off the scoreboard in Sweden’s 5-2 victory over Team USA on Friday, as were Cozens and Power in a 4-2 victory over Great Britain on Saturday.
The only Sabre to register a point was Byram, who assisted on Michael Bunting’s first-period tying goal.
LATEST THN BUFFALO STORIES