The Buffalo Sabres today announced that Tim DiGiulio has been named the recipient of the 2025 J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award, presented each year to the coach whose contributions to amateur hockey in Western New York “best exemplify the knowledge, teaching, love of the game and gentle humanity of Mike.”
DiGiulio is the 39th recipient of the J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award and he will accept the award at tonight’s Sabres game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
This season marks DiGiulio’s 26th consecutive year coaching. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Nichols Girls Prep Team and as a coach for the 10U Girls team in the Amherst Youth Hockey organization. Over the course of his career, DiGiulio has coached every USA Hockey age group for both girls and boys.
In 2001, DiGiulio led the Boys Empire State team to a gold medal, an early highlight in his career. He went on to serve as an assistant coach for Williamsville North for 10 seasons, further cementing his reputation as a committed and effective mentor. In 2015, he was honored with the USA Hockey New Leader Award for his contributions to the sport.
More recently, DiGiulio coached the Girls 12U Tier 1 team to a New York State Championship in 2020. The following year, he guided the Girls 14U Tier 1 team to a New York State finalist finish in 2021 and returned in 2022 to win the state championship and participate in the USA Hockey Girls Nationals. His 2019 Bantam Major team also captured the WNYAHL playoff championship.
Beyond his coaching accolades, DiGiulio has served on the Amherst Youth Hockey Board for 12 years and is a longtime evaluator for New York State and USA Hockey state and national camps.
---
About the J. Michael Duffett Award
Mike Duffett was a student of the game and a coach with the Buffalo Bisons and the Amherst Hockey Association. A standout player at Nichols School and Clarkson University, Duffett was working in the Sabres’ hockey department under Scotty Bowman and Roger Neilson at the time of his death following a battle with cancer. The Sabres established the J. Michael Duffett Award in 1984 in his memory.