Viktor Maudr sat in the stands inside KeyBank Center ahead of the Buffalo Sabres’ game against the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 9 and thought back to when he was around five years old, when he began watching his older brother play NHL 99 on PC. While he wasn’t allowed to play along, Maudr would frequently bring his brother food so he had an excuse to sit and watch the games alongside him.
The young boy from Czechia didn’t understand the significance of players like Dominik Hasek, but instead paid special attention to each team’s jersey and logo. One jersey in particular stood out among all the rest: the Sabres’ goathead jersey.
“I fell in love with the logo and the jerseys and that’s really what got me in as a Sabres fan,” Maudr said.
Maudr’s fandom grew over the ensuing years as he became more familiar with the players and the voice of the Sabres, legendary play-by-play announcer Rick Jeanneret. Once he turned 13, Maudr often woke up at 1 a.m. on school nights just to hear RJ’s voice over the airwaves.
The teenager didn’t always understand what RJ was saying, knowing limited English at the time, but he knew the voice and emotion was like nothing he had ever heard before. He immersed himself in RJ’s greatest calls and went through whatever means necessary to follow along each night.
The experience inspired Maudr to pursue a career in broadcasting and motivated him to connect with other displaced Sabres fans in his area. He decided to start a Buffalo Sabres fan club page on Facebook to find fans throughout Czechia and Slovakia.