Krebs reflects on trade to Sabres ahead of Amerks debut

Peyton Krebs sent an early-morning text to Dylan Cozens upon receiving word that he had been acquired by the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
"I texted him like, 'Looks like I'm coming to Buffalo, we're being linemates again,'" Krebs said Friday after skating with the Rochester Americans. "He was pumped."
Cozens and Krebs have represented Canada alongside one another as they progressed through major junior tournaments, from U17s to U18s to this past World Junior Championship in January.

Both players are now part of a young core the Sabres intend to build their franchise around moving forward. The Sabres acquired the 20-year-old Krebs along with forward Alex Tuch, a 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 second-round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Jack Eichel and a 2023 third-round pick on Thursday.

Krebs becomes one of nine first-round picks in the organization under the age of 22, along with forwards Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt, Jack Quinn, and Isak Rosen and defensemen Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju, Ryan Johnson, and Owen Power. General manager Kevyn Adams laid out the long-term vision to Krebs during a phone call after the trade.
"His message to me was just, 'We've got a long ways to go,'" Krebs said. "This trade isn't going to dictate our right now but, in the future, I think it's going to be really exciting."
The Sabres are already exercising patience with Krebs, who played nine games with Vegas this season. He begins his tenure with the organization in Rochester, where he will be joined by fellow forward prospects Quinn and JJ Peterka.
Krebs will make his Amerks debut against the Toronto Marlies at Blue Cross Arena on Friday night. He will begin the game on a line with veteran captain Michael Mersch.
"We're not in a rush to put him in here (in Buffalo) right away and have to just jump right into the lineup," Adams said. "This is about the long-term and building this and developing this the right way. And that's how we're looking at it."
Rochester has won three straight games to improve to 5-2-0-0. Quinn - who also played with Krebs at the World Junior Championship - was named the AHL's Player of the Month for October and has six goals and 12 points through seven games. Peterka has eight points, including a team-high seven assists.
Krebs had an average ice time of 13:44 with Vegas this season. In Rochester, he can develop as an all-situations player.

"The beauty of being in the American League for a young guy like Peyton, but this goes for Jack and Mattias (Samuelsson) and JJ and Linus (Weissbach) and all these guys, is the amount of ice time you get to earn down here," Amerks coach Seth Appert said.
"… Down here, you're playing 20 to 23 minutes, you're on the power play and you're penalty kill. You're out there at the end of the game, learning how to win or learning from your failure when you do make mistakes. Those things are huge growth opportunities and organizationally, it's an opportunity for all these young guys to learn how to compete and try to win and grow together."
Krebs will join Cozens in Buffalo in due time. For now, he's simply embracing a new opportunity.
"I was thinking about it last night," Krebs said. "I want to obviously be in Buffalo, I want to play in the NHL. But at the end of the day, I'm just happy to play hockey each and every day. Whether it's here or there, I'm excited every day to come to the rink."