14 players assigned to Amerks, Ruotsalainen assigned to Finnish team
ByChris Ryndak
Sabres.com
The Sabres have assigned 14 players to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. The team has also assigned forward Arttu Ruotsalainen to Ilves (Liiga). Here are the players heading to the Amerks:
Forwards
Eric Cornel
Sean Malone Andrew Oglevie
Kyle Olson
Kevin Porter C.J. Smith (pending waivers) Defense Jacob Bryson Casey Fitzgerald Brandon Hickey
Zach Redmond Devante Stephens Goaltenders Andrew Hammond (pending waivers)
Michael Houser Jonas Johansson Rochester opens its training camp on Monday. Amerks coach Chris Taylor will lead the first on-ice practice at 12:30 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena. All practice sessions are free and open to the public. The Amerks will play their first preseason game on Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. when they host the Syracuse Crunch at the Rochester Institute of Technology's campus. Go to Amerks.com for more info on the team's training camp. Ruotsalainen, who signed with Buffalo as a free agent in May, recorded 42 points (21+21) in 59 games for Ilves last season. Those transactions leave the Sabres with 36 players on their training camp roster. Defensemen Brandon Montour, Zach Bogosian, Matt Hunwick and Lawrence Pilut as well as goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are out for the rest of training camp. Forward Scott Wilson and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Buffalo will return to practice on Monday. The team will play its next preseason game on Wednesday when Columbus comes to KeyBank Center. Faceoff is scheudled for 7 p.m. and fans can watch on MSG starting with the pregame show at 6:30. Tickets for the game are on sale now.
