Sharpen Up: September 27, 2021 | Another week of training camp begins

The Buffalo Sabres are in the midst of training camp and the team will be back on the ice today following last night's Blue vs. Gold Scrimmage.
Welcome back to Sharpen Up. We know, it's been awhile.
Here's what you need to know.

Training camp rewind

Let's look back at the first days training camp.
Before the team's first practice on Thursday, general manager Kevyn Adams announced that center Jack Eichel did not pass his physical and will no longer be the team's captain.

Eichel has been unable to play since sustaining a neck injury on March 7. He will be placed on injured reserve and will continue his rehab as he and the team work toward a resolution.
The team has no plans to name a new captain at this time and will let the leadership situation evolve.

After the first skate of camp, veterans Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons spoke about the hunger they feel among the group, especially among the players looking for more responsbility on the ice and in the locker room.
Girgensons, who missed all of last season after sustaining a hamstring injury in training camp, is excited to be part of a group that's establishing a young core.
"It's hard to describe," Girgensons said. "We had opening meetings yesterday with Kevyn and Donnie, and just the energy that's around here is different. I can tell, even Day 1 today, the practice, the pace was the highest I've ever seen.
"Guys are hungry. The young guys, they have something to prove. The guys are ready to work so I think that's the biggest thing, that these guys are willing to put in the work."\

The Sabres split into two groups for practice. Casey Mittelstadt centered a line with Anders Bjork and Tage Thompson during the first session. Dylan Cozens skated between Jeff Skinner and Victor Olofsson with the afternoon group.
Rasmus Dahlin was not with the team as he entered COVID-19 protocols after signing a three-year, $18 million contract extension Wednesday.

Dahlin joined the team on Friday and was paired with Henri Jokiharju.
Cozens and Mittelstadt are two players who were given much more responsibility when Don Granato took over as head coach on March 17.
They're looking to carry over the confidence they gained into this season.

"It's a big opportunity for us," Mittelstadt said. "I think we know that. More than anything, just come to the rink and make sure everyone's welcome and just let everyone go play their game and try to have some fun at the same time.
"I think there's a huge quiet belief in our group. We know what people say about us, but we also know what we have in the room."

Scrimmage highlights

After two days of practices, the Sabres suited up for their annual intra-squad scrimmage. Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski were perfect through 20 minutes. They were relieved by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Aaron Dell, respectively, for the final period plus a mandatory overtime session and five-round shootout.
Check out the full highlights here:

Read our recap here.
Ryan MacInnis beat Luukkonen to give Team Blue a 1-0 lead and Linus Weissbach fired one into an empty net to make it 2-0 in the 40-minute scrimmage.
Victor Olofsson scored for Team Blue in the 3-on-3 overtime.
Casey Mittelstadt opened the scoring in the shootout for Team Gold. However, Dylan Cozens and Henri Jokiharju later tallied for Team Blue to end it.
Listen to post-scrimmage thoughts from Anderson, Olofsson, Tage Thompson and Don Granato:

What's coming up

The team will practice today with the first group starting at 10 a.m. at KeyBank Center. We'll have full coverage for you here on Sabres.com.
They're getting set for the first preseason game of 2021-22, which will be played tomorrow night in Columbus. Faceoff is at 7 p.m. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the call on WGR 550. They'll play in Detroit on Thursday and host their first preseason game Friday night against the Penguins. Tickets for Friday's game are on sale now.
We'll be back with a brand-new edition of Sharpen Up tomorrow morning.