Maintenance Day

It's here and it's beautiful. Prospects Challenge has come and gone, and Lance and Joe have plenty to discuss. Who stood out, who we want to see more from, and who's got a shot of making the main roster (if anyone). If you missed out on the Prospects Challenge, they'll make you feel like you totally didn't.

Oh yeah, TRAINING CAMP starts this week, too. The guys talk about what they're keeping a close eye for the biggest story headed into camp that totally has nothing to do with goaltending. Enough with the goalies!

Thanks as always for listening. We know you're in the best shape of your career and we noticed it, too.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey and Bleacher Report

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp  

Hockey this week?! It's true, it's damn true, and it starts with the Prospects Challenge at Harborcenter. The Sabres will have Matt Savoie, Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosén and more taking the ice against some of the NHL's other top prospects. Lance and Joe talk about the Sabres roster, what they're looking to see out of the top guys and the guys fighting for attention, and more. We're almost there, gang. Hockey awaits!

Thanks as always for listening and supporting us on your favorite platform of choice. Help spread the word by raving to your friends endlessly about how great the pod is until they stop answering your texts. Then keep doing it some more.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey and Bleacher Report

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp  

We're a podcast so big you get a day off to listen to it repeatedly. Don't you love that? This week, Lance and Joe talk about the return of the Goathead and what a wonderful thing it is to see for a few reasons.

Oh, right -- Tage Thompson signed a seven-year, $50 million deal, too. Did we bury the lede here? Sure, but there's plenty to be said about the Sabres locking up a vital player from last season up long-term after one really big season.

UPL is back in the fold as well, and dang it, it's been a while since there was a bunch of goaltending talk. Is this a make it or break it deal for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen?

Thanks as always for listening and supporting us on your favorite platform of choice. Help spread the word by raving to your friends endlessly about how great the pod is until they stop answering your texts. Then keep doing it some more.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey and Bleacher Report

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp  

Time continues its never-ending march, only now it works to our benefit, so the guys love it!

This week, Lance and Joe each give three Sabres players they'd like to see have big training camps. Whether it's because they need to, or it'd be way cooler if they did doesn't matter -- they just want to see these players show out and show off to make the season more impactful.

Warning! Tease incoming: Which players did they select? There's only one way to find out and it's a good thing you're listening to find out.

Thanks as always for listening and thank you even more for the positive ratings and feedback. These finely written artisanal show notes were finely curated for your consumption.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey and Bleacher Report

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp  

Sometimes even the hosts need a maintenance day, but fear not, the latest episode has arrived. Lance and Joe discuss the correct pronunciation of Sabres prospects and players. But for real, they talk about Jiri Kulich's performance at World Juniors and how Amerks coach Seth Appert said Kulich will join Rochester this season.

Tyson Kozak is signed and boy he might wind up a hidden prospect jewel for Buffalo. Seventh rounders don't grow on trees, but ones that become players are rare enough to be appreciated. Could Kozak become one?

The guys also break down which Sabres they most want to see during the Prospects Challenge. Without a roster being available yet, the world is their oyster. 

Thanks as always for listening and thank you even more for the positive ratings and feedback. These finely written artisanal show notes were finely curated for your consumption.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey and Bleacher Report

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp  

This week, Lance and Joe tackled the very important role on the Sabres of fourth line center. With Riley Sheahan back in the fold for another year, the field for the job got slightly clearer. At least they thought so. It's an August NHL tradition to dig deep on minutiae and that's the Maintenance Day guarantee.

The guys also talk about fourth liners of the recent past as old friend Johan Larsson returns to Sweden,  Cody Eakin still awaits a deal, and do they really want Zemgus to be the 4C?

Hey, there's a World Junior Championship going on now! That means Isak Rosen and Jiri Kulich (among a couple other Sabres prospects) are getting to show off their skills and that means the guys are talking about them. 

Thanks as always for listening and thank you even more for the positive ratings and feedback. These finely written artisanal show notes were finely curated for your consumption.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey and Bleacher Report

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp  

OK so times may be light on direct Sabres news, but thankfully the hockey world hasn't completely gone to sleep. Considering what happened at the University of Michigan and now former coach Mel Pearson, it fired up a conversation about prospect goalie and presumptive UM starter Erik Portillo.

Lance and Joe discuss if Pearson's dismissal can and will affect Portillo and his status at UM and if it's a way for the Sabres to jump in and sign him to a contract to lock him in. The guys also dig into what happened with the Wolverines, how there are Sabres connections all over the place, and what would they do with goaltending within ranks if Portillo did decide to sign his entry-level deal with Buffalo now.

Thanks as always for listening and thank you even more for the positive ratings and feedback. These finely written artisanal show notes were finely curated for your consumption.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp  

Welcome to August where we're just a bit a month away from starting a new season. And here you thought it was the heart of summer, didn't you? Autumn doesn't sleep... it waits... but Lance and Joe made sure you don't have to wait for more hockey to talk about.

This week, the guys address a couple of questions:

"Why aren't they in on (insert player name here)?"

and

"Which player DON'T we get asked about on radio/pod appearances?"

Listen, we're not going to spoil the answers for you here in the show notes, but you will enjoy the answers and the slightly shorter length of this week's episode.

Thanks as always for listening and thank you even more for the positive ratings and feedback. These finely written artisanal show notes were finely curated for your consumption.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp  

And you thought the summer would be boring... A Sabres division rival went out and made the biggest NHL trade in years and it helped make a competitor a lot more difficult to play against. So... A) How will this affect things in the division? and B) Why weren't the Sabres in on Matthew Tkachuk?! Lance and Joe dig into it to an extent that may make you uncomfortable.

New old friend Arttu Ruotsalainen is off to Switzerland. How do you sum up his time in the Buffalo organization? Missed opportunity? Never had a chance? Will he be the next guy to go the Lawrence Pilut route? That's a lot of questions for the end of July... So the guys close it out talking about the standouts from Sabres development camp.

Oh... there may have been new-time, Ralph-era reminiscing that nearly derailed the pod completely somewhere in the middle... You'll catch it when you hear it, trust that.

Thanks as always for listening and thank you even more for the positive ratings and feedback. These finely written artisanal show notes were finely curated for your consumption.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp  

At last, we're in free agency and at last it's already just about over. So what the heck did the Sabres do? Well... they took care of the areas they had to.

Lance and Joe do a lot of talking about new goalie Eric Comrie and what Kevyn Adams and company's thoughts are in adding him as the new top guy. There's also a new deal for Victor Olofsson, a new right defenseman in Ilya Lyubushkin, and lots of new defensemen to get to work for Rochester. The guys dig into what all these moves mean for both the Sabres and Amerks and their rosters and lineups in general. They may have been light on signings, but we're heavy on discussion -- just the way you like it.

Thanks as always for listening and thank you even more for the positive ratings and feedback.

Follow Lance and Joe on Twitter!
Read Lance's work at The Buffalo News
Read Joe's work at Noted Hockey

Big thanks to our musician friends --
Intro: MerlinBerlin -- "Orbit" - Find them on Bandcamp
Outro: Chips 'N Cellos -- Boss Fight (Sabre Dance, Khachaturian) - Find them on Bandcamp