April 3, 2008

By Russell Jaslow

Special to USAHockey.com

USA Hockey has always relied on donations to help develop its youth programs and activities. When the donor is the local National Hockey League team, the reach goes beyond just the monetary value.

On the second day of the Tier I and Tier II 16 & Under and 18 & Under tournaments in Buffalo, N.Y., the Buffalo Sabres presented a check for $7,500 and another $2,500 in-kind donation for a total contribution of $10,000 to the New York State Amateur Hockey Assocation (NYSAHA).

“It means a great deal based on the fact that we need help because of the cost of the game,” said David Braunstein, the West Section president for NYSAHA. “We need to try to keep the cost down, and this is one way to keep the costs down. And this is one way to help for the kids starting to come into the game. That’s the big thing. The problem is the new parents trying to see what the cost is between ice time and skates.  This will help defray the costs.”

“For us, this is the easy one,” Larry Quinn, Managing Partner of the Buffalo Sabres, said. “I’m looking around this rink, and I see all these future NHL hockey fans. It’s probably the best money we can possibly spend. We are very excited to be here in Buffalo, too. We are a hockey town, and to have an amateur national tournament like this is another feather in our cap.”

It’s more than just adding to Buffalo’s hockey legacy or producing future fans. It’s about building the sport as a whole, from the ground up.

“We think it’s good,” Quinn said of the overall local support the Sabres provide. “We’ve been big supporters of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres here, and we’re going to continue to do more for them. We do tournaments like this. We run a street hockey tournament. We run clinics. We bring amateur kids in. They get to play on our ice. They get instructions from former NHL players. And they get to fulfill their dream of playing on HSBC center ice. Our general feeling is what’s good for hockey from the top to the bottom is good for the Buffalo Sabres. It’s not a direct mercenary approach -- you don’t see anyone out here selling Sabres tickets or Sabres merchandise. We view it as we build the sport because we love the sport. From there, it takes care of itself.”

Braunstein agrees: “The Sabres do a great deal for hockey in the West Section of New York State with many different things. Starting at the top, the Jr. Sabres, the Junior A team, have two ex-Sabres coaching them. We also get numerous ice times down at the arena and a number of different uses at that facility. They also help doing the clinics. They also help with the Bowman Cup, which is the best senior high school hockey players from Buffalo playing the best senior hockey players from Rochester, and then juniors play juniors. They give them equipment, socks, and jerseys and also give them practice down there. They’re coached by ex-NHL and AHL Sabres and Amerks [Rochester Americans]. There’s just numerous other things we could take all day mentioning. They are a huge help through Larry Quinn, Mike Gilbert [Director of Public Relations]. Mr. Golisano [Owner] has always been excellent in supporting us.”

Donations are always welcome. However, a synergy between the top of the sport and the foundation of the sport is what makes USA Hockey and their youth programs thrive.

“Quite frankly we happy they asked us,” Quinn said.

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.