Kevyn Adams

Report: Joe Sacco to join Sabres coaching staff (Update: It’s official)

By Joe YerdonJul 2, 2013, 3:00 PM EDT

Former Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco isn’t going to be out of work very long.

According to John Vogl of The Buffalo News, Sacco is set to join Sabres head coach Ron Rolston on his staff as an assistant. Rolston has been looking for experienced help on his bench since former assistants Kevyn Adams and James Patrick were let go.

Both Rolston and Sacco have history together as they were assistants under Scott Gordon for Team USA during the 2010 World Championships. Sacco coached Team USA to the bronze medal at this year’s Championships.

Sacco was fired as head coach of the Avalanche following yet another disappointing season this year. He’ll join Teppo Numminen on Rolston’s coaching staff. Numminen was the only holdover from Lindy Ruff’s tenure in Buffalo.

Update (3:08 p.m. ET): Sabres make it official Sacco is on board. Press conference to come at 4:30 ET today.

Lindy Ruff won’t be behind the bench tonight

By Joe YerdonFeb 8, 2012, 11:29 AM EST

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Lindy Ruff’s broken ribs are going to keep him out of action tonight.

Sabres assistant coach James Patrick announced this morning that Ruff will not be behind the bench for Buffalo tonight as the Sabres take on the Boston Bruins.

Bill Hoppe of the Niagara Gazette reports that Patrick will handle the head coaching duties tonight while fellow assistants Kevyn Adams and Teppo Numminen will take care of the other jobs on the bench. Patrick will be handling line changes for the forwards while Adams will take care of the defense. Numminen joins the team on the bench after doing his work in the press box.

Ruff has been coaching the Sabres since 1997-1998 and hasn’t missed a game during his tenure until tonight. Hoppe reports that Ruff will at least be in the building for tonight’s game, just not on the bench barking orders at his players or complaints towards officials. Here’s to hoping that Ryan Miller can go without getting run over tonight so Ruff doesn’t blow a gasket and hurt himself anymore.

Sabres bring former defenseman Teppo Numminen on as assistant coach

By Joe YerdonSep 18, 2011, 2:00 AM EDT

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It’s safe to say that Sabres coach Lindy Ruff is going to have plenty of familiar help on the bench this season. While Ruff already has former Sabres defenseman James Patrick and NHL veteran Kevyn Adams as assistants, he’s getting another former Sabres defenseman and Winnipeg Jets (the original Jets) legend to help out as well.

The Sabres hired Teppo Numminen to join Ruff’s staff as an assistant coach and help educate the Sabres defensemen on the ways of playing things a bit smoother on defense. Numminen was a slick-skating Finnish defenseman who could defend as well as help set things up offensively with assists and scoring goals as well.

As John Vogl of Sabres Edge shares, Numminen’s role with the Sabres is going to be to bring a particular worldly view to the Sabres blue liners.

During games, Numminen will be in the press box with a headset talking to his fellow assistants stationed on the bench.

“He’s going to give us a little bit of a European flair,” Ruff said. “He was a consultant at the world championships for the Finns, who won last year. He’s going to be a good addition.”

That European flair Ruff is talking about means playing solid at both ends of the ice while keeping a finer eye on the details. If you’ve ever watched Team Finland play in the Olympics or the World Championships, you’ve got an idea as to what that means. If you haven’t, it means that they play a very focused and intense brand of hockey and while they’re defensively responsible, they’re not afraid to take an educated gamble offensively.

For Sabres defensemen Tyler Myers and Christian Ehrhoff, that sort of education could be invaluable to them. While Myers is a decent defender, Ehrhoff has had his moments while with the Sharks and Canucks that were hide-your-eyes bad when trying to defend opponents. If Numminen can help tweak Ehrhoff’s game to make him a better defender, the Sabres will be much better off for it. Ehrhoff’s offensive game is already very good, as is Myers’, but keeping them involved offensively while tightening up their defensive game are the sorts of things that can help the Sabres become stronger contenders in the Eastern Conference. Learning from Numminen’s example would help both of them have long, fruitful careers.

Buffalo Sabres promote Kevyn Adams to assistant coach

By James O'BrienAug 3, 2011, 10:33 PM EDT

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Generally speaking, the 2006 Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes weren’t exactly known for their defense-minded play or excelling at “doing the small things.” If you ask me, that team won because it sent wave after wave of dangerous forwards after opponents, pushed the pace from their defense and leaned heavily on then-rookie goalie Cam Ward.

Yet even an oddball team like that post-lockout Canes squad had its fair share of blue collar workers, from Mike Commodore and his giant red afro to the two Adams: Kevyn and Craig. They weren’t siblings, but sometimes it seemed that way considering how willing they were to do the dirty work to help that team win.

While Craig continues to ply his versatile, lime-light-deflecting trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Kevyn Adams retired in 2009 and joined the Buffalo Sabres organization as a player development coach. Apparently the Sabres are liking what they’re seeing with him because they announced that Adams will be an assistant coach for Lindy Ruff next season.

Ruff will probably need some good assistants to lean on in 2011-12 because there will be plenty of pressure to succeed after Buffalo spent big (and often) during its first off-season with Terry Pegula as their owner. It sounds like Adams will probably work primarily with forwards, which makes perfect sense considering the fact that he has 10 years of NHL experience to back up his points.

“Kevyn is going to work with the forwards, and be involved in the special teams, and continue the development work with the players. I’ve got some different thoughts on our special teams, and I’d like to utilize all three coaches. I think that’s how you develop,” Ruff explains. “Kevyn may be a voice in one or the other, and I’ve talked to him about it. I don’t think solely do I want either coach just to run either (the power play or penalty kill).

In a strange way, this must be a dream come true (or at least half-true) because Adams grew up as a Sabres fan but never played for Buffalo during his journeyman NHL career.

A native of Clarence, NY, Adams is thrilled about having the opportunity to further his coaching career with his hometown team. Adams even mentioned how his father reminisced with him yesterday about the two of them sitting with in the last row of the orange seats at The Aud while he was growing up. Not having played with the Sabres during his 10-year NHL career, Adams relishes the chance to finally be part of the team’s success.

“The one thing that I have is there was a passion in me from the time I was four or five years old being a Sabres fan. Then you lose that when you playing because all you want to do is win, wherever you are. When Darcy and Lindy called me a couple of years ago and this first opportunity came, I was so eager to get started and so excited about it, and it’s built from there. This next step is something I can’t wait to wrap my arms around and go after.”

(Screen shot via Buffalo Sabres.com.)