Mailbag: Fan buzz for NHL Global Series, 1st Utah captain

Here is the Oct. 2 edition of the weekly NHL.com mailbag, where we answer your questions asked on X. Send your questions to @drosennhl and @NHLdotcom and tag it with #OvertheBoards.

What has the local fan buzz been like in Munich and Prague for NHL hockey? -- @MrEd315

The Buffalo Sabres were a hit in Munich last week for more than just the fact that it was JJ Peterka's homecoming for the game against EHC Red Bull Munchen in the 2024 NHL Global Series Challenge Germany presented by Fastenal. The Sabres forward was born and raised in Munich, and still lives there in the offseason. Interest in the NHL has grown in Germany with the rise of native players going into the NHL in prominent roles, Leon Draisaitl, Moritz Seider, Tim Stutzle, Peterka, Lukas Reichel and Philipp Grubauer. There's interest in those players. There is interest in the NHL in general. There were a lot of Sabres jerseys in the crowd at SAP Garden when Buffalo played EHC Red Bull Munchen last Friday. There were several Draisaitl jerseys as well. I saw Stutzle and Seider too, and Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. I even saw a Patrik Stefan Atlanta Thrashers jersey. I spoke to someone in a Sabres jersey who said he had been a fan since Uwe Krupp played for them in the late 1980s, but this was his first time seeing Buffalo in person. It was a sold-out crowd of 10,796. It was a rainy day, but there were long lines to get in the building 2 1/2 hours before the opening face-off. The German media also covered the event from practice days all the way through the game. There was a lot of interest, specifically in Peterka.

In Prague, there is interest in the Sabres and New Jersey Devils playing the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal on Friday (1 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NHLN, MSG-B, SN) and Saturday (10 a.m. ET; MSGSN, NHLN, MSG-B, SN). The Sabres and Devils practiced here Monday and there was a sizable contingent of Czech media covering. From Buffalo, they were specifically interested in hearing from Czech forwards Lukas Rousek and Jiri Kulich. From New Jersey, it was obviously Czechia forward Ondrej Palat, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I was on the Charles Bridge with Rousek, Kulich, Peyton Krebs and Ryan McLeod covering their trip to the Illusion Art Museum on Monday. When people found out who they were, several started taking pictures. The players did not wear anything suggesting they were from the Sabres, so they were not recognized immediately. There have been autograph seekers outside the hotels and practice rinks. There are still two more practices for the Sabres and Devils here before they play Friday. The NHL Global Fan Tour arrives Friday before the game. If the weather is good (chance of rain), it should be crowded. Interest is high.

Do you see Lukas Rousek or Jiri Kulich cracking the lineup for a game in Prague? Who would you take out for one or both of them? How many players can dress for the two games? Still NHL regulation 18 and two goalies? -- @TdotDee23

At this point it seems unlikely that Rousek and Kulich will play Friday. What happens after that remains to be seen because it's less than 24 hours between games, but their chances of getting in the lineup for the season opener are slim. They along with Krebs skated as extra forwards in practice Monday and it's unlikely to change Wednesday or Thursday. The Sabres and Devils were off Tuesday.

I asked Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff if it tugs at his heartstrings a little to try to find a way to get them both in at least one of the games. Rousek said he will have close to 50 people at the games. Kulich said he will have close family, a few friends and his local trainers there, the people he called "the most important." Ruff knows all of that. "You'd like nothing more than to have them in the lineup, but we've got to make a decision and some of them are tough," he said. So, my guess is the lineup for Saturday depends on how the Sabres play Friday, and if they come out of the game healthy.

It's an NHL regular season game, so the Sabres and Devils can dress a maximum of 18 skaters and two goalies. Buffalo has 27 players here: 15 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies. New Jersey has 26 players: 15 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies. The Devils would have had nine defensemen, but Brett Pesce stayed home in New Jersey to continue recovering from offseason surgery to repair a fractured fibula. They will have to get down to a 23-man roster before they play their first game in North America against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Prudential Center on Oct. 10.

Which team panics more if they come back from Prague 0-2? -- @marsupial129

Panic is too strong. It's two games. There will be 80 to go. But points are critical. Talk to a team in April that misses the Stanley Cup Playoffs by a point or two about how valuable points in October become as the season wears on.

From what I've seen, the Sabres look prepared and hungry to start the season. The Devils don't quite have the same look, but that's not a surprise.

The Sabres have had their NHL group together since Day One of training camp. They had to get to it fast because they were coming to Europe early, a week into camp after two preseason games, and had to limit the number of players coming. Though having the NHL group together might have cut short a prospect from getting a chance to make the team, it enabled Ruff and his coaching staff to get to work right away on the systems, style of play they're looking for and what they want out of every practice. Ruff has talked multiple times since arriving in Europe about the benefits of having the group together so early in camp, not fractured and mixing in young players or those from the American Hockey League with the NHL group. The Sabres have looked good in their preseason games with the NHL roster. Their practices have been upbeat and fast-paced with a lot of drills, special teams work and battling.

The Devils have not looked as good in the preseason, going 1-4-0 before leaving for Prague on Sunday and arriving here Monday. They have used mixed lineups. Pesce hasn't played yet. Jack Hughes has gotten in one game. It'll be interesting to see how the Devils look in practice Wednesday and Thursday. They are also playing catchup in adjusting to the six-hour time difference. The Sabres had a five-day head start on that.

Do you see the Sabres making the playoffs, and if so, who do they leapfrog? -- @SabreGreg87

I am picking Buffalo to make the playoffs. It's been fool's gold in the past, but I'm doing it again. Their core is firmed up and a year older. Their defense looks solid. They have a legitimate top six and bottom six. Their depth is stronger than it's been. Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen showed he's capable of handling a No. 1 load and winning NHL games last season. I think they're a wild-card team, the fifth in from the Atlantic Division. I picked the New York Rangers, Devils and Carolina Hurricanes to make it from the Metropolitan Division. That means, at least according to my don't-bet-the-house-on-it preseason predictions, the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders won't make it.

Who do you think eventually becomes the Utah Hockey Club's first captain? -- @DannyUkpong

I'll go Clayton Keller, but Lawson Crouse would be a fine choice too. Keller and Crouse have been with the organization the longest, both since the 2016-17 season. They bought into the rebuild despite the uncertain future of the franchise; Keller signed an eight-year contract Sept. 4, 2019, and Crouse a five-year contract Aug. 8, 2022, after playing on a three-year contract. They've worn the 'A' the past two seasons. They're respected leaders, impact players, and they have been front and center in the transition to Utah.

What kind of impact do you anticipate the coaching change to Ryan Warsofsky will have this season in San Jose? -- @BleedingTeal

The San Jose Sharks this season remind me of the Chicago Blackhawks last season with one caveat, Warsofsky is in his first year as the Sharks coach whereas Luke Richardson last season was in his second. Chicago had the No. 1 pick last season in Connor Bedard. San Jose has it this season in Macklin Celebrini. Chicago brought in veteran players like Nick Foligno, Taylor Hall, Tyler Johnson and Jason Dickinson to insulate Bedard. San Jose has done the same, adding Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg and Barclay Goodrow to insulate Celebrini and fellow prized rookie Will Smith.

The Blackhawks were coming off a last-place finish in the Central Division in 2022-23 and nobody expected it to go much better in 2023-24. It didn't. They finished last again. The Sharks were last in the Pacific Division in 2023-24 and nobody is expecting it to go much better this season. Warsofsky's job, much like Richardson's in Chicago, is to allow Celebrini and Smith to feel their way into the NHL without adding the internal pressure of being the top players on the team. That will happen organically, like it did with Bedard last season. Warsofsky also must provide consistency in his approach even when it gets tough and the losses pile up. We'll see how he does, but judging Warsofsky on this season, if it goes as expected for the Sharks, will not be fair. This is a long process and he's at the very beginning of it.