Camp notebook | Carrick talks fourth line, faceoffs, family and football

After a hectic spring, Sam Carrick is settling into Buffalo.

The center joined the Sabres via trade in March and was an immediate fit, with five goals, 20 hits and a 57-percent faceoff record in 13 games. But that 13th game, March 31 against the Islanders, saw him stand up for teammate Josh Norris and fight New York’s Anders Lee; Carrick injured his arm in the fight and missed the rest of the season, save for six minutes of one playoff game.

“This was one of the easier groups to join I’ve ever been a part of. It’s a ton of energy in here. Obviously a lot of youth in this room, and guys are excited and working hard,” said the 10-year veteran who’s played for five NHL teams. “… Really couldn’t be happier to be a Sabre here.”

Carrick’s role in March was clear – fourth-line center next to Beck Malenstyn and a rotating cast of left wingers – and that’s where he’ll start the 2026-27 season. Carrick and Malenstyn played 104 minutes together at even strength, during which the Sabres outscored their opponents 8-2.

A dominant goal differential and great physicality. The ideal fourth line.

“I think we all have a similar mindset: When there’s a play there, make it, but if the play’s not there, get it deep, get our forecheck going and set up our next line,” Carrick said. “We’ve got a ton of skill in this room in the top nine and on the back end, so anytime we can have a good energy shift and get some momentum and set up the next line in a good position."

Those few weeks of Carrick didn’t keep the Sabres from being the league’s worst faceoff team (45.9 percent) last season. Experience – confidence and picking up guys’ tendencies – generally translates to faceoff success, Carrick explained, so Buffalo’s young centers face a steep learning curve at the dot.

But just as Carrick once leaned on Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, the Sabres have both him and de facto assistant coach Eric Staal – “that’s been great so far,” Carrick said – for pointers this season. And improvement in that department would help every area of the team’s game, especially the power play.

“At the end of the day, a faceoff is about who wants that puck more,” Carrick said. “… I think that’s helped me throughout my career: just having that mindset that I’m not gonna let this guy beat me on the draw.”

Off the ice, Carrick now has his family in town and his kids in school. He appreciates being only a couple hours from the Greater Toronto Area where he grew up. And after growing into Bills fandom the last few years, Carrick enjoyed every second of the inaugural game at Highmark Stadium – beer horns and all.

“That’s Buffalo for you,” he said. “It’s a blue-collar town. People like their beer and their sports. I fit in pretty good with that. It was just a blast.”

Injury updates and lines

Coach Lindy Ruff provided some mostly positive injury updates after Friday’s practice at KeyBank Center:

• Goalie Alex Lyon is still being evaluated for the upper-body injury sustained in Thursday’s game. The team should have more details Saturday.
• Forward Jiri Kulich, who exited the Detroit game as a precaution, missed practice for maintenance. He’ll likely skate Saturday but not play in the preseason finale.
• Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (lower body) told Ruff, “This isn’t gonna be that long.” It’s a question of pain tolerance, and Ruff thinks Samuelsson could return on the early end of his week-to-week timeline.
• Defenseman Olen Zellweger (concussion protocol) has progressed to skating. “In all likelihood, I would anticipate him being ready for next week,” Ruff said.
• Forward Noah Ostlund missed practice for maintenance after playing 23:56 on Thursday.

With those guys absent, the Sabres practiced with these lines:

Grzelcyk signing

Friday morning, the Sabres signed left-shot defenseman Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year deal. The 10-year veteran has played for the Bruins, Penguins and Blackhawks, and two seasons ago in Pittsburgh, he set career highs in games (82), average time on ice (20:37) and points (40).

Ruff feels Grzelcyk makes more sense for third-pair NHL minutes than younger options like Radim Mrtka, Vsevolod Komarov and Ryan Johnson, who’ve been playing in the preseason but would benefit from bigger roles with the Amerks.

“A real good competitor,” Ruff said of Grzelcyk. “A guy that’s got a lot of NHL games, knows how to play the game, a good pro. We’ve got some question marks with a couple of our players; it just gives us some veteran depth that I think we need.”

Camp winds down

After practice, Buffalo cut its training camp roster to 29 by assigning a bunch of players to Rochester (AHL), some pending waivers clearance. See the full list here.

Most of the Sabres' NHL veterans are required to play Saturday’s preseason finale versus Pittsburgh, by rule, and Ruff indicated the lineup will look similar to opening night next Thursday in Columbus. Postgame, the Sabres will head to a team-culture-building retreat, as they did last year.

Practice sound

Up next

Saturday’s puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on MSG with a pregame show at 2:30. Sabretooth’s Preseason Bash: Mascot games, photo opportunities and more.