In his own words: Luce proud to follow in his grandfather's footsteps

Griffin Luce, the grandson of Buffalo Sabres Hall of Famer Don Luce, shares what it's like to be invited to Sabres Development Camp presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and to be raised in a family with deep hockey roots.
Growing up around the organization, the Buffalo Sabres were the team I watched the most throughout my childhood. Every kid has that dream of playing in the NHL and putting on an NHL jersey. For it to be a Sabres jersey and wear it here for the first time at Development Camp was a really special moment.
This is such a great organization that my grandfather was able to be a part of. It's cool being able to wear the same jersey as my grandpa because he made a name for himself here.

From a young age, I was aware that he played, but I didn't really realize how great of a career he had until I was around 10. When I ask him now, the good stories come out. Stories about guys cutting other guys' sticks on purpose to break them in warmup. Good hockey stories like that.
As a kid, he used to antagonize me. We used to kind of go at it a little it because he's a very competitive guy and so am I. He'd always push buttons if we were playing video games or he'd come up and grab you, put you in some holds.
Over the years, we've gotten a lot closer. Now, I can always approach him about anything, whether it's hockey advice or life advice. He's always funny. He's always there for me. He's a great guy and I love him.
When I came here for the Combine in 2016, it was cool to see all the people who really looked up to him and loved him. You go anywhere, and they say to you, "Oh, you're Don Luce's grandson? He was my favorite player growing up." It's pretty cool. When people see my last name, they either ask me about Grandpa or they ask how to pronounce it!

My brother and I grew up in London, Ontario so whenever we would come visit our grandparents, chances are we were coming to the rink because we loved being here. My grandpa was the Sabres director of player development at the time so he pretty immersed with the players. We were able to interact with players, hang around with the staff.
At the rink, the players would say hi and play some jokes on us as kids. My aunt is actually pretty good friends with Danny Briere, so we were able to go over to Danny's house once. One of his sons is my age so we played mini-sticks as kids and stuff like that.
I liked watching Briere, Marty Biron and Max Afinogenov. My favorite player was J.P. Dumont and I have a picture in my room of me sitting in Dumont's stall. I think they were playing Nashville that night. That was pretty special.
Not that I remember (because I was 1 years old), but I was talking to my mom the other day about how I was in the building when the Sabres lost to Dallas in the 1999 Stanley Cup Final. It was absolutely no goal.
As we got older, the players started asking questions about what we aspired to do in hockey and whatnot, trying to get to know us a little more on a personal level. We were frequently there so it wasn't like another fan stopping by. They knew us by our names by the end and it was cool to have that experience. I got to see firsthand how they approached the game as professionals and that has really helped me over the years.
Every kid looks to those guys and when they treat you so well, you're like, 'Wow, these guys are really cool. I want to be like one of them one day.'
That's one of the biggest lessons I've learned in my two years at the University of Michigan. They teach you how to manage your schedule and your time with school and hockey, but they also teach you how to be a great person. Red Berenson, in my first year, was great with that. Obviously, Mel Pearson came in and he harps on the same things - developing as a player and a person inside and outside the classroom.
I wasn't drafted in 2016 and obviously that day wasn't the greatest day, but I use it as motivation. You can't dwell on it because there's nothing you can do about it. It's not the end of the world. There are plenty of guys playing in the National Hockey League who didn't get drafted. Just because your name was called that day doesn't mean you're going to play in the NHL.
Grandpa told me to use it as motivation, use it as a tool to prove people wrong, prove you should've been drafted that day. And I'm going to continue using it until I'm living out my dream of playing in the NHL.