Sharpen Up: January 6, 2021 | Johnson, Team USA are World Junior champs

Following their first off-day of training camp, the Buffalo Sabres will return to practice this morning.
Over the weekend, head coach Ralph Krueger said he expected to see captain Jack Eichel (upper body), forward Victor Olofsson (upper body) and goaltender Linus Ullmark (post-immigration quarantine) on the ice Wednesday. Eichel and Ullmark have yet to skate with the team during training camp presented by BlueCross Blue Shield of Western New York. All three players have been considered day-to-day.
We'll also see if Krueger has an update on forward Zemgus Girgensons, who left Monday's Blue & Gold Scrimmage with an injury. Full coverage will be coming your way here on Sabres.com and our social media platforms.
We also have an update from the gold medal game of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship here. Just keep scrolling.
Here's what you need to know.

Gold medal game

Buffalo's top three picks of the past two drafts fared well at the tournament in Edmonton. Defenseman Ryan Johnson (31st overall in 2019) was a steady hand for Team USA as they pulled off a 2-0 victory over Canada last night to win gold. Check out the recap here.
Johnson is in the midst of his second season at the University of Minnesota.

Dylan Cozens (7th overall in 2019) racked up 16 points for Canada to finish second in scoring and earned All-Tournament honors.

Jack Quinn (8th overall in 2020) finished his first World Juniors experience with five points (1+4) and a silver medal.

As of Monday, Krueger said the team was still waiting on more information from the NHL about quarantine protocols for players from the World Junior Championship joining training camps .

Girardi hired as development coach

The Sabres have hired former NHL defenseman Dan Girardi as a player development coach, joining a staff that includes director of player development Matt Ellis and goaltending development coach Seamus Kotyk.
Girardi began his career as an undrafted defenseman and went on to play 13 NHL seasons, amassing 1,070 games between the regular season and the playoffs. He appeared in the 2011-12 All-Star Game and, despite a propensity for blocking shots, played a full 82 games five times.
"He's gonna provide some invaluable experience, some great lessons, and he'll be a great resource to help continue pushing the needle forward for all of our prospects as they continue their journey to becoming hopefully down the road Buffalo Sabres," Ellis told Sabres.com.
Read more here.https://www.nhl.com/sabres/news/buffalo-sabres-dan-girardi-matt-ellis-development-coach/c-320001470

Schedule times announced

We knew the date. We knew the opponent. We knew the location. Now we officially know the time.
Buffalo will open the season on January 14 against the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The season opens with a two-game set against the Caps
The NHL announced the start times for all regular season games on Monday and Buffalo is looking at 11 afternoon games over the course of their 56-game campaign.
The Sabres are also slated to appear on national TV three times as of now: Sunday, March 7 at the Islanders on NBC; Wednesday, March 24 at Pittsburgh on NBCSN; and Saturday, April 17 at home against the Penguins on NBC. NBC Sports' full 2020-21 NHL regular-season schedule will be announced soon.

More tributes to John Muckler

As news spread throughout the hockey world about the passing of former Sabres coach and GM John Muckler, who won five Stanley Cups on the Oilers coaching staff, we saw more tweets go out to honor the hockey icon. We shared some yesterday, and here are a few more: