Sharpen Up: June 20, 2018

The 2018 NHL Awards are tonight and Sabres.com's NHL Draft coverage presented by New Era kicks into high gear.
Here's what you need to know.

O'Reilly up for Lady Byng

Ryan O'Reilly is one of three finalists for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which will be awarded in Las Vegas tonight. He's up against William Karlsson of the Vegas Golden Knights and Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers.
O'Reilly previously won the award in 2014, which is given to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability, while with Colorado. Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Lady Byng Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists.
In his third season in Buffalo, O'Reilly posted 24 goals and 37 assists for 61 points - his second-best offensive season - while enjoying historic numbers in the faceoff circle. His 1,274 face-off wins were the most by any player since the League officially began tracking the statistic in 1997-98. O'Reilly (1,274-for-2,214, 60.0 percent) also became the third different player to record 1,000 faceoff wins in one season while maintaining a 60.0 winning percentage, joining Patrice Bergeron and Rod Brind'Amour (2x each).
Beyond the faceoff dot, O'Reilly received only one minor penalty, the fewest by any player with at least 41 appearances. He also is looking to become the second player in Sabres history to collect the trophy, following Gilbert Perreault in 1972-73.
Tune in at 8 p.m. on NBCSN.

Home opener to be announced today

The season will be here before we know it…

Continuing Draft coverage

As you read this, our Sabres.com team will be en route to Dallas for the 2018 NHL Draft this weekend. We'll have tons of written and video coverage presented by New Era for you as we prepare for Round 1 on Friday.
Hot off the press, check out Kris Baker's list of players who just missed the cut for his Top 31 countdown. If Bakes goes 31-for-31 in the first round, these 13 players will be available to Buffalo with the first pick of the second round on Saturday.
If you've missed anything so far, check out Sabres.com's Draft Central here.

And don't forget about Friday's Draft Party

We're hosting an NHL Draft party presented by Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino on Friday in Alumni Plaza at KeyBank Center. The event will begin at 6 p.m. and draft coverage begins at 7 p.m.
National coverage of the draft will be shown on large screens. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a scratch-off card that will grant them one of a variety of prizes, including a jersey of the team's first-round pick.
Sabres alumni will be available to sign autographs, and there will be numerous activities for kids throughout the event. NHL Network will be on hand with a mock television set and an inflatable hockey shot game. Balloon and air-brush tattoo artists will be present, and DJ Milk will serve as the emcee for the event. Food and beverages will be available for purchase from vendors including (716) Food and Sport, Coca-Cola, Labatt, La Nova, Lloyd Taco Truck and Perry's Ice Cream.
The NHL Draft party is free to the public and complimentary parking will be available in the KeyBank Center ramp for fans attending the event. In the event of inclement weather, the party will be moved to the arena floor inside KeyBank Center.
Yes, there's a lot going on. It's going to be quite a week. We'll be back with more later today from Dallas.