For these Sabres, long road trip includes a bit of home

CALGARY, Alberta – Returning to the Scotiabank Saddledome conjures a lot of memories for Buffalo Sabres forward Peyton Krebs.

The Calgary-area native frequented Flames games as a kid, taking full advantage of a friend’s season tickets. On Monday, he played one of his last games in the 42-year-old arena, which is scheduled for demolition in 2027.

“The Saddle is pretty iconic,” Krebs told Sabres.com that morning. “It’s gonna be tough to see it go. … It’s unreal. I came here a lot in the playoffs.

“I had that song stuck in my head – I don’t know if people remember it – it’s that Jarome Iginla song. It’s like, [sings] ‘Chilling in the dome, hanging with the Flames.’ That’s just stuck in my head today.”

‘In da Dome,’ a play on 50 Cent’s ‘In da Club,’ was a hype song during the Flames’ run to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. Krebs was three years old at the time.

The sixth-year NHLer has come a long way from his days as a young spectator, and Buffalo’s annual stop at the Saddledome serves as a good reminder.

“As a kid, I would sit by the bench and hope someone would look at me for a hockey stick or a puck,” recalled Krebs, who once took home a puck from current Flames captain Mikael Backlund. “So, I make sure I pay it back when I’m here and give out a puck or two.”

* * *

The Sabres’ longest road trip since 2011 has spanned two weeks, four time zones and six cities.

Once-a-season visits to each Western Conference city take the team a long way from Western New York. For some Sabres, however, this trip has offered a chance to visit their hometowns (or provinces), relive childhood memories and catch up on family time – a rare thing during the jam-packed hockey schedule.

The team spent three full days in Calgary. After their Sunday practice, Krebs stuck around with his dad to watch the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen play; his older brother, Dakota, is an assistant coach for the Hitmen. He also enjoyed a home-cooked meal. And he played the Sabres-Flames game in front of his parents, as well as his grandmother, who has club seats at the Saddledome.

“I kind of felt like I was home for Christmas – it was really nice,” Krebs said.

Krebs had seen his parents as recently as November; as a birthday gift to his mom, he paid for their travel to watch the Sabres play in Utah and Colorado. Considering what went into raising an NHL player, he recognizes, it’s only right.

“They traveled all over, paying on their dime to get me here.” he said. “Trying to pay it back. Trying to just allow them to enjoy the perks of what they did, grinding away for me. It’s awesome.”

* * *

It’s not exactly a homecoming for Tyson Kozak when the Sabres play the Jets, but it’s close enough. The second-year forward hails from Souris, Manitoba, a town roughly three hours from Winnipeg, population just a few thousand.

In March, Kozak had plenty of support in the Canada Life Centre crowd as he scored his second NHL goal, a key third-period tally that contributed to a 5-3 win over the eventual Presidents’ Trophy winners.

“First game here, never played in the building before, and I had probably around 150 people from my hometown,” recalled Kozak, whose audience included his grandfather, Murray, taking in his first-ever NHL game. “To be able to score was really cool, and we ended up winning as well, so that made it even better.”

The 22-year-old wasn’t in the lineup this time around for a 4-1 loss on Dec. 5, but the caravan of family and friends still made the eastward trek to see Kozak, one of five Souris natives to play in the NHL.

“It’s a very small town, so I usually keep in touch with pretty much everybody,” he said. “It’s good to see everybody, because usually you’re away for eight, nine months at a time, so you don’t really get to see people very often.”

Luckily for Kozak, who’s still making the league-minimum salary, some brief midseason family time didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

“No, no,” he laughed. “They’ve had their tickets for a few months now, so thankfully I didn’t have to pay for all of them.”

* * *

For fathers like Krebs, Beck Malenstyn and other Sabres, hockey season means frequent nights away from the wife and kids. Especially during grueling trips like this one.

Malenstyn has two kids: a toddler and a newborn. The former is old enough to miss dad when he’s traveling, the latter not so much – yet. They and his wife, Annie, spend the offseason in British Columbia, split between his home near Vancouver and her hometown, Penticton, a few hours away.

Annie and the kids flew out to their summer home last week, so Malenstyn had something to look forward to on the tail end of the trip. He took full advantage of the team off-day on Wednesday.

“When we hit the road for this long, it’s hard on our families and hard on us to be away,” Malenstyn said. “So, the timing is perfect – we’ve been on the road for a little while – to get that little bit of a refresher, play a little mini sticks with the little man, and things like that.

“It just kind of brings you back to the people that you care about and the reason we play this game. It’s a lot of fun, we have a lot of support, but in the big picture, family’s first, so it’s really nice to have that little chunk of time here on the road.”

The 27-year-old, once a young Canucks fan and aspiring goalie, has instead developed into the key cog of the Sabres’ fourth line. Visiting his parents and other relatives as an NHLer, plus returning to his junior hockey home in Calgary – he played for those same Hitmen – puts that journey into perspective.

“They support and they put you through all this stuff with really no idea if it’s gonna work out or not – and so very few do,” Malenstyn said. “Now, to be able to share these games with them, it’s really just a moment to look back, appreciate all the time and effort, financial burdens, all those things that they did for me to get me to this point. And I’m just extremely thankful for it.”