Since the mid 1970s, Western New York and the Buffalo Junior Sabres have offered elite amateur hockey players the opportunity to develop their skills and advance to higher levels of hockey.
Hundreds of players who played for the Junior Sabres franchise throughout its history (including the Niagara Scenic and Buffalo Lightning eras) have moved on to college hockey at either NCAA Division I or Division III.
As of July 2015, a total of 18 Junior Sabres alumni have been drafted by NHL clubs. Those chosen few have not only been selected by teams but have thrived in the league, including Stanley Cup championships. Combined, Junior Sabres alumni have appeared in more than 3,600 NHL games.
Below is a listing of alumni who advanced to college hockey. Those highlighted among them were also drafted by teams in the National Hockey League.
AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Lenny DeFazio, Tony DaCosta
ALABAMA - HUNTSVILLE
Rick Julyia
ALASKA - FAIRBANKS
Rob Duke
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE
Neil Sullivan
AMHERST COLLEGE
Kevin English
ARMY
Matt Quinn, Bob Mansell, Ron Adimey, Mike Mansell, Don Sisson, Parker Gahagen
BABSON
Chris Rozanski
BECKER COLLEGE
Harrison Welch
BOSTON COLLEGE
JEFF FARKAS***, BRIAN GIONTA*** +
BROCKPORT STATE
Ron Cappellazzo, Nick Fattey, Mike Utzig, Brian Tefft, David Braunstein, John Braunstein, Geoff Schweikhard, Alexander Pelligra, Nicholas Panepinto, Chris Luker, Dylan Howatt, Nathan Pelligra
BROWN
Les Rechan, Mark Rechan, Mike Rechan
BUFFALO STATE COLLEGE
Henry Jurek, Cory Waszkielewicz, Mike DeMarco, Brian Janke, Kevin Kozlowski, Clayton Lewis, Ryan Conroy, Kyle Gunn-Taylor, Mario Cote, Kyle Granville, Matt Bessing, James Durham, Nick Melligan, Zaid Hussein
UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO (SUNY)
John Elphick, John McFall, Phil Mann, Jim Mourgas, Rick Weislo, Joel Morawski, Cory Waszkielewicz (transferred from Buffalo State College)
CANISIUS
Fred Korey, Bob Rosen, Greg Keller, Chuck Lamarca, Mike Sisti, Tony Zeniuk, Grant Hanley, Dave Gotham, Joe Aquino, John Russell, Robert Carroll, Jon Braun, Mike Scheu, Christopher Barrea, Matt Grazen, Josh Kielich, Ryan Schmelzer, Nolan Sheeran
CASTLETON STATE COLLEGE
Andrew Brolsma
CLARKSON
Deron Bauer, Joe Loftus, Tony Calandra, TODD MARCHANT*+, Kerry Blanchard, Jeremiah Crowe
COLBY COLLEGE
Eric Simmons
COLGATE
Ken Baker
CONNECTICUT COLLEGE
Mason Evans
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
TODD KRYGIER*, Tom Janosz
CORNELL
Al Laventure, Tim Rice, Jason Kuczmanski, MARK McCUTCHEON*
CORTLAND STATE
Scott Stelmach, Rich Glica, Dan Barwicki, Chris Rurak, Joel Zangara, Nick Catanzaro, Robert Podlucky, Mike Maier (transferred from Niagara), Chris Kaleta, A.J. Moyer, Darren McCormick
CURRY COLLEGE
Derek Mohney
DARTMOUTH
LEE STEMPNIAK*, Mike Devine
ELMIRA
Mike Bycina, Terry Dixon, Jeff Helenbrook, Tim Johnson, Norm Wachowiak, Sal Capizzi, Tom Moses, Pete Feola, Justin Siebold, Rick Lynch, Matty Owczarczak
FERRIS STATE
Marc Farrell
FRANKLIN PIERCE
Andy Tinti, Jay Stempniak (transferred from Johnson & Wales)
FREDONIA STATE
Ron Targaszewski, Steve Clark, Mark Jarmusz, Paul Murdoch, Nick Fattey (transferred from SUNY Brockport), Marc Fattey, Mike Smietana, Matt Hart, Doug Florkowski, Tyler Matecki, Darrin trebes
GENESEO STATE
Mark Chait, Aaron Coleman, Mike Drezek, Matt English, Dan Maynard, Jon Campbell, Jason Kuczmanski (transferred from Cornell), Jeff Kuczmanski, Tom Metzger, Manny Hawkins, Matt Greene, John Gamble, Eric Cooper, Mark Chowaniec, Mike Peters, Anthony Scorsone, Jack Staley, Nick Ryan, Dennis Playfair
GUSTAVUS
Joshua Leal
HAMILTON COLLEGE
Pat Murphy, John Duke, Joe Baudo, Chris Baudo, Matt Mesi
HARVARD
Nick Carone, Greg Gicewicz
HOLY CROSS COLLEGE
Matt McGirr, John Bombard, Tom Pawlak
IONA
John Balogh, Joe Cipriani
JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY
Jay Stempniak
LAKE SUPERIOR STATE
BRIAN LUKOWSKI*, TERRY MARCHANT*
LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE
Matt Terreri
MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE
Aaron Wallace, Jay Chrapala
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS - LOWELL (formerly UNIVERSITY OF LOWELL)
Mike Opre, Tim Smallwood, Michael Scheu
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
BOB BEERS*
MERCYHURST
Kevin Ayer
MERRIMACK COLLEGE
Teal Fowler, Jason Wolfe, David Burkholder
MIAMI UNIVERSITY (OHIO)
Brian Stancampiano, Joe Tonnello, Joe Silverstre, Jim McCarthy, John Lenz, KEVYN ADAMS**
MICHIGAN STATE
Dave Arkeilpane, DAN McFALL*, TONY TUZZOLINO*, Justin Hoomaian
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Peter Mason, John Hawkins, Frank Downing Jr.
MICHIGAN TECH
John Fields
MILWAUKEE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Mike Jantzi, Chris Keller
MINNESOTA DULUTH
BRIAN GLYNN*
NAZARETH COLLEGE
David Seward
NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE
Kyle Kozlowski
UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND
Paul Kashmanian
NEW HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
Corey Lessard
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY
Jay Kasperek, Aaron Mierzwa, John Maksymiu, Rob Bumbaco, Pat Oliveto, Allen Barton, Jason Jones, Mike Maier, Kyle Rogers, Chris Moran, Dan Baco, Tyler Matthews, Michael Benedict
NICHOLS COLLEGE
Nick Unger
NIPISSING UNIVERSITY
Tyler Gjurich
NORTHEASTERN
Jeff DePerio, Scott Campbell, Chris Bombard
NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
Jay Maciejewski
NOTRE DAME
Mark Murnane
OHIO STATE
Keith Rathbun, ROB PETERS*, SHANE SIMS*, Brendan Arniel
OSWEGO STATE
Tom McFall, SEAN FITZGERALD*,Sean Green, John Staerker, Alan Heerdt, Mark Pienta, Kurt Schwenk, Mike Wachowiak, Joe Murphy, Kevin Weber, Frank Tobias, Bo Tucker, Rob Madia, John Stringfellow, Amel Paolucci, Nathan Zurek, Todd Griffin, Matt Juneau, Matt Michaud, Paul Mueller, David Perona, Ryan Scott, Kyle Gunn-Taylor (transferred from Buffalo State), Garren Reisweber, Mike Gilchrist, Sean Federow
PLATTSBURGH STATE
Lou Martin, Herb Streng, CHRIS PANEK*, Chris Fess, Mickey Gebo, Pat O’Neil, Tim McNeil, T. J. Cooper, Michael Cassidy
POTSDAM
Josh Brosell, Max Fogel
PRINCETON
Chris DeFazio, Dave Downing
QUEENS UNIVERSITY (ONTARIO)
Steele De Fazio
RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
ADAM BARTELL*, Kevin Kurk
ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY
Jamie Flury
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Brian Hall, Bob Carello, Charlie Mendola, Pat Staerker, Brent Alexin, Max Mikowski
SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY
Neil McKenney, John Shook
SKIDMORE
Lou Almond
ST. BONAVENTURE
Jeff Bartkowiak, Joe Puglisi
ST. LAWRENCE
Dave Thrun
ST. MICHAEL'S COLLEGE
Ryan Conroy (transferred from Buffalo State)
UTICA COLLEGE
Jeff Mohney, Trent Flory, Shane Presley, Josh Schmitt, David Burkholder (transferred from Merrimack), Steve Zappia, Kollin Schultz, Nick Desimone
VERMONT
Jeff Schulman, AARON MILLER*+, Matt Syroczynski
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY
Adam Drescher
WESTERN MICHIGAN
Andy Atkinson, MIKE POSMA*, Steve Duke, Kevin O'Connor
WESTFIELD STATE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY
Dave Ciminelli
WILLIAMS
Ken Settles, John Kulpa
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - EAU CLAIRE
Ross Janecyk
WORCESTER STATE COLLEGE
Connor Deubell, Barry Cassevoy, Brian Goodness, Bryan Kalczynski
* DRAFTED INTO NHL
** FIRST-ROUND NHL DRAFT CHOICE
*** USA WORLD JUNIOR TEAM
+ U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM
OTHER NOTABLE ALUMNI
The following are former Junior Sabres franchise players who were later drafted by the NHL but did not play college hockey:
Rob Butler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Ryan Callahan (New York Rangers), Dennis Gilbert (Chicago Blackhawks), Nick Tuzzolino (New York Islanders)
(Please note - some of the past leagues in which the franchise played did not maintain or preserve thorough player records. As a result, some players may remain missing from this list. We regret any inadvertent omissions.)
