For many athletes, it is a dream come true to get the chance to play for a team they grew up watching or rooting for as a kid.
For new Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch, that dream is about to become a reality.
Tuch grew up just a little over two hours east of Buffalo just outside of Syracuse. As a kid, he grew up next to former Sabres forward Tim Connolly, who is also originally from the Syracuse area. Tuch watched the likes of Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek, Jochen Hecht, Brian Campbell and Maxim Afinogenov, and cheered for the Sabres as his favorite team.
After Jack Eichel's trade to the Vegas Golden Knights on last Thursday, the 25-year-old is on his way back to Buffalo, along with forward Peyton Krebs, a conditional 2022 first round pick and a conditional 2023 second round pick.
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"I was a big Sabres fan growing up. I loved watching those guys," Tuch said during a meeting with the Buffalo media last Saturday. "I mean, the team tweeted those pictures of my dad and I at the Sabres game with the old red jerseys; maybe we'll bring those back, I'm not sure. That would be pretty cool, honestly. But those teams that went far and what you saw what the city did behind them; it was Buffalo, it was everyone around Buffalo and they love their sports here and they love their Buffalo Sabres. I'm really excited to play for a fanbase like this."
Tuch had spent the last four seasons playing for the Golden Knights since the team entered the league as the 31st franchise in 2017. During his time with Vegas, Tuch went on to produce 61 goals and 78 assists for 139 points in 249 games. In 66 playoff games for the Golden Knights, Tuch produced just as well with 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points.
It was quite an electric four seasons for Tuch in Vegas, as the Golden Knights found instant success in the NHL, which included four trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2018. While he appreciated the time spent growing as a player in Las Vegas, Tuch is looking forward to getting his chance to play in front of the Buffalo faithful.
"I was very thankful to play in Vegas, where they really embraced us, the entire city embraced us. But coming to Buffalo it's going to be like none other," Tuch admitted.
The 6-foot-4, 222-pound winger had not appeared in a game this season for the Golden Knights after going under the knife in July for surgery on an injured shoulder. At the time of his surgery, it was expected he would be out of the lineup for six months.
Although he was not able to suit up at any point leading up to the trade to Buffalo, Tuch wanted to be around his teammates as much as possible and be part of the daily activities at the team facilities.
"I was in every meeting, power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5, game day, non-game day, stuff like that. That's what I plan on doing here as well," Tuch said. "Obviously I'm not battling every night with the guys, but I want to come in and show my support in every way possible. I like to think that I bring a pretty positive attitude each and every day, even in the situation I'm in."
Tuch says he's feeling good with his recovery process, which is now just over halfway through the original timetable. Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said during a Zoom conference call after the trade that Tuch will be out "a couple more months," but the team is comfortable with how he is recovering from surgery.
Since being named the general manager of the Sabres, Adams has been a big proponent of the philosophy of bringing in players to Buffalo that want to be here, and that also knows what it takes to be a Sabre. Tuch certainly seems like someone that fits that criteria, and he says he's willing to do what it takes to be a big part to the puzzle in Buffalo and for the Sabres going forward.
"We had a nice 20-30-minute phone conversation. I don't think I can recall everything that we talked about, but he's very excited about the opportunity to work with me, and I'm very excited for the opportunity to work with him," Tuch said of his conversations with Adams after the trade. "It was an honor just to be traded for a guy like Jack Eichel. He's an outstanding player, and I know it wasn't one-for-one, but to be a part of that trade and just to have someone that really wants you in their organization means a lot."
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Tuch comes to the Sabres with having a familiarity with a number of players on the roster dating back to his days spent with the U.S. National Program. He spent a couple of years playing with the National Team Development Program before getting drafted by the Minnesota Wild with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.
Another name Tuch is familiar with coming to the Sabres is head coach Don Granato. Granato was an assistant coach with Team USA for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, where Tuch played on the roster and put up a goal and an assist in five games. The U.S. that year ended up being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
"He was coaching the year ahead of me [at the U.S. Development Program] where John Hayden and Will Butcher were playing. They were both '95 birth years," Tuch said. "I had a little interaction with him there. Then I got more interaction with him during the World Juniors the year I played [in 2015]. He was a forward coach there, so I got a lot of interaction with him. He was obviously very knowledgeable of the game."
While Tuch has not seen much of the Sabres during Granato's tenure as head coach in Buffalo, he believes the team has played well under his tutelage.
"Honestly with the way COVID happened and stuff like that, I haven't seen Buffalo play as much, but I watched the game the other night after I got traded and they just look like they're having a lot of fun out there no matter what's happening. They seem like a very tight-knit group, and that starts with up top. So I think he's done a really good job so far, and I'm excited to get to work with him."
"It's good to see him. Even this morning he brought a lot of energy when he came into the coach's room to say hello. He's excited," said Granato following last Saturday's practice at KeyBank Center. "He had his Sabres gear on already and he looked good in it. But it's nice to see him. It's nice to see players that you had and you saw as young players before the entered the NHL and they were prospects and potential. Now to see him as a grown man and been able to establish himself - the career and the confidence they bring is very nice to see. And knowing him and his personality, it's a really, really good fit for where we're at as an organization and any organization."
When Tuch does take to the ice later this season, he will wear the No. 89, just as he did with the Golden Knights. The last Sabres player to wear the No. 89 was, most notably, Alexander Mogilny when he played in Buffalo from 1989 to 1995.
"Alex Mogilny was an unbelievable player. He wore No. 89 first, and he had a lot of points with that number, so it's going to be definitely hard to do anything close to what he's done with that number," Tuch said. "It was a number I've worn ever since I could remember, since I was five-, six-years-old. I wasn't able to wear it in the U.S. Program or college or anything like that, but when I was able to get it back in Vegas, it really meant a lot to myself, my family. I don't know, it's just a number I've always had. So to be able to have it in Buffalo too really means a lot."
