Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams grew up in Western New York, so he knows exactly what Rick Jeanneret means to the fans of the team.
A sellout crowd will greet the iconic broadcaster on Friday, as his name goes to the rafters.
Adams knew of Jeanneret before he even knew his love for the game of hockey.
“You just close your eyes and you can think of so many different moments. Hearing that voice, you get goosebumps just thinking back on it," Adams said of the Hall of Fame broadcaster. "For me as a kid, my parents used to send me to bed and I’d be in bed and they’d let me listen to the games on the radio. Then I remember my mom and dad coming in and asking me why I wasn’t asleep, and I’d just be like, ‘It’s RJ, what do you expect?’ So I just grew up with that voice, like many of us.”
Adams got interested in hockey at a young age, and Jeanneret was a big part of that.
“I don’t know how you can’t listen to a game that RJ’s doing and not be hooked," Adams said. "I mean, everything like even a dump in from the neutral zone, it felt like something exciting was going to happen. Just the way he called games and how iconic with the voice and the presentation and the goal calls and the fights. So he’s done a lot for the game of hockey, but no doubt in my mind that he impacted the sport in Buffalo.”
Adams has played in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup, so it’s hard for him to be in awe of somebody. When he came to the Sabres organization, Adams was definitely in awe.
“He was one of the people that I right away went up to and said, 'Thank you. You impacted me, and it’s a pleasure and an honor just to meet you,'" he said.
Alex Tuch grew up in Syracuse as a Sabres fan, and Jeanneret influenced him too.
“The first time I met him, just his voice, and you can hear the passion when he starts talking about hockey," Tuch said after Friday's morning skate. "When you hear every goal call, every time he stepped into that booth, he really gave it his all. You could tell that he really cared.”
Tuch says his dad is probably a bigger fan of RJ than he is.
“I don’t even know how many games I listened to that guy call over the years," he said. "I told him that my dad was really jealous that I got to meet him, because it was every game that my dad and I would listen to RJ and we loved it.”
Adams was excited for his players to play in front of 12,000 engaged fans when the Vegas Golden Knights were here. Friday night is going to be a sellout. He can’t wait for the players to experience it.
“I’ve been talking daily to our players, our coaches and our staff that we need to start preparing for success," Adams said. "I do believe that when they go on the ice, they’re going to feel that energy and they’re going to see what’s going to come down the road here. It’s going to energize them.”
I asked Tuch if he’s looking forward to young players like Dylan Cozens and Peyton Krebs to see this building alive.
“I’m excited to see it too," he laughed and said. "But it’s going to give a lot of guys some really good inspiration to continue to really work. We’ll see the support that we’ll get tonight, and I hope that continues. It’s a big game for us to show this entire fanbase what we have in store for the future.”
Some of the fans coming to "RJ Night" have had their interest tweaked a little bit. The team was 8-3-3 in the month of March, and the kids are getting better and better.
“I was at a place the other day to grab some pizza on the way home, and a guy grabbed me and said, ‘I’ve been a season ticket holder since 1970 and I gave up my tickets this year,' and he said, ‘But I’m starting to like what I see.' I love that,” Adams said.
Tuch, I think, said it best when it comes to the significance of Friday night:
"Everything that he's done for this community and for this organization, I'm really happy to see the fans come out and support him, because he deserves it. He's an icon. Tonight's going to be a really special night for him and our team."
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Mattias Samuelsson is back in the lineup for Will Butcher. Samuelsson missed one game due to a minor injury.
The Nashville Predators come to town on a two-game winning streak.
Captain Roman Josi is one of the best kept secrets in the NHL. For years, he’s been one of the best defensemen in the NHL, but many fans don’t know that. This season, Josi has 18 goals and 63 assists for 81 points in 65 games.
Matt Duchene has also had a resurgence this season, netting 35 goals this season.
Juuse Saros will be in goal for Nashville on Friday. He’s 33-20-3 this season with a 2.55 goals-against and a .921 save percentage.
Join Brian Koziol for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET when we’ll hear from Jeanneret, Adams and Tuch.
