The Buffalo Sabres announced on Monday the team has called up a pair of players from the Rochester Americans to the team's taxi squad. Forwards C.J. Smith and Jean-Sebastien Dea have both joined the Sabres in Buffalo, while forward Jack Quinn has been assigned to the Amerks.
This is the first time that Smith and Dea have been called up to the Sabres' taxi squad this season, as both players have spent the past couple of weeks preparing for the Amerks' season in Rochester. Smith was in Buffalo to take part in training camp before the 2020-21 season got started, while Dea was placed on waivers just before training camp and he did not take part in the two-week period.
As for Quinn, he has been a part of the taxi squad since training camp came to a close, but head coach Ralph Krueger did recently mention that he was dealing with an upper-body injury that forced him to be placed on Injured Reserve. Now that it appears that Quinn is healthy, he will join the Amerks in Rochester and likely be available for Friday night's season opener against the Utica Comets at Blue Cross Arena.
Smith and Dea will now be able to travel and practice with the team going forward, as the Sabres get set to head to Long Island for a matchup with the New York Islanders on Tuesday night at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Faceoff on Tuesday is set for 6 p.m. EST with the Paul William Beltz Pregame Show starting at 5 p.m. EST with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.