Rochester Americans Open 65th Season

The coaches and players of the Rochester Americans were simply giddy with excitement and expectation on the eve of their season start this week. They were chomping at the bit to start playing games after an 11-month pause in what has been the most unusual year of their careers.

After weeks of practice and preparations, along with some recent additions leading up to opening night, head coach Seth Appert — who is taking the reins of a pro hockey team for the first time — will finally have a chance to see what this roster is made of. 

“This morning you walk in and you’re thinking about what you want to do at practice,” the new coach said after a skate with the team Feb. 4. “You’re putting a practice together looking back over my notes of all my practice plans in years past. Then you’re starting to think ‘man we play tomorrow.’ It’s been 11 months.”

If you’ve been following, the last few months for American Hockey League have not been great. But with an agreement reached last week between the Professional Hockey Players Association and the AHL, the Amerks’ season is finally underway.

Appert a First Time Pro

Before joining the Amerks as the 33rd head coach in franchise history, Appert, a clean-cut former goalie at Ferris State who has never had a brush with professional hockey until this moment, was a head coach with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers hockey club from 2006-2017. He was fired, then quickly hired to take on a position with the US National Team Development Program (USNTDP). On Thursday, he was visibly excited and didn’t even try to hide the smile on his face. 

“It hit me this morning, we were all pretty excited in the coaching room,” he said Feb. 4. “It’s like Christmas Eve when you’re a kid. This is what we love to do as coaches but more importantly it’s the guys. It’s their dreams, it’s what they’ve been passionate about their whole lives and it’s been taken away like so many other things over the last 11 months. So, to have that on the doorstep right now is obviously very exciting.”

One of those players, Patrick Polino, has a history with the coach that dates back to when the now 25-year-old forward was just 16 years old.

Polino, who is from north Buffalo, attended Canisius High School for his freshman and sophomore year before shipping to Illinois to play in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Chicago Steel. His family still lives in the Buffalo area, as well as many of his friends. 

The team also unveiled a new third jersey that they’ll wear this season to celebrate their 65th anniversary. 39 of those years have come as the primary affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. Rochester returns four of its top six point-getters from last season, including forwards Jean-Sebastien Dea, who’s currently with the Buffalo Sabres taxi squad, and Oglevie, both of whom tied for the lead with 15 goals in 2019-20. Dea also led the team with 24 assists, while Oglevie tied for fifth in the AHL with a team-best six game-winning goals.