While the Buffalo Sabres have become increasingly more fun to watch in the past two seasons, their media team has followed suit. Their online output has capitalized on the fun vibes and incredible team chemistry brewing in Buffalo, leading to a variety of content showcasing the best the team has to offer. From serious behind-the-scene looks at management to comedy sketches, here’s the best of the best of Sabres’ social media.
TikTok
While geared toward the Gen-Z side of the fanbase, the Sabres TikTok account has been locked into popular internet trends from the get-go. Their very first video in April 2020 featured a collection of calls from longtime play-by-play announcer and Sabres Hall of Fame member Rick Jeanneret. The calls were then acted out in the most literal of meanings.
Since then, their TikTok page has become a genuinely funny platform for sharing content. From players goofing off at practices to behind-the-scenes looks at other more long-form content that they produce, it’s easy to get lost scrolling through their page if you haven’t seen any of the videos before.
Henri’s Hot Takes
One of the Sabres’ recurring segments is “Henri’s Hot Takes”, starring defenseman Henri Jokiharju. In the series, as the name suggests, Henri shares his hot takes. Starting in January 2022, the series has five installments. All with the same set-up of Jokiharju in a chair delivering one-liners followed by an answering meme, it was one of the Sabres’ first player-centric social media series.
Hit The Boards
A newer addition to the Sabres lineup, “Hit the Boards” features players playing children’s games together. The first episode featured Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch playing Connect Four in February 2022. More recent episodes have included Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka playing an I Spy board game, and Dylan Cozens and Jacob Bryson playing a different board game.
Related: 10 Reasons Buffalo Sabres Fans Should Stick Around
While not the most popular series the Sabres have come up with, it does provide a small break from hockey-related content and shows the team having fun together outside of the rink.
Between Two Stalls
The most recent addition to the Sabres Cinematic Universe, Between Two Stalls, parodies the “Between Two Ferns” series hosted by Zach Galifianakis. Hosted by Skinner, it is a hilarious sketch that showcases dead-pan humor and poking fun at their friends and teammates.
In the first episode, Skinner mock-interviewed his linemate, Alex Tuch. Questions revolved around fashion, Josh Allen, and how he grew up a Sabres fan in far-away Syracuse, New York.
The second episode featured Skinner interviewing his other linemate, Tage Thompson. It flowed similarly to the first one with arguably better questions for Thompson, including a fashion segment titled “drip or drop”. Overall, this is one of the more hilarious pieces of content the Sabres have put out in a long time. With high fan engagement so far, there is hope for many more episodes to come.
Beyond Blue & Gold
The longest-running series that the Sabres have produced is Beyond Blue & Gold, a short-video documentary-style series giving fans a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes. Starting in the fall of 2012, it began with the 2012 Combine and NHL Entry Draft and included interviews and other important moments throughout the season.
Beyond Blue & Gold has won several awards, including 10 Telly Awards in 2013 and 2014 for their videos on players like the Folignos, Steve Ott and Mike Weber, and their coverage of the 2013 Draft and mentor trip. They also won an Emmy Award in 2017 for a feature on Ryan O’Reilly.
The series was seemingly paused following the 2019 season, with one last upload being a behind-the-scenes look at Jeanneret’s banner-raising ceremony in April 2022.
Buffalo Sabres: Embedded
Where Beyond Blue & Gold ended, Buffalo Sabres: Embedded took its place. Starting in 2020, it began sharing much of the same content that Beyond Blue & Gold produced, remixed and rebranded for a new era of the Sabres.
Embedded features slightly longer videos of behind-the-scenes content following various players and general manager Kevyn Adams. The series showed fans big franchise moments such as the 2020 Draft, the ill-fated trade for Taylor Hall, and Don Granato’s first season as head coach.
The series also features more personal content revolving around the players. An early episode showcased Cozens’s first season in the NHL, giving fans a look at his year from the draft to his first game to the end of the season. The most recent videos have been community-focused, sharing looks at team bonding either at home or at events.
The Sabres are the most fun they have been in nearly 12 years. With the possibility of breaking the playoff drought looming on the horizon, having the behind-the-scenes looks provides an excellent way of staying connected to an increasingly fun Sabres team.
