When Terry Pegula purchased the Buffalo Sabres last February, he talked
openly about providing General Manager Darcy Regier with whatever tools it would
take to make the team into a championship contender.
Pegula delivered in
the summer with the acquisitions of
Robyn Regehr,
Ville Leino and
Christian Ehrhoff. But he’s also come through off the
ice as well, adding former Sabre Teppo Numminen to the coaching staff. The
Sabres have also brought in a skating coach this season, hiring renowned high
performance technical power skating instructor Dawn Braid.
Braid brings
more than 20 years of teaching experience to the Sabres, and previously worked
in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2005-08. She has a laundry list of
professional and amateur players that have benefited from her dynamic
instruction including former Sabre Michael Peca, along with New York Islanders
forwards John Tavares and Matt Moulson.
Tavares has been working with Braid since he was 13 years old. In a recent
interview with the Wall Street Journal, Tavares said his work with Braid has
made him a more efficient skater and he’s now able to generate more power
because of a change in his body and knee positions, while better utilizing the
weight transfer on his edges to maintain balance.
Regier said that Braid
will work with the Sabres on Mondays, and then travel with Rochester to work
with the Amerks players on Tuesdays. He explained the basics of Braid’s role
with the team.
“She will focus on skating techniques to improve the players’ mobility, and utilizes drills that she passes on to our coaching staff as well.”
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Originally Posted by MitchMurrayDowntown
