Buffalo Sabres Hire New Coach For Rochester

Buffalo Sabres’ American Hockey League affiliate team hires new head coach
Michael Leone named 34th head coach in Rochester Americans 68-year history.

The Buffalo Sabres’ developmental team, the Rochester Americans, signed Michael Leone to a head coaching contract, as announced by the Sabres’ and Americans’ general managers.

“I am pleased to welcome Mike Leone as the head coach of the Rochester Americans,” said Kevyn Adams, the Sabres general manager, on the Amerks website. “The Amerks head coach plays a crucial role in the overall success and growth of our organization, and after a rigorous interview process, it became clear that Mike was the right individual for the job.”

Prior to joining the AHL, Leone was a head coach and general manager for the Green Bay Gamblers, a United States Hockey League team, an assistant coach for the United States National Team Development Program from 2019-22, an assistant coach at Bowling Green State University and an assistant for the Quad City Mallards in the ECHL in addition to assisting Team USA at international events.

Some of these international showcases included the 2022 and 2023 World Jr. A Challenge, 2022 Hinka Gretzky Cup, 2022 under-17 Five Nations Tournament, 2021 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship, 2019 under-17 Four Nations Tournament, as well as the under-17 World Hockey Challenge in the same year.

As a head coach and general manager for the Gamblers, Leone led Green Bay to two consecutive seasons with a playoff win and at least 30 wins for the first time in a decade. He had an overall record of 66-41-10-7 in his two-year stint as head coach and led the team to the most wins (32) since the 2016-17 campaign.

Leone played college hockey at Western Michigan University and four years professionally in the ECHL in addition to one year in France and three seasons of junior league hockey for the St. Louis Bandits in the North American Hockey League.

“I’m extremely grateful and humbled to be a part of the Buffalo Sabres organization as the next head coach of the Rochester Americans,” said Leone on the Amerks website. “I want to thank Kevyn Adams and Jason Karmanos for giving me the opportunity to lead the organization and believing in me. I look forward to meeting everyone in the organization and helping our prospects continue to grow and develop on and off the ice.”