Sabres Hire David Warsofsky Among Seven Front Office Additions

Warsofsky has spent the two seasons since supporting the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, first as an assistant coach and then as head coach and Director of Hockey Operations. The Stingrays finished first and second in the league, respectively, under Warsofsky’s lead but failed to push by the second round of the playoffs. Now, the former pro defender will use his talents to improve Buffalo’s exisitng blue-line and hone their next generation.

Weissman’s return will mark another notable addition to the Sabres staff. He worked as an amateur scout for Buffalo from 2005 to 2017 before departing for a pro scout role with the Los Angeles Kings. Weissman was specifically an AHL scout with the Kings operating out of Chicago. However, he is an alum of State University of New York College at Cortland – or, SUNY Cortland – just a few hours away from Buffalo. This shift will return him to his New England roots in a much more impactful role within the Sabres’ front office. Weissman’s focus will shift towards the collegiate ranks, though his support of reserve lists will also take advantage of his AHL experience.

McNaughton joins the Sabres following the end of his collegiate career at the University of Western Ontario. He posted a 20-22-1 record and .896 save percentage in 48 USports games. He is more well-known for his career in the WHL, which spanned four seasons with the Calgary Hitmen. There, McNaughton notched a 46-24-8 record and .884 save percentage. NHL teams are required by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to designate one EBUG per season – a role that McNaughton will now fill, on top of scouting duties.

Rounding out Buffalo’s front office changes are a litany of changes to their analytical staff. Barlowe and Galamini will take a step up in responsibility after serving the team as analysts since 2021. Part of their elevated duties will be managing Buffalo’s utilization of emerging technology, including artificial intelligence, for the purposes of research and development. The Sabres also mentioned that Galamini will continue his work utilizing complex statistical modeling and spatio-temporal data for player evaluation. These models provide are an elevation from traditional expected-goals models intended to track event location and biomechanics. Public descriptions of these models have been captured by Hassaan Inayatali, who has served as an analyst for the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers.

Backfilling the analyst vacancies left by Barlowe and Galamini will be Knieste and Amaral. Knieste holds dual bachelor degrees in chemical engineering and computer science from the University of Delaware. He has a rich experience with coding in multiple forms, captured in his personal website. Amaral holds a PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Toronto. She has studied magnetic fields and polarisation but will now shift to a different passion – building profiles and datasets around NHL talents. With their support, Buffalo is likely to take a major stride in their utilization of analytics in strategy and player evaluation.