PRAGUE – A large truck carrying 27 players’ equipment bags, three portable hockey glove dryers and everything else the Buffalo Sabres need on the ice for their European journey traversed the German countryside Sunday and crossed the border into Czechia. Dave Williams, the Sabres’ head equipment manager, and his assistant equipment managers, George Babcock and Ben Laing, made the five-hour trek from Munich to Prague’s O2 arena while the rest of the team’s traveling party for the 12-day trip flew to their destination. There was no rest once the equipment staff arrived, either.
While everyone else headed to the team hotel and began to enjoy Prague, founded in the ninth century, the equipment staff had to get to work on unloading, unpacking and preparing for the Sabres’ practice the following morning. “We’re carrying more players and more staff than a typical road trip, which means a lot more stuff,” Williams told The Buffalo News. Sabres head equipment manager Dave Williams packs gear after practice on Tuesday.
Preparations to play three games in two European countries began months before the Sabres boarded a Boeing 787 in Niagara Falls. Several departments across the organization were involved, but two behind the scenes, equipment and player performance, shoulder an immense responsibility to ensure Lindy Ruff’s team is ready when the regular season begins Friday night with its first of two games against the New Jersey Devils at the O2 Arena. Ed Gannon, their.