EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Sabres forward Kyle Okposo said it multiple times to reporters last year on video calls and the words resonated with his recipients: You have no idea how difficult this is.
Now, one part of his point was in reference to the team's miserable, last-place season. But the bigger picture was life under Covid-19 protocols. You were at the rink and either your home or hotel room and nowhere else. The road was particular misery. No team meals, no restaurants, no shopping trips or museums. Frankly, not much of anything.
And travel was limited to your division. There's only so many times you want to be stuck in a hotel room in Newark or on Long Island. There was no sun, no fun. There were only so many boxed hotel meals you could tolerate.
"It was hard, very hard. It was just hard to escape," Okposo told The Buffalo News during the Sabres' stop in Anaheim. "I'm lucky that I've got a family and I could go home and not think about the game because you can't really do that at home. But other guys, most of our young guys, I felt for them.
"And even on the road, it was tough. You'd go back to your room and you don't see anybody. You just sit there and you just think about hockey all day. Things were not going well anyway last year. It was difficult. I know it was hard for a lot of guys. So this is great to get back to normal and be able to be a real hockey team again."
The Sabres did not win a game in 3-on-3 last season, with the four wins in their 4-7 record post-regulation all coming in shootouts.
A bunch of Sabres went out to dinner on Wednesday night upon their arrival in California. There was a team meal Friday night, and much of the team went to the Los Angeles Lakers game in Staples Center. More activity was planned for after practice Saturday too.
The business at hand on the ice continues Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples. But off the ice, this group is once again able to become a team.
"Guys were pretty excited to have a little bit of normalcy and go on the road and go out to dinner and just hang out," Okposo said. "That's a special part about playing in the league that it's one of those things where you don't really know what you have until it's gone. And with the pandemic, it was gone for 18 months.
"It's a big thing when you get to spend some time with your teammates away from the rink and talk about other stuff, not just hockey, and really get to know each other. It's just a lot of fun to get back to mostly normal."
The Sabres never really got the chance to get to know players like Taylor Hall, Eric Staal and Tobias Rieder last season. You couldn't welcome them into town by taking them out for a meal because of Covid, with then-captain Jack Eichel infamously relaying how his first in-person meeting with some of the players came in the training camp locker room or even on the ice.
Staal openly discussed his struggles away from his family and three children with the Buffalo media, and his emotional FaceTime calls were also featured as part of the NHL's "Quest for the Stanley Cup" video series after he was traded to Montreal.
The Sabres again have a lot of newcomers this year, but it's an entirely different scenario.
"Getting all the guys together for 10 nights on this trip is going to be good for our team," said winger Vinnie Hinostroza, one of eight new players on this trip. "We're already pretty close. But we haven't got to go to too many dinners or spend too much time together. When you're on the road, that's all you really have is your teammates. So it's cool to get to know guys a little better on a different level. And I think it's just going to do that much more for our team's chemistry."
"My only thoughts are obviously for Kyle and the whole situation. I really can't think anything beyond that," Granato said following the Sabres' 4-3 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks.
NHL Covid protocols banning things like restaurant visits and outdoor activities other than exercise walks near the hotel have been mostly relaxed this season now that virtually every player is fully vaccinated. Players are still being careful and testing remains a regular part of life but, just like society, the Sabres are seeing much more of a normal world on the outside.
"It gives you a greater appreciation for having gone through that lockdown," said coach Don Granato. "It's neat because I know we went out (Wednesday night) as coaches, and we couldn't do that last year. So it was very nice."
The schedule has been kind, too. The Anaheim-Los Angeles portion of the schedule is often a back-to-back, with the bus just shuffling up Interstate 5 (and hoping it's a 30-minute ride and not a two-hour one). This year, there's two off days between the games.
Instead of their usual hotel in downtown LA that's a quick walk to Staples Center, the Sabres are staying at an oceanfront property in Marina Del Rey. The temperatures in Southern California all week have been in the 80s and sunshine has been abundant.
"It is really nice to not have back to back and give our guys breathing room to enjoy it," Granato said after Friday's practice. "They went back to the hotel (after Thursday night's win in Anaheim) and all of them got together and just sat in the banquet room and relaxed. You don't get to do that at home. Today's another day they'll get together, spend some time outside and in the weather."
Buffalo maintained possession for most of the extra session and pulled out a 4-3 win Thursday night on Rasmus Asplund's tap-in with 43.9 seconds left off a Victor Olofsson feed.
Okposo and fellow alternate captain Zemgus Girgensons have made sure to take advantage of the opportunities this trip provide.
"The first day I signed here, 'Okie' reached out and asked if I needed anything," Hinostroza said. "It's been great coming here and all the guys are welcoming. It's a fun group. And it's fun to go to the rink every day. You can really have a conversation with every guy on this team. That's something cool, something you don't usually see."
"Some guys, this is their first time on the West Coast," Girgensons said. "So it's a good learning experience. And as far as hockey, it's a different game at times, a little bit grittier. The travel can be a grind for the young guys to learn how to manage it too."
Rasmus Asplund reiterated that point after scoring the overtime winner on Thursday in Anaheim. The Swede had never been to the West Coast before. Dylan Cozens said it feels like he's getting a do-over on a rookie season that featured virtually no travel or team bonding.
The Sabres head to the Bay Area on Sunday night to get ready for Tuesday's game in San Jose. And although the weather is slated to be cool and rainy, the club's first-ever trip to Seattle is also eagerly anticipated and Wednesday will be a day off in the Emerald City before the game Thursday night in Climate Pledge Arena.
"It's a long road trip here so we're expecting to get even closer team bonding here," Cozens said. "Just become as tight as you can on this trip. Obviously last year was a lot different than I expected my first NHL year. But I'm grateful to play and be in the NHL. It's just kind of like my rookie year all over again, getting to go on these road trips and seeing all these new cities."
Okposo has liked the eyes-wide-open attitude the team has displayed on the ice during its 5-1-1 start. Getting the same feeling as a group away from the rink is something a trip of this magnitude can really help with as well.
"Our team has a lot of different personalities but everybody enjoys each other and everybody fits in well," Okposo said. "It's just a ton of fun to be around these guys.
"You get a guy that's maybe a little quirky sometimes but he fits in great and then you get a serious guy, but then the quirky guy gives him grief. And then everybody's laughing. We're starting to mesh really well off the ice. And I think that's really going to help us and it's definitely going to continue."
Practice report
Granato said Dustin Tokarski will get the start in goal Sunday. There were some shifts on line drills among left wingers in practice and Granato indicated that Brett Murray might get a chance at his season debut Sunday in place of John Hayden.
"A different look, different energy. I thought it was time," Granato said.
Murray took some runs on a line with Arttu Ruotsalainen and Drake Caggiula. Jeff Skinner and Anders Bjork also moved around some, and Skinner may play with Girgensons and Okposo.
