Scotty Bowman Showcase returns for 10th year

The Buffalo Sabres today announced the 10th annual Scotty Bowman Showcase will take place on Wednesday, April 9, at First Niagara Center. The 2014 Scotty Bowman Showcase consists of three all-star hockey games between players from Buffalo and their rivals from Rochester.

Admission for the games is $5.

The first game will begin at 6 p.m., with high school juniors from the two cities facing off against one another for the Tim Horton Memorial Cup. In 2013, the Buffalo juniors won the second annual Tim Horton Memorial Cup.

The next game will take place at 7:30 p.m. between high school seniors from each city. The winner of the second game will be awarded the Scotty Bowman Cup. This award and the event are named after the legendary Scotty Bowman, the winningest coach in NHL history. Bowman is expected be in attendance to present the Bowman Cup to the victorious senior team. The Rochester seniors won last year's Bowman Cup, improving to 3-6 in the event's nine-year history.

The third game will feature players from Buffalo and Rochester who play prep school or junior hockey, either locally or elsewhere. The junior and senior-year high school-aged players will face off for the Rick Martin Memorial Cup at 9 p.m. All three games will consist of two 22-minute halves.

Players will be individually nominated and rated by a group of area high school, midget and junior coaches from both cities based on their play this past season. For more information, or to nominate a player for consideration, contact Sabres Youth Hockey Manager Ed Grudzinski by phone at 716-855-4174 or via email at [email protected].

Several players have furthered their careers following their participation in the Scotty Bowman Showcase, with the most high profile player being Phil Lane of Rochester. Lane was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft after competing in both the 2008 and 2009 events.

The final selection of each team will be completed by the Buffalo Sabres based on the ratings of the nominating committee. The participants for each game will be announced at a later date.