Sabres send No. 2 pick Sam Reinhart back to juniors

The Buffalo Sabres have sent No. 2 pick Sam Reinhart back to Kootenay of the Western Hockey League. Reinhart was recently brought up for a nine-game tryout with the team and scored zero goals with just one assist, which came on October 25 against the San Jose Sharks.

The Buffalo Sabres have sent No. 2 pick Sam Reinhartback to Kootenay of the Western Hockey League, John Vogl of The Buffalo News reports.

Reinhart was recently brought up for a nine-game tryout with the team and scored zero goals with just one assist, which came on October 25 against the San Jose Sharks.

Sabresgeneral manager Tim Murray said it was a difficult decision to make and that Reinhart was disappointed. 

"It’s an emotional day," general manager Tim Murray said in First Niagara Center. "I told him you’re my first first-round draft pick as a GM, and obviously I was cheering for him, but I can’t let emotion come into play on the decision.

"It has to be the decision that’s right for No. 1, the organization and No. 2, him. It can’t be the right decision for me. I can’t keep him here and say, ‘Hey, hey, look what we did here. Our first-round pick played 82 games in his first year eligible.’ That’s craziness to me. It’s about doing what’s right for him and what’s right for the organization."

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Head coach Ted Nolan said he thought the move would benefit Reinhart in the long-run.

"I’ve never seen too many players ruined by sending them back versus keeping them too soon," coach Ted Nolan said before the decision was announced.

The Sabres selected Reinhart with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, and on July 12 he signed a three-year entry-level contract, which does not begin until next season.

Buffalo has started the season 2-8-1 and is in last place in the Atlantic Division. The Sabres play at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

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- Jack Jorgensen