Lessons for Canalside… Vancouver’s Granville Island

For Buffalo’s Canalside to be successful, there are templates and examples in other cities all over the place, and one of the success stories we stumbled upon is Vancouver’s Granville Island.

Until the 1970s Granville Island, located just south of downtown Vancouver on the south side of False Creek, was largely an industrial and manufacturing district. In the 1960s, the neighborhood went into decline, as factory after factory shuttered their doors or relocated. By the 1970s the federal government stepped in, gradually transforming the space into a more people friendly environment – parks, marinas, and locations for retail shopping.

The result has been a huge success – Granville Island is a major tourist draw and is also a hub for locals. Today one can find a massive public market as its anchor, combined with art galleries, craft stores, live theatres, a brewery and pub, boat builders, a school of art and design, a farmers market, all tied together with well designed public spaces, parkland and marinas.

There are still a couple installations left on the island from its bygone days as an industrial hub – a tool and die shop and a cement plant. So how do they deal with architectural synergies of such unpleasant industrial places with a seemingly vibrant mixed use? Easy! Just set up some decorative fencing in front of the factories, add some colorful glass showcases displaying how cement is made, or how tool and die is cast, and shazzam! Instant tourist attraction and photo opp location!

Street vendors and entertainers are also in abundance, adding to the color and vitality of the district. Several large gathering spaces allow for impromptu concerts or organized events, many offering sweeping vistas of the water and the Vancouver skyline.

The island, actually a peninsula, is easily accessible via water taxi, the newly opened Olympic Line trolley, automobile, and the Granville Street bridge soars high overhead to carry cars into downtown.

The initial public investment of $19-million today generates over $35-million annually in taxes. Yes you read that correctly. The island is still managed by a government authority, but most of the commerce and entities doing business there are privately run and doing quite well, thank you. It is a huge success story in Vancouver, and a pleasant place that one can go to again and again to shop, play and be entertained.

So what lessons can be gleaned from Granville Island as the developers of Buffalo’s Canalside put long awaited shovels into the ground this year for the next phase of our project?

-Provide a wide range of transportation options and ample parking, and people will come in droves. At Granville Island, water, rail and car offer easy access.

-Don’t allow the Skyway to be an impediment for development. Many call the Skyway ugly and clamor for its immediate dismantlement. Since that’s not happening anytime soon, make it a part of the design. Light up the support piers, and build underneath without fear and trepidation. Retail outlets are located in abundance underneath the Granville Street bridge. They are fine there.

-Not every building has to be an iconic gem, replicating Ye Olde Buffalo of the 1870’s. Yes I know, the architectural purists will howl (and file lawsuits), but at Granville Island, many of the buildings are little more than ordinary metal warehouse style buildings. Add colorful bunting, canopies, flags, and splashes of bright paint and it works great.

-Sell local products. Yes an Apple Store, Crate and Barrel and IKEA is everyone’s wet dream around here, but Granville Island’s biggest success is its public market, a cornucopia of over 50 installations selling food, bakeries, produce, concession stands, arts and crafts. The color and smells and sights are intoxicating.

-Plan for synergies in mixed use. Street vendors, buskers, a well planned mix of retail outlets serving locals and visiting tourists, smartly laid out public paths and gathering spaces, can spell the difference between success and disaster.

One thing that Granville Island does not have is a residential component, although thousands of homes, apartments and high rise condos are situated within a short distance. The ECHDC has repeatedly alluded to plans for residences as part of its mix. It would surely work here.

We know that the powers that be at the ECHDC get it. We need this community to rally behind the vision, imperfect though it might be. Let’s have our own success story, a la Granville Island, right here in Buffalo. Now.

Time to get shovels in the ground and cranes in the air. This year. Let’s Roll!

Memo to NYSDOT: Yes buildings under high bridges can work!

Nothing overly dramatic about the architecture, but the color and flair of the building accents work well.

Nice display right in front of the cement factory.

Mouthwatering treats and confections at one of the bakeries in the market.

This was our lunch stop at the market. No Polish ladies wearing babushkas behind the counter, but the potato and cheese pierogies (better known as “varenyky” to us Ukes), smothered in butter and fried onions, were as good as any you could find on Buffalo’s east side.

One of the public squares outside the market, with tables and chairs, an outside stage, and awesome views of downtown Vancouver.

The marina at Granville Island, as seen from the overhead bridge.

Profiling Everett’s Comcast Arena

No we didn’t forget about doing a write up on the Comcast Arena at Everett. This is the arena we visited on our recent Vancouver trip to see the Buffalo Bandits play the Washington Stealth.

Everett is a suburb, more like an ex-urb, of Seattle, Washington, located about 20 miles north of the city and right off of I-5. It’s downtown core consists of fashionable shops, bars, some housing, and in the center of it all is the Comcast Arena, an 8500 seat arena which opened in 2003.

The venue is primarily the home of the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League, and now is also the home of the NLL Steath, who relocated here from San Jose after last season. Various incarnations of arena football teams have also come and departed since the arena opened.

Interesting to note that the Stealth is still very much off of the radar screen here in the Seattle area. Team officials have set the bar at selling out all the games (imagine 8500 fans – in Buffalo that would be a turnstile disaster), their opener drew over 5000, but the game we attended had only about 2500 in the stands. Despite the popularity of the product in our region of the world, this is still a hard sell in markets such as this one.

Comcast Arena is a bright and inviting venue… It’s signature roof mimics that of a suspension bridge, the entry pavilion is modern, and concourses here are wide and airy, with a wide open end zone viewing area complete with wine bar, concession stands and exhibits.

No we did not see the Silvertips play here, but nonetheless we are putting this in the WHL “done” category. Hey we make the rules here at USRT!

Recapping our Vancouver adventure

Vancouver was more than just OK; it was a fantastic Ultimate Sports Road Trip adventure, and one that exceeded our expectations. It’s just amazing how we sometimes throw these trips together, yet the experience never seems to get old and stale. Here are some of the tales from the trip, good and bad:

-Peter’s luggage takes a long journey: We toasted our good fortune that our plane trip went without any glitches, a rare USRT occurrence. Only to find out that Pete’s valise was still in Atlanta. Since we landed in Seattle, the challenge was not only to get the luggage out west, but then up to Vancouver. So the next day Delta hands off the luggage to Air Canada, and they transport the luggage to Vancouver. Meanwhile, we’re telling everyone at the Westin to look out for the delivery, the front desk, the concierge, the bell captain…everybody.

Come Friday, a courier delivers the valise to the Westin hotel. Westin turns it away, saying there is no “Peter Farrell” registered at the hotel. They make a second attempt later in the day, only this time the slip reads “Weston Hotel”. The bell captain turns the courier away again, explaining that they are the “Westin”, not the “Weston”.

We returned from Everett in the dead of night Friday night/Saturday AM, only to find still no luggage. At this point we had the meltdown at the front desk. The next morning, the luggage at long last showed up. Peter finally changed into fresh clothing, 54 hours after departing Buffalo.

-Bad weekend for Buffalo’s teams: We saw the Bandits play the Washington Stealth down in Everett, and two bad runs of Washington goals spelled curtains for our boys, who fell to 0-3, and are now at a franchise record low 0-4 for the year. Come Monday night, an ass hat no goal call by referee Kerry Fraser seals the Sabres fate as the Vancouver Canucks get a 3-2 win. In fact, the Sabres went winless the whole time we were on the trip. We caught the Sabres/Kings game at a sports bar near the hotel, and even that went poorly. Nope, not a good trip for Buffalo.

-Cheap travel, USRT style: R/T plane fare from BUF to SEA: $208. Car rental five days: $116. Westin Hotel five nights: ZERO (Starwood Points). Parking downtown: cdn$39 total (no small feat in Vancouver where parking runs anywhere from $24-$40 per DAY. Game tickets: ZERO. Three hockey games and one indoor lacrosse game and we were credentialed for all of them. Membership in the Professional Hockey Writers Association sure has its privileges!

-Weather They are starting to panic in Vancouver, what with the Olympics coming fast and no snow anywhere. Temperatures were in the 50s the whole time we were there, and a bit of drizzle Sunday and Monday nights otherwise it was sunny and made for perfect walking weather, which being in the center of downtown and all the action we took full advantage of.

-Sightseeing highlights Downtown Vancouver has some awesome neighborhoods: Gastown is the historic district with old buildings and cobblestone streets. The steam powered clock is a must see. Granville Island is the cool and hip shopping mecca with a public market, art galleries, shops and marinas, and is the template for what we hope Canalside to become (separate post coming). Granville Street pedestrian mall has shopping shopping and more shopping. The new Skytrain rapid transit system just opened in time for the Olympics, and the green Olympic line trolley connects the subway to Granville Island with a free ride. We rode around and reveled in the clean and modern rail system. Davie Street in downtown’s West End is ground zero for Vancouver’s gay community, and is one of the neatest walkable neighborhoods in downtown. We counted three sports bars in six blocks in that vicinity, very nice! The train station on the north waterfront is a convergence of rail, subway, seabus to north Vancouver and even a heliport. We love transportation infrastructure! And a side trip east to Abbotsford and Chilliwack gave us a glimpse to British Columbia’s breathtaking mountain scenery.

Brushes with greatness: Being part of the credentialed press corps, we not only enjoy $9 media buffets and all that free popcorn, but a chance to hob nob and network with all sorts of interesting people. Monday at General Motors Place was crazy – the Vancouver media and Canadian national media (Global, CBC, TSN) was there in droves, hyping the Miller v Luongo goaltender matchup as an Olympics preview. Then there was a separate press conference introducing former Canucks great Trevor Linden as the newest inductee in the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Trevor was there. Tyler Myers was garnering a great deal of attention after the morning skate, having played his junior hockey in nearby Kelowna. Oh, and did we mention that the USRT was interviewed on the Abbotsford Heat radio broadcast on Saturday? Plus, we get a chance to kick with some of our fellow Buffalo posse – John Vogl, Paul Hamilton and Harry Neale. And we gotta mention Sabres’ PR Dude Chris Bandura, he is the absolute best!

In case you’re keeping score at home (you’re not, but it sounds kinda funky no?), our stops at Comcast Arena in Everett, Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre and the Prospera Centre in Chilliwack are arenas #110, #111 and #112 in our travels. Imagine — we have now set foot in 112 separate indoor venues, major league, minor league and division 1 college, since we started this craziness.

The down side looking forward — no major trips planned now until June (Kansas City, but we’re booking nothing for that trip until the outcome of the Sabres playoff run is decided), July (Minnesota Twins and the new Target Field), and come fall it will be a busy time for the USRT — we’re thinking Tuscaloosa as one of our college football stops, the new Meadowlands Stadium (NY Jets/NY Giants), and perhaps a trip to the United Kingdom and Wembley Stadium (Oct 31, NFL, Denver v San Francisco).

Thanks for following along!

Profiling Chilliwack’s Prospera Centre

One word comes to mind when trying to fit a description for Chilliwack, British Columbia’s Prospera Centre – “Mature”.

Mind you, this is pretty much a brand spanking new arena. It was built about five years ago, and the Western Hockey League Chilliwack Bruins played their first game in this building in the fall of 2006.

But step inside into this facility, and it doesn’t have that glitzy, ultra modern techno look or feel to the place. Rather, it has the sense of an arena tha has been around for years and years, yet is still spacious, modern and comfortable for the fans. An adjoining practice rink is available for public use, the scoreboard in the main seating bowl has video capabilities without being an over the top HD wonder, concession stands are plentiful with a broad selection of food items and prices are downright cheap.

Much of the “mature” feel has to do with the buildings’ support beams. In many of the ultra new arenas, modern engineering and cantilvering of balconies and such mask the structure’s support, yet here at the Prospera Centre the I-beams become part of the architecture, painted bright yellow and dominant at every section entrance, at the stairwells to the gondola style suites on a seocnd level and even a pressbox hanging high on the third level. These yellow beams make another statement as part of the roof supports, graceful an assymetrical yellow arches blending with the blue roof itself.

On the down side, the arena is replete with advertising. Ads, ads, ads everywhere. Of course along the dasher boards and backlit ad panels across the balcony face. And in the concourses. But then did they have to obliterate the faceoff circles and other sections of the ice with ads as well? Additionally, at first glimpse of the seating bowl we saw a row of banners hanging elegantly across the rafters. Championships? Retired numbers? Nah! Rather, corporate logos of “presenting sponsors”. Ugh!

This was our first foray into a WHL arena, so we don’t know if this plethora of advertising is consistent with the league or just a Chilliwack thing, but it is a blight nonetheless.

Other than that, the Prospera Centre (corporate name for a regional credit union in BC), located just west of the city center and adjacent to an athletic park in a residential neighborhood, is an architectural gem, and the fans here seem to respond well to their team, cheering loudly and clanging their cow bells.

As for the USRT, we can now claim a beachhead in the Western Hockey League!

Profiling Abbotsford’s Entertainment and Sports Centre

At first glance, one would look at a map and conclude that Abbotsford is merely a bedroom suburb of bustling and growing Vancouver.

Not true. This city is roughly 45 miles east of Vancouver, separated by suburbs and country and connected via the Trans Canada Highway. It boasts its own international airport and the demographics here are bent towards the upper socioeconomic strata.

And now they claim their very own hockey team.

The AHL Abbotsford Heat are the transplanted franchise from Quad Cities, Iowa, and are the top minor league affiliate of the Calgary Flames. Just this season, the city opened the new Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre, a 7000 seat community facility located right off of exit 90 of the freeway. The venue sits amidst gated condo communities, a community college, a hodgepodge of unkempt retail outlets and quiet residential side streets.

Walk around the arena and the smell of new paint and fresh upholstery is everywhere. All kind of like taking ownership of a new car.

The Heat are drawing large crowds here in its inaugural season, but the biggest visiting road attraction thus far has been the Manitoba Moose. Why the Moose? “They are the affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks,” explained Community Relations Manager Sarah Garrett.

When the Moose visited here earlier this season, the games attracted sellout crowds. “The fans were split roughly 50-50 between our guys and the Canucks farmhands,” said Garrett. “Some people were rooting for both teams.”

As for the arena, yes it’s all very very nice…. “but”. The seating bowl is symmetrical, almost too symmetrical, with no unique features or nooks or iconic architectural structures to catch the eye. A state of the art four sided HD video board scoreboard, accompanied by sideline ribbon boards displayed above the suite level, make for cutting edge electronics. The seating area itself is single level with entries to the concourses situated about halfway up.

As for the concourse itself, the public spaces are also devoid of features, simply corridors with concession stands. A modest team store, situated behind floor to ceiling glass panels, is located right inside the main lobby on the east side of the building.

What this arena needs is some local flavor. As it stands right now this building could be transplanted brick for brick into any suburban shopping plaza in America and you wouldn’t have to change a thing. Banners of hockey players on the Heat roster, a Hall of Fame display of local sports greats, massive splashes of color, national flags of the players on the team, flags bearing logos of all the AHL franchises, a signature element in the lobby, snazzy concession canopies, perhaps some murals of significant architecture and other marquee locations around Abbotsford. Anything to give this arena some character would be a tribute to what already is a pretty nice building. It needs something!

Memo to Abbotsford: OK, OK, enough pontificating from us USRT snobs; just ‘cause we’ve been everywhere doesn’t mean we know everything. But we offer up these suggestions as constructive criticism. If you called in HOK Sport consultants they’d dish out the same advice and it would cost you thousands.

And by the way, the Abbotsford Heat showed us a whole lot of love. We were invited to do an intermission interview on their live game broadcast, which airs on Country 107.1. Their staff was very helpful and made us feel welcome on our visit. Thanks to Dave Shelton, Craig McEwen and Sarah Garrett and Ron (sheesh didn’t get your surname or title!) for your hospitality!

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No USRT Karma for the Bandits

We tried our darnedest, we really did.

Amongst the small crowd of under 3000 in Everett, Washington last night, we could find maybe 10 or 15 fans wearing the Bandits black and orange. And hey! How often does Buffalo media cover a Bandits road game anywhere, much less as on the other side of the country?

But there we were, in the pressbox and representing Buffalo as best we could.

Our evening started at the Flying Pig sports bar just a few blocks away from the arena in downtwon Everett, and we hooked up with former Buffalonian Danny Simkin, formerly a megastar with the Idylwood Apartments beer and softball league in south Cheektowaga. Thanks to the Delta luggage delivery meltdown, Danny’s Bandits shirt was not in hand for delivery, so we promised we would send it along at a later time.

Andrew, Danny and Peter hanging out at the Comcast Arena

On to the game… and it was an ugly one for the Bandits. Two multi goal sprints by the Washington Stealth, one in the second quarter and the other in the third, spelled curtains for Buffalo, who fell to 0-3, one of the worst starts ever for this franchise. Our game story is online at Artvoice Daily.

By the way. we have to make a comment about the commuting around Vancouver. In a word – the roads suck! Their expressway system ends miles out of the city, and one has to endure traffic lights, 40KPH speed limits, crushes of traffic and construction delays everywhere. It took two hours to get from our hotel and 35 miles through customs and onto US soil. From there it was a smooth hour down I-5 and the last 75 miles into Everett. USA USA baby! Our interstate highway system rocks!

Saturday is a USRT doubleheader! The matinee in in Abbotsford (AHL) and then the nightcap in Chilliwack (WHL), 20 miles east. We’ll have more profiles and game reports. Having a blast in BC!!!

Our walking tour of Vancouver

This flag, the largest in Canada, is draped over a building under construction in downtown Vancouver.

The Olympic Line is a green friendly trolley shuttle connecting the Olympic Village with Granville Island. It opend just yesterday and is expected to transport thousands of visitors during the coming Winter Olympics.

The main entrance to Granville Island, a waterfront community replete with shops, art galleries, marinas and a massive public market. Notice the retail structures directly under the overhead bridge, not an impediment at all, and a valuable lesson for Buffalo’s Canalside as the phase under the Skyway is built out.

How do you turn something like a cement plant into a tourist spot? Just gussy the entrance up with a nice exhibit.

Granville Island, just a short hop south of bustling downtown Vancouver.

CBC’s Vancouver headquarters and studios are smack dab in the middle of downtown.

General Motors Place, home of the Vancouver Canucks. Since our last visit here, this venue is completely overshadowed by scores of massive new condominium towers.

Musings about Vancouver – USRT day 1 report

Maybe it sounds like we’re gushing, but Vancouver is one awesome city. The architecture, the streetscapes, the buzz and electricity of the city is real and palpable, and totally has the feel of a place like Toronto.

As we slowly made our way towards downtown yesterday, we were astounded at the amount of new construction which has occurred since we were last here. Just like in Toronto, scores of gleaming new high rise condominiums dot the skyline, with yet more cranes in the air and building building building going on everywhere. A new rail connection called the Skytrain just recently opened, just in time for the Olympics, and cuts right through downtown before heading south towards Olympic Village across the river.

Last night we ended up at a sports pub called Yaggers, which looked far sexier on its web site than it really was. Just a little hole in the wall dive, the place advertised NHL Centre Ice, yet when we walked in every set had the Canucks/Stars game on.

So we sheepishly asked if they could put the Sabres/Kings game on for us. A manager came over and was happy to oblige, then turned on the crappiest and hardest to watch TV in the whole joint for us to enjoy. Oh well, at least we got the game on.

The Granville Brewing Company and Rickard’s beers were cold and awesome, we covered the table with food – poutine, something called a “Pittsburgh Panini” which was their attempt at replicating the Primanti Brothers sandwich (nice try… but no), and this gooey and filling mac and cheese.

Jaegermeister is the drink of choice here, and the proprietor sent us complimentary shots; later Christian Ehrhoff of the Canucks scored a goal in their game, and that player happened to be the number at our table, so another round of free beers sent our way! By the end of the night we were pretty hammered, which is a good thing when our hotel was a short walk away.

The Sabres ended up losing a game they should have won… a point is a point, but we did not feel that this was a “good point”. As we were watching all this hockey, we tried engaging the locals in a little friendly trash talk leading to Monday’s game here in Vancouver, but these polite Canadians were having none of it.

Off we went into the nice and warm Vancouver night, gawking at the buildings and the people and the stores and bars open late at night. Time to catch some zzz’s after a long and eventful day… Friday we cross the border back into the States and the Buffalo Bandits at Washington Stealth game down in Everett. Should be a hoot!

The view from our hotel window

Hello Vancouver! The Ultimate Sports Road Trip at it again.

Nine years.

That’s how long it’s been since we made it up to the Pacific Northwest, and truth be told, I don’t know why it has taken so long to pay a return visit.

From March 28 to April 2, 2001, we did a five venue tour of that region, now recorded as stops 73 through 76 on the official USRT matrix. To say the least, it was a memorable journey.

Our outgoing flight (surprise surprise) turned out to be one big mess. The first flight from Buffalo to Detroit was delayed, some light blinking in the cockpit, and by the time they got it figured out we were hopelessly out of luck from making our connection, which, of course, left on time. We had to wait three hours for the next flight. And of course, THAT flight was delayed.

We arrived in Seattle around 3PM their time, the luggage took forever getting onto the belt, the car rental process was abysmal and we pulled out of Sea-Tac into the teeth of Seattle’s famous rush hour traffic on I-5. Of course, the border crossing into British Columbia had cars 50 deep. We finally rolled into downtown Vancouver at 7:10PM, a full 16 hours after hopping in the car to head to the airport in Buffalo.

The folks at the hotel (two blocks from GM Place) were very nice, checked us in and even took our car keys to park for us, so that gave us just enough time to race to the arena and make it to our seats in time for the intros and anthems. By the third period, we were actually falling asleep in our seats that’s how tired we were from the day’s travel ordeal.

The following night, it was back to GM Place to see Peter’s beloved New York Knicks play the wretched Vancouver Grizzlies. Mind you, this was when the Knicks were actually good and relevant, and the Grizz were, well the Grizz. This was the first game played following the announcement that the Grizzlies were intending to relocate the franchise to Memphis, Tennessee, so emotions were high going in.

Yes Pete wore his blue and orange Knicks gear, and we cheered as best we could, but on this night, it was all Vancouver, smacking the Knicks around by a score of 89-68, and it wasn’t even that close.

Walking out into the balmy early spring Vancouver night, people were high fiving and honking their horns in jubilation. It was one of those electric USRT moments, and if it were any other team but the Knicks, we would have been celebrating along with the locals.

(For the record, the USRT has yet to see the Knicks record a win anywhere we have seen them play. We are now 0-9!)

It was such a nice trip to Vancouver, an amazing and bustling world class city, and we vowed to return someday and spend some more time.

That time has finally come – we will be seeing the Buffalo Sabres take on the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night, and in a scheduling alignment of the planets, the NLL Buffalo Bandits will also be out there, taking on the Washington Stealth in Everett WA on Friday. Add a Saturday doubleheader (AHL Abbotsford matinee, WHL Chilliwack for the nightcap), a visit to some of the Winter Olympics sites, and some random sightseeing around downtown Vancouver, and that makes for one potentially awesome adventure.

As we always like to do, we will be posting stories, photos and other stuff from the road, as well as profiles of some of the venues we will be experiencing for the first time. Check in and follow along!

Sabres broadcast updates

The Buffalo Sabres media department passed along this information regarding the upcoming telecasts on the Sabres’ current road trip, which has six games remaining starting this Saturday…

The Buffalo Sabres announced today they have secured the rights to broadcast the last four games of the current West Coast road trip, ensuring that local fans won’t miss any action this season. The Sabres will air the home team’s TV feed for the games in Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose and Vancouver. All games will air on MSG.

Tomorrow’s game against the Islanders is part of the previously announced package that sees the MSG HD broadcast available in Buffalo. Fans will be able to hear the Sabres’ broadcast crew, with the production originating from the local MSG crew in HD.

Buffalo’s next six games will also feature a different play-by-play voice on TV and radio, as legendary Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret is taking a previously announced 12-day break. Jeanneret will return to the airwaves on January 27 vs. New Jersey. Harry Neale will remain in his usual position as radio analyst for all six games.

Sabres TV host Kevin Sylvester and Neale will call the action on TV and radio for Saturday in New York (7 p.m.), and Monday in Phoenix (8 p.m.). In addition, Rob Ray will join the crew for Monday’s game in Phoenix.

Dan Dunleavy will handle radio play-by-play duties on Tuesday in Anaheim (10 p.m.). Dunleavy is a sportscaster for the FAN 590 in Toronto, and is also the play-by-play voice of the World Junior Hockey Championship on the FAN Radio Network across Canada. Fans watching on TV will see the FSN crew of John Ahlers and Brian Hayward.

Paul Hamilton, the Sabres beat reporter for Sports Radio WGR 550, will be in the radio booth with Neale in Los Angeles on Thursday (10:30 p.m.), and San Jose on Saturday (10:30 p.m.). MSG will air the FSN Los Angeles team of Bob Miller and Jim Fox on Tuesday, and Comcast Sportsnet’s crew of Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda on Saturday from San Jose.

When the trip concludes in Vancouver on Monday (10 p.m.), Derek Wills will be the Sabres radio play-by-play man. A native of Port Colborne, Ont., Wills has been the voice of the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs since 2001. The TV broadcast will originate from Rogers Sportsnet that night, featuring John Garrett and Dan Murphy.

Kevin Snow from the team’s communications department sent out an advisory yesterday, basically showing that the Sabres will complete over 7500 miles of travel on this current swing. 30 of those miles, however, will be by bus, as the team will take to the freeways for the short hop from Anaheim to Los Angeles next week.

One more random thought… a number of sources have indicated on how different an experience this will be for Tyler Myers, doing all this traveling and racking up all this mileage. How so? Ever map out the cities and towns in the Western Hockey League? It is one big assed ride from Kelowna, British Columbia to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.