He's a Buffalo kid

When we took our road trip last summer, one of the destinations was the Buffalo Sabres pro shop at the First Niagara Center. For me, it's like being a kid in a candy shop. I don't know what to look at first and, quite honestly, spend more money than I really should.

This puck, though, caught me eye. As someone who spent part of his childhood living in Buffalo's West Side, and has been a fan since the Sabres' first season, I immediately identified with the phrase "We Live Hockey."

When planning for the Sabres' recent arrival down here in Hockey Bay, I set aside one of these pucks for a player who typifies that phrase. All it took was one look at the Buffalo roster and a little research to settle on Patrick Kaleta.

A gritty player, who was in the NHL news lately for a hit on the Rangers' Brad Richards, Kaleta was born in Angola, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo, and played his high school and minor hockey around Western New York. So, to me, he's a Buffalo kid and certainly worthy of this puck.

Up next: Sabres team report