Buffalo Jr. Sabres Governor Larry Playfair (right) sat down with Jim Mason of the OJHL for an interview during the 2023 Governors Showcase in Buffalo. (Photo by Cameron Ernst / OJHL Images)
By Jim Mason/OJHL Communications
Larry Playfair sounds like a proud father during the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Governors’ Showcase in Buffalo this week.
And with good reason.
The former NHLer is the man behind the Buffalo Jr. Sabres OJHL franchise and a big backer of the annual Showcase event. More than 200 college and NHL scouts are watching players on the OJHL’s 24 teams over three days at the LECOM Harborcenter.
In 2007, Playfair, 65, was president of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association, having played for the team for 10 seasons.
The NHL Sabres had just given the local Jr. A team permission to wear the team’s colours and logo.
“One of the owners, Larry Quinn, said to me ‘Go over and see what those kids need’,” Playfair recalls during an interview in a box atop Harborcenter while a Showcase game plays out.
“Money” was Playfair’s response after returning from his mission.
And while owners weren’t willing to start writing cheques they did allow for a money-making operation on their premises that would benefit the junior team.
Playfair’s “little brother, Jim” was coaching the Calgary Flames at the time.
“I went to Detroit to see them in the playoffs and there was a 50/50 raffle,” said Playfair. “I knew you could hold them in Canada but I didn’t think you could in the States.”
And a very successful fundraiser was born. So successful that the proceeds are turned over to the NHL Sabres’ foundation and a portion is doled out to youth hockey in Buffalo.
A few years later, a new ownership group built the LECOM Harborcenter across the street from the NHL rink and included the Jr. Sabres in the plans.
“They built us a dressing room, and included us,” Playfair said. “They really bent over backward for us.”
Kevyn Adams, now the general manager of the NHL Sabres team he once played for, had a big role in building the youth program from three teams (Jr. A, U18, U16) to a full complement (starting at U7), Playfair said.
“It always made sense to me that when you’ve got pros who have just come out of the game,” Playfair said, “they’re 35 or 36 years old and they’ve really only done hockey all their lives. Most of them don’t need to work; they’ve got enough money in the bank. But they need something to do.
“I always thought, if they wanted to stay in hockey and try coaching on the side, having the Jr. Sabres would be a good place to stick your toes in the water. And we’ve had some success”
Former Sabre and Buffalo native Patrick Kaleta is President and Director of Hockey Operations for the Jr. Sabres.
Matthew Peca and Matt Ellis both coached.
Playfair, the governor of the OJHL team, still runs the 50/50 draw at the NHL games. His wife, Jayne, does the books. She’s an Ontario native but met Larry while living in the Buffalo area community of Grand Island where they live today.
The couple was honoured before a Jr. Sabres game earlier this month. Larry was presented the OJHL’s Marc Mercier Chairman’s Award for his work with his team, the league – and the Governors’ Showcase.
“When you’re 15, 17, 17 years old, you just don’t know what’s in store for you,
Playfair said. “That’s what the (OJHL) is designed to do. When you think about this showcase and see all of the college scouts who are here, we’re putting these kids in a very good place. There are no guarantees but it’s an opportunity to go somewhere, that’s for sure.”
“Larry’s impact and contribution to the OJHL goes far beyond the commitment he makes each season to the players and staff of the Junior Sabres,” OJHL Commissioner Marty Savoy said. “His vision, support and dedication for the League of Choice has been so valuable that without Larry Playfair the OJHL would not be the league it is today.”
“Jayne and Larry Playfair, for several decades and throughout multiple ownership groups, have had the vision, persistence, and determination to create and foster the growth of the Buffalo Jr Sabres,” said Sean Wallace, Head Coach and General Manager of the Jr. Sabres. “Jayne and Larry have been the consistent bridge between the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Jr Sabres.”
“The bridge between the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Jr Sabres began with a Jr. A team,” Wallace told the OJHL, “expanded to include a midget program, and has now grown to 14 teams from 7U to Jr A. This has been a vision of the Playfairs, to create an elite organization to give players the ability to reach their potential and to play at the highest levels of the game.”
