Greg Royce knew it was time to make a decision. He was starting a family, but his jobs as a high school teacher and junior hockey coach kept him away from home too much. One of them had to go.
“Hockey was a passion, so I went with it,” Royce said.
It’s nearly 20 years later, and hockey is still Royce’s passion. He’ll head to the NHL Draft as Buffalo’s director of amateur scouting for the first time, and he’s eager to help build a franchise that is undergoing heavy reconstruction.
As he sat through his first organizational scouting meetings last month, Royce saw his enthusiasm was equaled by Sabres owner Terry Pegula, new coach Dan Bylsma and all the other scouts.