from Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated,

You have to hand it to Terry Pegula. The billionaire owner of the Buffalo Sabres had a vision of his city becoming the mecca of American hockey when he committed $172 million to privately finance the construction of the HarborCenter complex back in 2013.

Just two years later, that’s exactly what the city in western New York has become. With the state-of-the-art facility now fully operational, Buffalo has, or will soon, play host to events ranging from the Under-18 Women’s World Championship to the International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey Worlds to USA Hockey's All-American Prospects Game to the NHL’s Draft Combine.

At this point, it’s almost safe to assume that if it’s happening in hockey, it’s happening in Buffalo.

And Buffalo doesn’t just do it. The city does it right. That U-18 women’s event last January drew nearly 14,000 fans to HarborCenter, making it the event’s all-time second-best attended tournament. Fans, players and hockey officials came away raving about the atmosphere at the rink and the work of the organizers.

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