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SHOW ON THE odo's Bar & Grill in Denver is more than 1,500 miles from Buffalo, N.Y., but with his blue Sabres hat and white hockey jersey Daniel Gustak made it feel like the KeyBank Center was just around the corner. Gustak, a Buffalo native, gathered with more than 100 of his fellow Sabres fans at a Buffalo Sabres Road Crew event late last season. These New Yorkers talked about their favorite hockey team, met former players and were able to find a slice of Western New York in the middle of the Mile High City. As the Sabres staff has witnessed over the years, there are fans across the country who rock the blue and gold despite being far away from the shores of Lake Erie. This inspired the team to start these road crew events. The Sabres Road Crew has stopped in 10 NHL cities thus far. With each stop, the Sabres Road Crew sells merchandise, introduces fans to for- mer players and the team's broadcasters along with a chance to win a round-trip flight to Buffalo and tickets to a future Sabres game. "Our staff has noticed that at many away games there were always a huge amount of Sabres fans in the stands," said Teresa Belbas, the Sabres manager of community relations. "We wanted to create something that made fans feel like they were still a part of the Buffalo fan base. That's how we came up with these parties—to bring a little bit of Buffalo to them." The Sabres aren't the only team with fans who gather around the country. Fans reg- ularly find restaurants and establishments that show their favorite team on a regular basis, such as the Half Moon Windy City Sports Grill in Phoenix. Here's a look at five Americans who will look to build on banner years this season. Fans Discover A Special Kinship While Connecting With Fellow Fanatics Far From Home /// By Ryan Williamson ROAD L "This place lets them feel like they're back home." J O H N N Y G A U D R E A U Calgary Flames It's tough to score when you're sitting in the penalty box. Johnny Gaudreau managed to rack up 61 points in 72 regular season games all while being whistled for only two penalties. Those numbers helped the New Jersey native become the first American since Brett Hull to garner the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for his "gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." 36 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM 2017-18 NHL Preview J O H N T O R T O R E L L A Columbus Blue Jackets A 50-win season and the team's first postseason appearance since 2014 garnered John Tortorella his second Jack Adams Award, as the league's top coach, and a one-year contract extension. With offensive firepower added to the lineup, all eyes will be on the fiery coach to lead his team to its first playoff series win. Repeating The Feat A U S T O N M AT T H E W S Toronto Maple Leafs Scoring four goals in your NHL debut sets the bar pretty high for the rest of the season. But Auston Matthews found a way to deliver as he helped the Toronto Maple Leafs return to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. Now the league's top rookie will look to avoid a sophomore slump as he deals with even greater expectations.