Don Lever is back for his eleventh season on the Sabres coaching staff, serving his fourth straight year as the team’s Associate Coach. Don’s ten seasons behind the Buffalo bench represent the second most among current NHL assistant coaches with a single team. Only Doug Jarvis of the Dallas Stars, who has spent the last 12 years with that club, has been with one team longer.
Before reuniting on the Buffalo coaching staff, Don and Lindy Ruff were teammates on the Sabres for two seasons: 1985-86 and 1986-87. In fact, Ruff’s first coaching experience came while serving as a player/assistant under Lever with the Amerks in 1991-92. Ruff represents the fifth head coach Lever has worked with as a Sabres' assistant coach, having also served with Ted Sator, Rick Dudley, John Muckler, and Ted Nolan.
Lever, 48, who was known as a defensive specialist during his playing days, began his coaching career as a Sabres assistant in the 1987-88 season. He then served as the head coach of the Rochester Americans from 1990-1992, before returning to Buffalo as an assistant for the 1992-93 season.
In 1990-91, Lever's first season as coach of the Amerks, he earned AHL Coach of the Year honors after Rochester went to the Calder Cup finals following a league-best 45-26-9 regular season. Lever also played for Rochester in 1985-86 and 1986-87, winning the Calder Cup in the role of player-coach in his final pro season.
Don played his junior hockey in nearby Niagara Falls, Ontario. After scoring 126 points in 63 games for the OHL’s Flyers, he was the first draft choice (and third pick overall) of the Vancouver Canucks in 1972. Don was traded to Atlanta in February 1980 after eight seasons with the Canucks, and moved with the Flames to Calgary that summer. He was dealt to Colorado in 1981, and again was a part of a franchise shift as the Rockies became the New Jersey Devils in 1982. The Sabres acquired his rights from the Devils on September 9, 1985, and he spent two seasons as a player in Buffalo's organization. In 1,020 NHL games, he accumulated 313 goals, 367 assists, 680 points, and 593 PIM.
Don and his wife Karen live in Amherst, New York with their three children: Michael (19), Sarah (17) and Caitlin (15).
