BUFFALO, N.Y. - Jacob Bryson says he’s played in 3 or 4 NHL rinks, so he won’t be fazed by playing at KeyBank this weekend; that being said, the Providence junior is far from jaded about the experience.

"It's something you dream about as a kid," he says. " I want to skate on an NHL rink. Even at the college level, when we're 20, 21 years old, we're still impressed with it. Which is pretty amazing because we're right in between that next level, to the NHL. Where we'll be playing on it. That's something special.:"

Bryson was the Sabres fourth-round pick in 2017, and became a second-team all-conference pick in the Hockey East this season. Bryson says he's improved immensely since Jason Botterill drafted him.

"We do so much video and stuff after practice to help that. I think I've come a long way from playing under coach Leaman's wing," he says. "I think eveyr player has developed every day. When you come to the rink at Providence College, you come to get better."

Bryson said multiple times the main focus this weekend is helping Providence win the Frozen Four, but he also understands there are a lot of Sabres fans in this town who have never seen him play in person. I asked Bryson about the opportunity in front of him to impress Sabres fans and show what kind of player he is.

"They've seen me at development camp before. My biggest focus is the game - I've got to focus on the game. Try to get that stuff out of my head. I don't want to worry about that stuff during the game. After the game, after hopefully making it to the national championship, then I can start congratulating those fans for coming out and watching me," he says.

Bryson and the Friars play Minnesota Duluth Thursday evening - a win puts them in the championship game Saturday.