The idea that Appert would be an unlikely assistant coaching hire elsewhere in the NHL smacks of anti-Sabres bias to me.
Pretty much any AHL head coach is a reasonable candidate for an NHL assistant coach position. I mean, both of his assistants got NHL assistant coaching jobs last year.
His teams have improved 3 consecutive years and won 3 playoff series, and he's shown success at developing young players. He's also got obvious personality, a positive likability that will appeal to many doing the hiring.
They may have earned the skepticism, but had the Sabres had hired the same resume from a successful outside organization, this wouldn't be a conversation.