Devon Levi watch, update: he's returning to college

[pi2000]

On 3/31/2022 at 8:40 PM, pi2000 said:

My source says Portillo is more likely to sign than Levi.

BREAKING... my source confirms that Devon Levi has decided to return to college.  😘

[Buffalonill]

6 hours ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

Do you think he's going to somehow get worse at the college level?  The chances of him jumping straight to the NHL are higher if he matures another year.

He had a season that hasn't been done in college history no i dont believe he will repeat that 

[Buffalonill]

1 hour ago, pi2000 said:

BREAKING... my source confirms that Devon Levi has decided to return to college.  😘

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

He had a season that hasn't been done in college history no i dont believe he will repeat that 

You've said this twice. Which part has never been done?

[SwampD]

21 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

You've said this twice. Which part has never been done?

# of shutouts?

[Doohicksie]

4 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

He had a season that hasn't been done in college history no i dont believe he will repeat that 

But will that mean he will be any worse as an NHL goalie?

[Flashsabre]

My problem isn’t that Levi is returning for one more year of college.

My problem is we won’t be able to talk about anything he does next season because it will be sabotaged by the “None of it matters, he is not signing here, it is Cal Peterson 2.0” crowd.

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

Reasons for Sabres fans not to worry (too much):

1) Levi missed his entire freshman season with an injury

2) Levi missed a large stretch of games his sophmore year due to the Olympics, which he didn't even get to play in

3) Levi didn't win a NCAA championship or Hobey Baker

So I think Levi still has something to prove and play for as a junior.  Consistency is everything for a goalie, so proving he can play at this level year over year is important.  It also gives him time to see if the Sabres are really trending in the right direction. 

[Buffalonill]

14 minutes ago, The Ghost of Yuri said:

But will that mean he will be any worse as an NHL goalie?

 He's playing on easy mode now  He needs to be challenged college hockey is too easy for him.

A comparison would be if power would stay another year at Michigan what benefit would It have on him? 

 

[Doohicksie]

It's a comparison.  I doubt it's a valid one but it remains to be seen.

[nfreeman]

11 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I assume that in that last paragraph the "he" is Levi although it's hard to tell with the bad sentence structure.

This is obnoxious and a glass house.  
 

10 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

This is an excellent thread.  Highly recommended for anyone interested in Levi’s reasoning.  

[JohnC]

11 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

 He's playing on easy mode now  He needs to be challenged college hockey is too easy for him.

A comparison would be if power would stay another year at Michigan what benefit would It have on him? 

 

Power stayed another year in college when he could have gone directly to the pros after being the first pick in the draft. The extra year benefitted his development, not hurt him. 

I'm just amazed at the responses of fans after a player/individual makes a personal decision on what is the best course of action for his own career and life. It's his decision, and his alone to make. I'm sure he talked to people in his circle who he trusts (family, friends, advisors etc.) before making such an important decision. 

[LGR4GM]

5 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

He had a season that hasn't been done in college history no i dont believe he will repeat that 

 

4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

You've said this twice. Which part has never been done?

 

38 minutes ago, Buffalonill said:

 He's playing on easy mode now  He needs to be challenged college hockey is too easy for him.

A comparison would be if power would stay another year at Michigan what benefit would It have on him? 

 

Answer the question

41 minutes ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

Reasons for Sabres fans not to worry (too much):

1) Levi missed his entire freshman season with an injury

2) Levi missed a large stretch of games his sophmore year due to the Olympics, which he didn't even get to play in

3) Levi didn't win a NCAA championship or Hobey Baker

So I think Levi still has something to prove and play for as a junior.  Consistency is everything for a goalie, so proving he can play at this level year over year is important.  It also gives him time to see if the Sabres are really trending in the right direction. 

I bet right now Levi doesn't care at all where the Sabres are trending. The Sabres aren't the center of his universe, nor should they be. 

19 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

This is obnoxious and a glass house.  
 

This is an excellent thread.  Highly recommended for anyone interested in Levi’s reasoning.  

Sure

Edited April 5, 2022 by LGR4GM

[Doohicksie]

11 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Sure

 I guess he's not a fan of your sentence structure.

[Flashsabre]

25 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Power stayed another year in college when he could have gone directly to the pros after being the first pick in the draft. The extra year benefitted his development, not hurt him. 

I'm just amazed at the responses of fans after a player/individual makes a personal decision on what is the best course of action for his own career and life. It's his decision, and his alone to make. I'm sure he talked to people in his circle who he trusts (family, friends, advisors etc.) before making such an important decision. 

This has nothing to do with what is best for his development.

This has to do with a section of fans who have “Jilted Lover Syndrome” over Cal Petersen and are triggered that those feelings might be bubbling again inside them.

[ddaryl]

1 hour ago, Flashsabre said:

My problem isn’t that Levi is returning for one more year of college.

My problem is we won’t be able to talk about anything he does next season because it will be sabotaged by the “None of it matters, he is not signing here, it is Cal Peterson 2.0” crowd.

Unfortunately until him and Portillo are signed and playing in Rochester, my paranoia exists.

Although I won't be posting my paranoia here accept for this 1 rant... I do fear until I do not

[JohnC]

6 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

This has nothing to do with what is best for his development.

This has to do with a section of fans who have “Jilted Lover Syndrome” over Cal Petersen and are triggered that those feelings might be bubbling again inside them.

Organizations make decisions in their best interest. And players and prospects do the same. It's the nature of business. You simply adjust to things that you can't control. 

[Eleven]

43 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

This is an excellent thread.  Highly recommended for anyone interested in Levi’s reasoning.  

What?  It tells us absolutely nothing about his reasoning.  It tells us about some unconventional decisions he made in the past, and the results thereof, but not the reasons therefor.  Nor does it tell us anything about this decision.

[MattPie]

11 hours ago, kas23 said:

Unfortunately, in the NHL, there never really is a true competition. The player senior to you automatically has the position, but it’s his position to lose if he truly falters. If Portillo signs, that’s what Levi will be up against. 

And yet:

11 hours ago, Second Line Center said:

 

I wouldn't say "falters."  If the younger guy is the man you roll with him.  

Did Biron or Noronen falter as much as Miller just showed enough he was the man? 

Biron and Noronen both had seniority. Sure, dumb stuff happens, like Fuhr getting starts over Hasek but none of the players we're talking about now are established NHL players.

Somewhere above, re: Bleed Blue and Gold

Levi made his decision bleeding whatever colors Northeastern wears. Next year, it's entirely likely he'll sign with the Sabres and start bleeding blue and gold. It does seem like the guy sticks with his team longer than many would and I take that as a good sign.

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, MattPie said:

And yet:

Biron and Noronen both had seniority. Sure, dumb stuff happens, like Fuhr getting starts over Hasek but none of the players we're talking about now are established NHL players.

Somewhere above, re: Bleed Blue and Gold

Levi made his decision bleeding whatever colors Northeastern wears. Next year, it's entirely likely he'll sign with the Sabres and start bleeding blue and gold. It does seem like the guy sticks with his team longer than many would and I take that as a good sign.

That Twitter thread builds on previous reading I’ve done about Levi. He’s no iconoclast, but neither is he ever going to be a conformist. He doesn’t fit the boxes; he does it with a smile on his face, but he does it his way.

And history has supported his choices. Kid’s going to be special.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

What?  It tells us absolutely nothing about his reasoning.  It tells us about some unconventional decisions he made in the past, and the results thereof, but not the reasons therefor.  Nor does it tell us anything about this decision.

It gives past examples where Levi stayed at a lower level instead of moving up. The logic is he's doing it again staying at NE.

[JoeSchmoe]

Does a 4 year NCAA UFA get any kind of fast tracking momentarily contract wise? Or is the only advantage getting to pick your team, but you still have to do your do your time on an entry level contract and the RFA years?

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, Eleven said:

What?  It tells us absolutely nothing about his reasoning.  It tells us about some unconventional decisions he made in the past, and the results thereof, but not the reasons therefor.  Nor does it tell us anything about this decision.

Well, it says "He has proven many times that nobody knows what’s best for Devon Levi better than Devon Levi himself" and that Levi has a high degree of self-confidence -- so I think a fair inference on this decision is that Levi has determined that staying at NE is better for Levi's development and isn't concerned that this bucks the conventional wisdom.

Now, you're right that the thread doesn't specify the reasons supporting Levi's determination that staying is better for his development, so in that sense perhaps my post overstated things.  But I do think the twitter thread was pretty informative about his mindset.

[DarthEbriate]

--Levi, no more training do you require. Already have you, that which you need... to lead the Sabres to the playoffs.

++Then I am a goalie...

--No... not yet. One thing remains: a contract. You must sign a contract. Then, only then, a goalie will you be. And sign the contract you will. Heh! But first, we must eat. Another college season! Good fun! Yes, yes.

[RochesterExpat]

He wants to win a championship and is not happy with the outcome of his last season. Rather than whine, complain and ask for a trade, he's going back to the same mediocre team to give it another chance because he's clearly a very driven player. Instead of quitting and jumping ship, he's foregoing hundreds of thousands of dollars and the limelight of professional hockey to try and win a championship.

Maybe I'm just an optimist, but isn't everyone else here tired of people who either accept losing and become complacent, or else jump ship and request a trade because the team is underperforming? I'd much rather have the guy who shows up at the start of the season having spent the entire off-season analyzing how he could improve and what he needs to do to get the team to the next step.

Is this the best move from a development standpoint? Highly unlikely. Is this the best move to stop the Chicken Littles? Not at all. Is this a move that tells us if he is the kind of personality we want on the team? In my opinion it absolutely is.