The Sabres Prospect Pool 2024 Edition

[pi2000]

Does Levi get any games down the stretch?   

IMO veteran guys like Johnson, Rousek, Nuechev, Metsa, Brannstrom and Wahlberg deserve a look.    

 

[LGR4GM]

45 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Does Levi get any games down the stretch?   

IMO veteran guys like Johnson, Rousek, Nuechev, Metsa, Brannstrom and Wahlberg deserve a look.    

 

One of these things is not like the other... 

[DarthEbriate]

4 hours ago, Ctaeth said:

My understanding from following along with Kris Baker's tweets was Ratzlaff was seeing 40+ shots every game of the series.  He was likely the only reason that they won any games.

He stole games 1 and 3.

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

One of these things is not like the other... 

I'd bold Neuchev, too. He's only 21 and is still under 100 AHL GP.

[PerreaultForever]

I know about Rochester but are there any Sabres prospects doing anything of note elsewhere right now?

[Brawndo]

12 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

I know about Rochester but are there any Sabres prospects doing anything of note elsewhere right now?

Jake Richard had a great season at UCONN 15 Goals and 43 points in 34 games. 
 

Cam Robinson from EP Prospects reported the Sabres are trying to sign him as he can become a UFA in August 2026. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

On 4/12/2025 at 3:36 PM, Brawndo said:

Cam Robinson from EP Prospects reported the Sabres are trying to sign him as he can become a UFA in August 2026. 

He has certainly earned an ELC.  

[DarthEbriate]

On 4/12/2025 at 12:20 PM, PerreaultForever said:

I know about Rochester but are there any Sabres prospects doing anything of note elsewhere right now?

Matteo Costantini won a NCAA championship with Western Michigan (Gavin McCarthy was a runner-up with Boston University).

Poltapov and CSKA Moskva lost their first-round playoff series to Dinamo Minsk (4-2). Poltapov 68 GP 17-23-40 regular season, and 1-2-3 in the six playoff games.

[steveoath]

For those that follow the young’uns more closely. Who are those that you have the highest hopes for in the organisation? Why? 

[dudacek]

6 hours ago, steveoath said:

For those that follow the young’uns more closely. Who are those that you have the highest hopes for in the organization? Why? 

The best prospects of the Adams era have been Power, Quinn, Levi and Peterka, probably in that order.

Power's post-draft year, Quinn and Peterka' rookie AHL seasons and Levi's body of work at Northeastern were exceptional, even for prospects.

That they have yet to continue that trajectory is a big reason why Adams' plan has failed.

The Rosen, Östlund, Kulich, Helenius group is step below those guys: good showings for prospects, but nothing that indicates stardom yet for any of them.

There's also a deep enough group of B prospects that I would be surprised if a few don't turn into NHLers.

Benson is my choice, but also the hardest to read: the list of draft picks who went directly to the NHL and put up 30-points as an 18-year-old is small and populated mostly by stars; his offence so far hasn't tracked, but the underlying stuff and the eye test certainly do.

Edited April 14 by dudacek

[DarthEbriate]

Leenders was injured in game 1 of the semifinal series with Oshawa, and exited with the Bulldogs trailing 2-0. The Bulldogs rallied around their backup for the win and now lead the series 2 to 1.

Per the Brantford Expositor https://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/sports/brantford-bulldogs-take-game-1-against-oshawa-generals  

"Brantford coach Jay McKee was coy on the injury. “He’s day to day,” McKee answered when asked about Leenders."

[LGR4GM]

Looking at something else I found this from January. https://thehockeywriters.com/nhl-farm-system-rankings/

"Savoie immediately became the Oilers’ top prospect (by a good margin), and I think he’ll prove the Sabres foolish pretty quickly. He’s a highly creative forward with a high-end skill set. The combination of speed, hands and stick handling makes him an offensive catalyst and he maintains offensive zone possession extremely well. Savoie has excellent vision to spot a lane to engage or find his teammates with a perfectly executed pass and he’s a dynamic skater as well. He is producing at the AHL level so far this season, leading all U21 players in scoring at the time of writing."

"they’ve (Sabres) also seen a few of their most important prospects underperform this season such as Noah Ostend and Devon Levi." (yes they spelled Östlund wrong, I copied directly)

A couple of things. First Savoie does not maintain zone possession extremely well unless skating with the puck around the perimeter is extremely well. Second, while this was written in January, I think it is safe to check on Östlund and Savoie these days. 

Savoie: 18g, 32a, 50pts in 64games or 0.78ppg

Östlund: 19g, 17a, 36pts in 44games or 0.82ppg

[LGR4GM]

Luke Osburne quietly dropped 10g, 31a in 55 games in the USHL. He's heading to Wisconsin for college and won't be 19 until September. Someone to keep an eye on. 

[steveoath]

16 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Ostend

My first holiday abroad was based in, and around Ostend. Nice part of the world. My brother fell into a clock made of flowers haha. 

[SabreFinn]

Viljami Marjala has been playing for The Finnish national team in games pre to world championship. He scored a goal against Sweden two days ago. He was dropped of the roster today when other players join instead. Unfortunately I havn't had time to watch any games but playing for the national team this close to WC shows he is developing well.

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, SabreFinn said:

Viljami Marjala has been playing for The Finnish national team in games pre to world championship. He scored a goal against Sweden two days ago. He was dropped of the roster today when other players join instead. Unfortunately I havn't had time to watch any games but playing for the national team this close to WC shows he is developing well.

He'd be interesting in Rochester. Curious to see if the Liiga production would translate. 

[SabreFinn]

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

He'd be interesting in Rochester. Curious to see if the Liiga production would translate. 

My opinion is that it is time to move on from Liiga. Next step should be SHL or Rochester, and I think it is time to fight for a spot in Rochester. But with all the prospects in the system I can also see Sabres trading his rights as a part of a trade for a defensive RHD.