The Buffalo Sabres are hosting their annual prospects challenge this weekend, which features the prospect groups of themselves, the Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Boston Bruins. On Friday evening, they faced off against the Blue Jackets group with a stacked lineup that featured many of their top prospects including Jiri Kulich, Konsta Helenius, Isak Rosen, and Noah Ostlund, just to name a few. A number of other names from my top ten list were on the ice regularly as well as they put on a clinic and dominated the game with a 3-1 score and outshot their opponents 41-21.
With so many young players to watch for the Sabres, it was difficult to keep an eye on everyone, so I let the standouts draw my eyes to them as best I could. Some players were less noticeable than others, but some really stood out and made you notice them. By the end of the game, it was clear which were standouts, and which were flops.
Sabres Prospects That Flopped
With a lineup that has a lot going for it, there is definitely a lot of pressure on all of the young players, and that should get them all to rise to the occasion and play at a high level to impress the general manager and head coach who were in the building. One player in particular that fell very flat was Alexander Kisakov. The 2021 second-round pick was featured on the third line alongside Tyson Kozak and Oliver Nadeau. This trio had a lot of potential, and the latter two were playing their hearts out while Kisakov was floating and turning the puck over. There did not look to be much fight in his game, and there needs to be a lot more shown out of him for the remainder of the tournament if he wants to have any key ice time in the regular season in Rochester.
Another fairly invisible player was Isak Rosen. The 2021 first-round pick had a lot of ice time with fellow top prospects Jiri Kulich and Victor Neuchev and did register one assist from the puck deflecting off of his body, but in general, he was not doing much. His playmaking choices were not up to where they usually can be, his speed looked a little bit off, and he was looking very stoppable compared to his other two linemates who were on fire all night. He has a lot more he can show, and I expect him to do so in the coming games.
Sabres’ Standout Prospects
There are three names that come to mind for how this game played out and which ones were the most noticeable in their gameplay. The first is definitely Konsta Helenius as he was all over the ice. Every single shift, he was skating hard to be in position at both ends, and he was making a difference in that position. In the defensive zone he was breaking up plays and setting up rushes, and in the offensive zone, he was setting up plays left and right, and creating scoring chances. Unfortunately, none of them led directly to a goal being scored, but his presence was a dominant one the entire game regardless. He kept the pressure on all night, and it was a great sign of things to come from him.
The second player was defenseman Ryan Johnson. As the “veteran” player of the group (having played in the most NHL games) he looked like the most steady hand out there for the entirety of it. He functioned as the Sabres’ top defenseman for the night and was mostly paired with rookie Vsevolod Komarov, and he was out there directing his linemate, while also doing what he does best; defending with poise and skating around the ice with a fluidity that even water would be jealous of. Any time he had the puck and held on to it for more than two seconds, it was noticeable. He would move up the ice with a smooth transition, draw in the opposition, and then make a smart play before going right back to being in solid defensive positioning. There is nothing more anyone could ask for from one of their top young defensive players.
Then the third and most obvious was the lightning rod himself, Jiri Kulich, who was all over the offensive zone and was a menace to the opposing defense all night. He finished the game with two goals and one assist, and he did so by being one of the most relentless puck hounds between either team. If the puck was anywhere near him, he wanted it, and nothing was going to get in his way. He was muscling players off the puck left and right to take it from them, digging in corners to make plays happen, going to the front of the net for shots and rebounds, and everything else in between that a good goal scorer should be doing. He made a very convincing case for the Sabres to consider giving him a real shot in training camp and preseason.
Sabres Prospects Played Well As a Group
The group as a whole was consistent and supported each other all night. They played well defensively and kept things mostly to the outside for goaltender Scott Ratzlaff, and when things got chippy, they stood up for one another, as there were two fights by the end of the night (courtesy of defenseman Jack Bodin as well as forward Ty Cheveldayoff). The forwards were flying and pressuring, the defense was transitioning well and did not give up too many good chances the other way, and as a whole, the team looked in sync.
Now that they have a good and honest win under their belt, they need to continue that momentum into the remainder of the tournament. By the end of it, it will be interesting to see which players stood out the most compared to the start, and if any of them fizzled out compared to how they started. There will be plenty of opportunities to see both as things run through the rest of the weekend.