The Sabres are banking on their young players to lead a club turnaround, and that young talent showed itself last night in Columbus during Buffalo’s first preseason game of the year.
The final score on the board showed a 5-4 win for Buffalo over Columbus, but that isn’t particularly important in the preseason, especially when the realistic objective for the real season is to see growth from the emerging young core of the team rather than tangible results. That said, the organizational growth is evident as JJ Peterka continues to look like an NHL player despite having been drafted only last year.
Peterka, whom the Sabres drafted 34th overall in 2020, posted 20 points in 30 games in the German elite league last season and it seemed as though the left wing would join the Rochester Americans this season as a 19-year-old. After seeing Peterka in the Prospects Challenge and in game one of the preseason, though, Peterka is making a compelling argument to be a Buffalo Sabre instead of a Rochester American this season. He repeatedly showed a willingness to battle in the corners as his used his speed to create havoc in the corners in an effort to lodge pucks loose.
The Munich native has a terrific skill set that looks refined enough to contribute in the NHL this season. Peterka has very good quickness and top-end speed that made him look totally at home against some real NHL players on the Columbus Blue Jackets side. He utilized that speed in the first period to set up a two-on-one with Jack Quinn by speeding down the left side and feeding the puck through traffic to hit Quinn. Later in the first, Peterka and Sabres forward Dylan Cozens orchestrated a nice give-and-go exchange behind the net that allowed Cozens to sneak in front where Peterka hit him for another excellent look. That pair continued to create opportunities into the third period as they can match each other’s speed and create defensive mismatches that give the opposition fits.
Peterka finally broke through with a goal late in the third to make it a 4-3 game with a top shelf snipe as the Sabres had their goalie pulled. The execution and top-shelf placement was another example of a player who looks ready to make a mark at the highest level. The Sabres need to provide some sort of exciting product to keep fans tuned in this season and that unique blend of speed and tenacity would undoubtedly keep some eyeballs glue to the screen in what figures to be a bad year, especially when paired with a speedster like Cozens. At 5’11… and 192 pounds, Peterka already has an NHL body and looks ready to withstand the rigors of an NHL season. An extra year of development wouldn’t hurt the young forward, but if this organization truly is a meritocracy, it’s hard to argue that Peterka is undeserving of a spot on this incredibly unproven roster.
Assorted other thoughts from the game:
- The Sabres, and specifically General Manager Kevyn Adams, have often talked about connecting with their fans better during this off season which made the decision to air an away broadcast of the game on Sabres.com a disappointing choice. The Blue Jackets broadcasters couldn’t give insight into the young players on the Sabres’ side and it’s unfortunate that fans looking for that insight weren’t able to hear it. The Sabres really have a knack for self-inflicting wounds. It’s pretty rough to listen to the opposing broadcasters talk about how the Sabres’ goaltending looks abysmal.
- Speaking of Blue Jackets announcers, Blue Jacket’s analyst Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre quipped that he would text Kevyn Adams about whether Jack Eichel would traded this year when asked about the former Sabres captain by his play-by-play cohort. Grand-Pierre explained that he was roommates with Adams during their time in the Blue Jackets organization.
- Aaron Dell was incredibly shaky and that looks to be a theme that will haunt the blue and gold this year. He wasn’t strong on any of the first three goals and he never looked in command of the crease. Granato mentioned on Monday that he would be comfortable going with Craig Anderson and Dell as his 1-2 for the beginning of the season but he might want to re-think that. If you were worried about the goaltending situation before yesterday, you’re right to do so.
- It’s worth mentioning that Dustin Tokarski looked a little better than Dell, especially with his terrific breakaway save in OT. Maybe Tokarski can find his way back into this competition.
- Vinnie Hinostroza wearing Pominville’s #29 was a weird sight that will take some getting used to, but it looked like he and #28, Zemgus Girgensons, didn’t need any time to get used to each other. They formed a duo on the penalty kill and also played together at even strength. It’s easy to picture the two of them playing together with Kyle Okposo on the right side. Hinostroza plays a quick game with good lateral movement and change-of-pace ability that lets Girgensons go hard to the net and screen the goaltender or look for rebounds should the opportunity arise.
- Arttu Ruotsalainen looks like the leading candidate to grab the third line center job with no other candidates currently making a name for themselves. Ruotsalainen had a nice tip goal as a result of camping in front of the net where he managed to redirect a John Hayden pass from the corner. We’ll see if Cody Eakin can make a push to take that spot from the Finnish forward, but it seems like a remote possibility at this point.
- Dylan Cozens had some nice plays but he was unable to find his way to a goal despite some golden opportunities. He had a partial breakaway in the second period but rushed through his decision making and fired a shot wide and low to the right side. Cozens could have taken his time and made a move, but young players sometimes need time to figure out how much time they have to make a play at the NHL level.
- Linus Weissbach is a player to watch in Rochester this season. Kid has speed to burn and some crazy good moves. He could be a sneaky good pick for the Sabres.
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It’s hard to believe that I’ve been on the job for five months and only contributed gameday content for two actual Sabres games. With the off-season now in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to look ahead to actual Sabres game-day coverage. I want to provide content for Sabres Hockeybuzz readers to enjoy, and with that in mind, I’d like to know whether readers would prefer pre-game primers with things to watch for in that day’s game with trends from previous games, or whether you’d rather read about the game from the night before with a recap format.
As always, there will be longer-form, broad-picture content as well, but I’d appreciate readers let me know in the comments section which they'd prefer
Thank you.