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The Athletic
Buffalo Sabres are No. 6 in 2023 NHL prospect pool rankings
Buffalo Sabres are No. 6 in 2023 NHL prospect pool rankings
By Scott Wheeler
3h ago
6
Welcome to Scott Wheeler’s 2023 rankings of every NHL organization’s prospects. You can find the complete ranking and more information on the criteria here, as we count down daily from No. 32 to No. 1. The series, which includes in-depth evaluations and commentary from sources on nearly 500 prospects, runs from Jan. 9 to Feb. 8.
Despite having graduated their four top skaters from last year’s list in Owen Power, Jack Quinn, Peyton Krebs and J.J. Peterka, the Sabres’ pool still ranks firmly among the league’s best thanks to a stellar 11-pick 2022 draft class.
The Sabres lack a high-end D prospect in Power’s absence, but they’ve got a quartet of legitimate forward prospects, a quartet of solid young goalies, and good overall depth throughout.
2022 prospect pool rank: No. 1 (change: -5)
1. Matthew Savoie, C/RW, 18 (Winnipeg Ice)
Savoie’s game has the potential to thrill. He’s got extremely quick side-to-side hands that help him beat defenders one-on-one off of cuts. He’s got an NHL shot (which he can place with pinpoint accuracy from a bad angle and rip by a goalie clean from a distance, but he also loves to change up and slide five-hole). He does an excellent job creating plays to the slot out of traffic. He’s a burning skater with explosiveness and quick three-step acceleration that allows him to win races, separate in transition, and put defenders onto their heels, or dash through holes in coverage to the net (or draw a penalty). He’s a soft small-area passer who blends deception into his movements.
And then on top of those things, he’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He’s always engaged, he keeps his feet moving, he plays with a ton of energy, and he finishes all of his checks and knocks his fair share of players over despite being on the smaller side. He’s also sturdier on his feet than his listed height (5-foot-9) might suggest, which helps him play between checks.
He hasn’t exploded offensively like some (myself included) maybe expected this season with the Ice, but some of that has to do with how balanced their team is up front (if they aren’t the Memorial Cup favorites, they’re close). I still see a dynamic, high-tempo, top-six, goal-creating package. He’s an exciting talent, with clear PP1 upside due to his shooting/skill package and clear five-on-five upside because of his skating and motor. Even in games where the points don’t fall, he’s almost always dangerous and threatening on the ice — and he’s seldom going to leave you wanting more. Because of the way he plays, I think he’s got a chance to stick at his natural center position in the NHL, too. His speed might even make him a useful penalty killer to give him all-situations value as well. I expect him to rise to the occasion on a deep playoff run and I’m looking forward to watching him as a big part of Team Canada at the 2024 world juniors in Gothenburg.
2. Jiri Kulich, LW/RW, 18 (Rochester Americans)
Kulich is a sturdy, driven player who can morph his game to his role. He can function as the detail-oriented, above-puck defender who makes quick plays and stays on pucks. He can play off of talented linemates to free his dangerous shooting arsenal up. Or he can carry the puck and function as the primary handler on a line. I like his positioning off the puck. I like the strength, balance and control of his skating stride. I like how quickly and hard shots come off of his stick (not just with his world-class one-timer but through a deceptive early release point in stride too).
He’s got quick hands and flashes skill with the puck on a string one-on-one and under the triangles of defenders’ sticks. He’s got good feel around the net. He plays hard. His skating is noticeable off the puck in his ability to pursue and recapture possession to extend sequences. The ice tends to tilt in his favor when he’s on it. He stays over pucks and protects them extremely well. He supports play well. There’s a lot to like about his makeup. He just looks like a pro — and has played like one as an 18-year-old in the AHL this year. I have no doubt at this point that he’s going to be an NHLer — and maybe a very good one.
3. Noah Östlund, C, 18 (Djurgardens IF)
Östlund’s calling card is his airy, agile skating stride, excellent hands, cleverness, and two-way ability. The skating and defensive aptitude (including on faceoffs) make him an able penalty killer and the rest give him clear tools of creation at five-on-five and on the power play. He wins a ton of short races, creates quickly as soon as he’s in possession, and darts around the ice in control to get into scoring areas or facilitate from the perimeter. His lack of size and strength are definitely going to be impediments as he progresses up levels, but he’s got the benefit of time, his skating, and the fondness coaches have for him to fall back on.
He’s silky smooth in possession and a superb puck transporter through neutral ice. He’s got a slippery quality that few players have, the puck just sticks to him in tight coverage, and he is a catalyst on his line in a variety of ways. He’s a nifty little player. Some scouts worry about whether he’ll be able to get to the inside/hold his own physically along the wall in the NHL (he has never scored a ton) but his approach and skating should help mitigate against that. I like him a lot. The flow. The work ethic. The ability to hang onto it or play in quick give-and-goes. His stick on steals. The changes of directions and cutbacks. There’s a lot to like.
He has been the most productive of the trio of first-round picks playing with Djurgarden this year, too. I’ll be interested to see what he does next year because he has another year on his deal with Djurgarden after this one but it has an out built in if they aren’t promoted back to the SHL from HockeyAllsvenskan.
4. Devon Levi, G, 21 (Northeastern University)
Levi had a season for the ages at Northeastern last year, posting a .952 save percentage across 32 games and winning both the Mike Richter Award as college hockey’s top goalie and the Tim Taylor Award as its top rookie. His journey from the CCHL to the world juniors and then the Olympics all during the pandemic was one of the best stories in hockey. He has been superb in his return to Northeastern behind a lesser Huskies team as a sophomore this year, too.
He has exactly the skills smaller goalies need to be successful. Impressive control on his outside edges (and the patience to hold them), quick feet on his shuffles so that he can stick with dekes and go post-to-post or low-to-high to get to tough pucks, perfect reads on shooters, excellent tracking through and under traffic, and a battler’s mentality in the net which keeps him in plays even when he looks like he’s down and out on his knees. There aren’t a ton of 6-foot goalies in today’s NHL, at least not starting ones, but Levi, like Calgary’s Dustin Wolf, has all of the tools to become one. I’m a believer.
5. Isak Rosen, LW, 19 (Rochester Americans)
Rosen’s a slippery goal-scoring winger who just looks talented in possession. On the attack, he’s a crafty handler who sneaks through traffic to navigate in and out of space in control, drawing attention as he goes. A lot of the tools he hones are also the ones required of smaller players (he’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 168 pounds) in today’s game.
He’s inventive. He’s a light, fluid skater who changes directions in an instant and beats defenders off of cuts. And his ability as a marksman really can’t be overstated (though he’s still figuring out how to get to the inside more consistently in the AHL, I’m still surprised he has shot well under 10 percent so far this year). His shot is pinpoint accurate (both his one-timer and his wrister) and he makes a ton of quick adjustments before he releases the puck to catch goalies and defenders off guard. Though his mentality is to look to attack the slot to score, he’s also got great touch with the puck when play breaks down and he has to improvise or make a play to a linemate.
He’s going to have to learn to play a little differently to build towards a scoring role at the next level but with patience and proper development, he’s going to inject skill into an NHL top nine and threaten on the power play in the long term. He’s got the threatening transition game, nifty release, perimeter speed and control, and shot shaping to become a 20-plus-goal scorer. He can run a little hot and cold, but consistency will come with reps and maturity.
6. Ryan Johnson, LHD, 21 (University of Minnesota)
Johnson’s counting stats don’t pop for a first-round pick and college senior, but he’s still wearing a letter as one of the top defensemen on the current No. 1-ranked team in college hockey (I can tell you their staff would tell you how important he is).
He’s a play driver with excellent on-ice results and the underlying five-on-five numbers to reflect that. Johnson’s biggest asset is his four-way skating and footwork. He can dictate play with his feet, whether that’s side-stepping pressure through the neutral zone, spinning off of it in an escape under pressure in his own zone, or walking the line in the offensive zone.
He adjusts in and out of space effectively and does a great job opening up lanes to pass into (though he’s not much of a shot threat and his comfort with the puck doesn’t include a particularly aggressive style per se). There are actually times where I’d like him to use his feet more often in those ways, instead of just pivoting into an outlet pass when he sees one. There’s room in his game for him to take control a little more. Defensively he gaps the rush effectively and defends within his own zone with smart reads and routes. He’s not likely going to be a big special-teams guy in the NHL, which could limit his upside, but I like him as a possession-driving No. 4-6 who is quietly effective at both ends at even strength. He has also played both sides in college, which gives him some flexibility.
7. Erik Portillo, G, 22 (University of Michigan)
After waiting for his turn in the Wolverines goal as a freshman, Portillo ran with the net as a sophomore, playing every night to some of the best non-Levi results in college hockey, with a .926 save percentage across 42 games (second only to Hobey Baker winner Dryden McKay’s 43) to backstop Michigan to a Frozen Four appearance. And though his numbers aren’t as glossy this season, the team in front of him isn’t as strong defensively either and he has still played well.
Portillo is massive, with a 6-foot-6 and 225-pound frame. He uses that frame to play a poised, deep-in-his-net style, rarely overcommitting to shooters in an effort to play between his posts and avoid scrambles when things start to break down. At his best, Portillo takes away all of a shooter’s space and looks unbeatable. He’ll let the odd soft goal squeak through and his rebound control can sometimes disappoint him but he’s got impressive control, coordination, skill and mobility for a goalie his size. I also like how loud he is in the net. You can really hear him back there (a lot like Detroit’s Sebastian Cossa) and it’s clear he wants to command play with directions and his impressive ability to play the puck and start breakouts. He’s also, like Levi but with very different tools, an excellent goalie one-on-one with shooters on breakaways.
There has been some chatter that he may test free agency though, and I wouldn’t blame him given the emergence Levi.
8. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, 23 (Buffalo Sabres/Rochester Americans)
I don’t know what to think about Luukkonen anymore. At a glance, he looks like an NHL goalie and it’s easy to understand how he dominated the OHL and became a second-round draft pick. He’s a huge, broad-shouldered goalie with a bulky frame and he uses that size to play angles and center himself to swallow the first shot. He’s fairly agile for his size, getting down into his butterfly quickly (he rarely gets beat five-hole) and moving smoothly through his footwork and post-to-post play. I would say he’s a better goalie relative to his like-aged peers on medium-danger shots more than high-danger ones, though, making the saves he should while too often getting frozen by good shooters.
And yet, despite an .895 save percentage across parts of five seasons in the AHL (though injuries, including a hip problem, played a role in that), he’s got a winning record, a save percentage above .900 in across parts of three NHL seasons, and has played well enough to keep getting his share of the starts this year. Still, I like the upside of the two goalies in front of him better, even if Luukkonen’s the one who has already shown some signs with the big club. I worry he’ll top out as a No. 2 and his numbers will never quite find that next level. He’s a toolsy goalie though and the Sabres are clearly committed to trying to tap into his potential.
9. Viktor Neuchev, LW, 19 (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg)
Before the 2022 draft, before the Sabres picked Neuchev, I wrote that he “reminds me a lot of 2021 Sabres second-round pick Alexander Kisakov.” So it didn’t come as a huge surprise to me when they picked him — coincidentally, they now rank in back-to-back spots on this list. They look and play a lot alike, with slight builds and individual skill that manifests itself into impressive finishing sequences. Neuchev’s a mid-range marksman with a slick, effortlessly quick release. But the finesse required to shoot like he does (from anywhere on his body, with the ability to let it go off toe-to-heel or heel-to-toe) is layered throughout his catches, carries and handles, too. He’s the kind of player who projects as a power-play shot threat up levels and could really pop with the right linemates/usage. It’s going to take some patience though. I’ve liked what I’ve seen in sparse usage in the KHL this year, so that’s a good start after he torched the junior level MHL last year.
10. Alexander Kisakov, LW, 20 (Rochester Americans)
Kisakov is a highly-gifted winger with an underdeveloped 5-foot-10 frame (he’s listed at 150 pounds). He was a fun player to watch against his peers in the MHL because he was never actually in trouble with the puck on his stick, and regularly pulled and dragged it through feet to beat the same defender twice (which will get harder against better defenders but is a sure sign of skill and comfort). His adjustment to the AHL has been predictably bumpy early on, but there have been some flashes and if they play the long game with him there might be some payoff.
He’s also got a silky-smooth first touch, which helps him catch and release pucks quickly (to shoot or give it back). His ability to change directions, adjust on his edges in control to hang onto the puck under pressure, and flurry around the offensive zone to wreak havoc make him a first-round talent. He has this spin move that he uses one-on-one with defenders on the perimeter that is somewhere between a cutback and a pirouette that he has absolutely mastered as a way to create separation for himself. His athletic immaturity, though, does raise concerns about how his skill will translate and gives him a long-term projection even if he does make it. There’s a boom or bust element to his projection but his offensive-zone gifts could result in a complementary skill winger in the best-case scenario.
11. Olivier Nadeau, C/RW, 20 (Gatineau Olympiques)
Nadeau’s a big, strong, puck-protection winger who controls the puck well, understands how to use his linemates, and has surprising finesse to his game. I like the way he works from the outside in, whether that’s taking the puck off the wall to the inside or waiting for a seam to open so that he can make a play through the center of the ice from the perimeter. His acceleration from a standstill needs some work if he’s going to win the 10-foot races that are so common at the pro level and create like he has in junior. But I’ve seen progress there.
After undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason, he has become a top player on a top QMJHL team for the second year in a row (last year with the QMJHL champs in Shawingian and now with the title-chasing Olympiques). He’s got desired size (6-foot-2, about 200 pounds), he can make plays, and he’s attacking into his shot more and more — building on the forceful game he showed last year (with and without the puck), which I think is a positive sign if he’s going to meet his third-line ceiling at the next level. It helps that he has positional versatility with experience at center and on the wing. I’m looking forward to watching him in the AHL next year.
12. Mats Lindgren, LHD, 18 (Red Deer Rebels)
This has been a bit of a weird post-draft season for Lindgren. Last year, he turned me into a big fan with his play in Kamloops. But then he requested a trade — even though the Blazers were set to host the Memorial Cup — and he landed in Red Deer, where he has been better than his numbers on a good team, but hasn’t taken a step forward.
I still like him as a potential third-pairing defenseman if things break right long-term, though. Lindgren plays the game the way it’s meant to be played. He uses movement to shape play in all three zones. In the defensive zone that looks like subtle little closeouts, an active stick, and the footwork and headiness required to absorb pressure and play past it (whether with a quick escape into a simple headman or something that appears as simple as a five-foot bump pass that he never screws up). In neutral ice, that looks like perfect timing and accuracy on his passes and carries (whether switching sides with an east-west pass or a carry through the guts of the ice and a pass on entry). In the offensive zone, it looks like clever puck management across the line and through seams as he manipulates structure with his feet. Lindgren plays the calm, cool, collected and mobile but not necessarily flashy game that we’re seeing more and more of out of the defenders his size who are breaking in (see: Scott Perunovich, Rasmus Sandin, Jordan Spence, etc.). I expect him to get back on track next year.
One really quirky note: They’ve used him on the bumper on the power play (very bizarre for a defenseman!) to try to get him more involved, and it has produced a handful of goals like this one (watch No. 27 here):
13. Prokhor Poltapov, LW/RW, 20 (CSKA Moskva)
Poltapov plays a tenacious, driven style that complements a decent skill package. He can take the play at the opposition and attack the slot. He’s the heartbeat of whatever line he usually plays on. He plays fast (he’s a strong, balanced skater and he makes decisions quickly), works hard off the puck to get open and apply pressure defensively. He thrives in the guts of the ice and has enough skill to get to the net and fight through traffic with control to score around the home plate area. He can also involve his linemates and is the kind of player who is always in the mix and making something happen when he’s on the ice.
But his skill doesn’t “wow” me and I’ve often told people that I usually come away from watching him play thinking “he’s good, but?” He tops out as more of bottom-six contributor, but I like his projection into that kind of a role. He’s a good player.
14. Topias Leinonen, G, 18 (JYP)
Leinonen is huge and measured in at 6-foot-5 and 233 pounds at the combine, which while appealing to some teams (and obviously the Sabres), raised red flags for me because there are so few goalies in the NHL at that size.
I believe he needed a stronger track record of success to warrant the second-round selection that was used on him as a blocking-style goalie. This season hasn’t been a positive one for him between Liiga, junior, and the national team, either. He may still work out under the right guidance, but his movement and quickness is an issue and his game can break down against good shooters/at higher paces.
15. Viljami Marjala, LW, 20 (TPS)
One of the top producers at Finland’s junior level this year, Marjala is a long shot to make the NHL and may not even get signed by the Sabres, but is worth a follow for his intriguing and unique play style (he reminds a little of unicorn Leafs and Panthers prospects Semyon Der-Arguchintsev and Aleksi Heponiemi, who likely won’t become a full-time NHLers have each now played games in the league). Marjala is a pass-first playmaker who loves to have the puck on his stick and delay to the perimeter until seams open up so that he can funnel play back into the scoring areas. He’s a smooth skater and deft handler who flows around the ice making plays. There are questions about his physical maturity and whether his game will work up levels, but I like him to become a top point producer in Europe at the very least and it wouldn’t surprise me if he finds his way over here eventually.
It has been nice to see him pull the trigger more this year, too, because he can pick his spots in the net.
The Tiers
Each of my prospect pool rankings will be broken down into team-specific tiers in order to give you a better sense of the talent proximity from one player to the next (a gap which is sometimes minute and in other cases quite pronounced).
The Sabres’ prospect pool breaks down into three tiers divided as such: 1-3, 4-8, 9-15.
Also considered were Muskegon Lumberjacks forward Jake Richard, Quebec Remparts defenseman Vsevolod Komarov, and Dynamo Moskva defenseman Nikita Novikov.
1
Matthew Savoie
C/RW
18
Winnipeg
2
Jiri Kulich
LW/RW
18
Rochester
3
Noah Ostlund
C
18
Djurgarden
4
Devon Levi
G
21
Northeastern U.
5
Isak Rosen
LW
19
Rochester
6
Ryan Johnson
LHD
21
U. of Minnesota
7
Erik Portillo
G
22
U. of Michigan
8
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
G
23
Buffalo/Rochester
9
Viktor Neuchev
LW
19
Yekaterinburg
10
Alexander Kisakov
LW
20
Rochester
11
Olivier Nadeau
RW
20
Gatineau
12
Mats Lindgren
LHD
18
Red Deer
13
Prokhor Poltapov
LW/RW
20
Moskva
14
Topias Leinonen
G
18
JYP
15
Viljami Marjala
LW
20
TPS
(Photo of Matthew Savoie: Jonathan Kozub)
Looking forward to seeing 6 and 11 |
