Buffalo Sabres Outlook: College Prospects

We’ve already covered Buffalo Sabres prospects playing overseas or in the Canadian Hockey Leagues, but the team has a large stock of prospects playing college hockey across the United States, including two representatives each at the University of Minnesota, Providence College and Notre Dame; one Brown University player, one University of Michigan Wolverine, an one Harvard prospect.

• Connor Hurley (C/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2013) – 15 games played with Notre Dame (Hockey-East); 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points, 2 penalty minutes, minus-1. This is Hurley’s first season with Notre Dame. He spent the last two seasons playing in the United States Hockey League, first with the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the 2012-13 season. Last season, Hurley split the year between Muskegon and the Green Bay Gamblers. He had 14 points in 21 games with the Lumberjacks and 36 points (10-26) in 35 games with the Gamblers.
• Cal Petersen (G/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2013) – Peterson has appeared in nine games with Notre Dame this season, notching a 3-5-1 record. He has a .906 save percentage and 2.98 GAA. This is Petersen’s first taste at college hockey after he spent the last three seasons in the USHL with Topeka and, mainly, Waterloo. Last season, Petersen had a regular-season record of 27-7-4 with a .915 save percentage and 2.50 GAA with the Black Hawks.

• Hudson Fasching (RW/Los Angeles Kings, draft 2013 — trade to Buffalo Sabres March 2014) — Fasching is in his second year with the University of Minnesota. He has seven points (5-2) and 12 penalty minutes in 12 games of Big-10 action. Last season, Fasching had 30 points (14-16) in 40 games with the University of Minnesota. He previously played the U.S. NTDP and was just named to USA Hockey’s selection camp roster for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships.
• Christian Isackson (F/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2010) — The 22-year-old is in his fourth year of college hockey with the University of Minnesota. He has one assist and seven penalty minutes in 12 games this season with the Big-10 club. Last season, Isackson had four points (1-3) in 19 games. He also previously played for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL.

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• Anthony Florentino (D/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2013) – The 19-year-old is in his second season with Providence College (Hockey-East). So far this season, he has appeared in 12 games, notching four assists and four penalty minutes. He is a plus-1 on the season. Last year, Florentino finished the year with 11 points (5-6) and 16 penalty minutes in 30 games.
• Mark Adams (D/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2009) – Adams is now in his fifth year of college hockey with Providence. He has one assist and 12 penalty minutes in 13 games this season. Adams appeared in seven games in each of the past two seasons with the college. He previously played for the Chicago Steel of the USHL.

• Christopher Brown (F/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2014) is the lone non-college player on this list. Brown is in his first full season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. To date, the 18-year-old Bloomfield Hills native has eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 19 games. He appeared in two games with the Gamblers last season and was drafted 151st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2014.
• J.T. Compher (LW/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2013) – The 19-year-old is in his second season with the University of Michigan (Big-10). So far this season, he has 10 points (3-7) in 13 games and has also racked up 24 penalty minutes. Compher finished last season with 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points in 35 games. He has previously played for the U.S. NTDP from 2011-2013 and was just named to the selection camp roster for the United States for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships.
• Sean Malone (C/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2013) is currently injured. He spent last season with Harvard University (ECAC), where he had six goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 31 games. Malone previously played with the U.S. National Development Team in 2012-13, scoring 13 points (5-8) in 15 games.
• Brad Navin (F/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2011) – The 22-year-old is in his fourth season with the University of Wisconsin. He has two points (1-1) and two penalty minutes, and is a minus-6, in 10 games so far this season. Navin finished last year with nine points in 36 games.
• Judd Peterson (RW/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2012) – Petersen is in his first season playing with St. Cloud State (NCHC). So far this season, the Duluth native has two assists and four penalty minutes in 14 games played. He spent the last two seasons with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, where last year, he had 31 points and 43 penalty minutes in 47 games.
• Maxwell Willman (LW/Buffalo Sabres, draft 2014) – The 19-year-old has appeared in nine games with Brown University this season, putting up two points (1-1) and four penalty minutes. Last season, he played for Williston Northampton School and had 44 points (21-23) in 25 games. He also played for the Springfield Rifles, where he had 18 points in 11 games.

For further reading about the future Buffalo Sabres, be sure to check out our outlook on CHL prospects and international prospects.