Buffalo Sabres Make Progress In Rochester

On several occasions, Buffalo Sabres General Manager Tim Murray has brought up he wants success not only in Buffalo, but in Rochester as well. There is a diverse group coming together for this upcoming season in Rochester that will likely improve on their 29-41-9-1 record from last season.

The Americans were plagued by injuries in their lineup and the Sabres lineup to go along with the moves that were made during the year by the Sabres that saw their core putting on the Blue and Gold jerseys. There was no consistency for the Amerks, but this is a new year.

The Rochester Americans will enter the 2015-16 season with a well-balanced team. They have skill, size, grit, and all different ages that should mix together well. They have plenty of leadership with Cal O’Reilly and Matt Ellis who will likely be wearing a letter next season. These two will be showing the ropes to a team with a plethora of young talent.

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This young talent showed up last week with the likes of Evan Rodrigues, Justin Bailey, Nicholas Baptiste, and even Jean Dupuy who showed off some impressive stick skills. They are the players that caught my eye entering their first year as a pro. Add sophomore William Carrier, there will be a solid core of youngsters coming in to play a significant role in the success of the Americans.

There are more established players like Jason Akeson, Bobby Sanguinetti, Chad Ruhwedel, Dan Catenacci, and Jerome Leduc that have been around the AHL for a while that bring experience to the team under O’Reilly and Ellis.

Don’t forget the Sabres re-signed the Amerks leading scorer for the past two seasons: Phil Varone. He is the leader when it comes to producing points and getting his teammates involved with his playmaking abilities. Look for him and Jason Akeson to be a threat in this way.

Now throw all of them into a mix of quality role players like Tim Schaller, Justin Kea, and Jerry D’Amigo. Overall, I’m liking the offensive side of the Americans roster.

If there are any injuries, there are players like Jack Nevins and Colin Jacobs will likely see plenty of time in Elmira and will be a quick call away to fill in on the 4th line.

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There are also players that could be up in the air like Matt Donovan, Jake McCabe, Johan Larsson (depending on his contract), and Sam Reinhart who could see a couple games in the Red White and Blue. They are likely the players go up and down at some point, but no one can be certain at this point.

There is a weakness on D now that Mark Pysyk will likely be playing in Buffalo and there is a good possibility that Donovan or McCabe is up with the big club as well. This means Ruhwedel, Sanguinetti, and Leduc will need to step up and be top-4 defensemen. Brady Austin is another player to remember with his role as a defensive defenseman in his second season in the AHL.

When it comes to goaltending, there looks to be a competition between Andrey Makarov and Nathan Lieuwen not only for the starting job, but for a contract after the season ends. They will both be restricted free agents in 2016 and I could see one being moved before the year ends or not being qualified, making them a free agent.

Linus Ullmark, the young, raw Swedish goaltender is making the move to North America to play for the Amerks once he recovers from offseason hip surgery. He will spend time in Rochester to recover, improve his abilities, and get used to the differences of the North American game. No doubt in my mind he will be able to take over the backup duties by the time the trade deadline comes about if a goalie is moved.

To add to the goaltending depth, Sabres development camp standout Jason Kasdorf is a senior at RPI and will likely turn pro at the end of his senior season. Getting him time in Rochester after proving he’s a darkhorse between the pipes for the Sabres prospect pool is crucial. Goalies need playing time to find a groove and gain confidence.

It is important to remember that the Americans are in place to fill the positions of the Sabres along with covering for their own injuries, so their roster is a lot more likely to fluctuate more than the Sabres, but fans can only hope they don’t have the roster nightmare they endured last season. Since the Sabres won’t be shipping off assets all over the place at the next trade deadline, I’d assume injuries in both Buffalo and Rochester are the only issues with the Amerks.

The Americans have diverse players that bring speed, size, creativity, finishing ability, grit, the right work ethic, and have a range of ages. Their progress will be key to the Sabres creating a better organization and improving their overall depth.

Next: Buffalo Sabres Ryan O'Reilly May Already Be In Trouble

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