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For the Buffalo Sabres, the future looks bright.  Even if the murky waters of the current NHL Lockout make the immediate future seem dark and dreary, the long term goals of the Buffalo Sabres being a contender in the National Hockey League seem bright.

The U20 World Junior Championships are over, and Buffalo Sabres prospects have plenty of precious metal to talk to their teammates about.

Team USA won gold this morning, and when Jake McCabe returns to the campus of the University of Wisconsin, the Badgers will have plenty to celebrate about.  McCabe captained Team USA to Gold over the defending champions, Team Sweden, and racked up some impressive stats along the way.  The Buffalo Sabres second round draft pick has a bright future in the organization once he leaves the NCAA ranks behind.

Despite promising outlooks and hosting the tournament in Ufa, team Russia had to settle for the bronze medal after holding on to keep Team Canada without a medal.  What it does mean is that Mikhail Grigorenko and Andrey Makarov add a bronze medal to the showcase.

Three medals for team Buffalo Sabres in international play this off season, not a bad count by any stretch of the means, and if anything, it means the future looks extremely bright.

Makarov is a 19 year old goaltender from Kazan, Russia – who was signed by the Buffalo Sabres as an undrafted free agent this off season.  He is currently on loan to the Saskatoon Blades of the CHL.  The Buffalo Sabres could have a diamond in the rough with Makarov, who has been compared to fellow countrymen Evgeni Nabokov.

Andrey has only been playing the North American game for two seasons now; having come over from Russia to play with the Lewiston Maineaics in 2010-2011.  The Maineaics would fold after that season, prompting his switch to the Canadian Hockey League and joining the Blades.

With just over a .500 record – Makarov could be groomed as a backup goaltender in the organization – although he may only surge as high as the AHL if he stays within the Buffalo Sabres organization.

Makarov was the backup goaltender for Team Russia during last year’s World Junior Championship in Canada, seeing limited time behind Andrei Vasilevski, drafted this past year by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

If both tenders make it to the roster this year – expect Makarov to have limited exposure to the ice again this year, as not only did Vasievski lead team Russia to Silver in Canada, he is currently playing in Ufa, Russia in their top minor league system.

Andrey Makarov the goaltender should not be confused with Andrey Makarov the Russian born race-walker who competed internationaly for Belarus.