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Buffalo Sabres Prospect Report: Jan. 14

By Melissa Kania

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Two weeks into the 2014 calendar year, it’s time for another Buffalo Sabres prospect update. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the Sabres prospects are doing in their respective leagues on their way to the NHL.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE

  • Overage defenseman Brady Austin now has 18 points (6-12) in 42 games with the London Knights. He’s a plus-25 on the season with London, who currently sits fourth in the Western Conference with 61 points.
  • Center Justin Kea is third in points scoring on the Saginaw Spirit, with 34 points in 42 games. The Sabres prospect has 15 goals and 19 assists on the season so far, including three shorthanded goals.
  • Spirit captain Eric Locke sits just below Kea, with 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 22 games this season after missing some time with injury. He’s currently averaging 1.36 points per game, and four of his 13 goals have come on special teams. Saginaw is 7th in the Western Conference with 45 points.
  • Sabres prospect Justin Bailey has notched 32 points in 42 games for the Kitchener Rangers. Bailey has 17 goals – second on the team – and 15 assists – third on the team – and is behind only rookie Nick Magyar for the scoring lead on a Rangers team that is last in the Western Conference.
  • Right winger Nicholas Baptiste has been the most productive Sabres prospect in the OHL this season. Baptiste has 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points in 41 games with the Sudbury Wolves. Nine of Baptiste’s 23 goals this season have come on special teams, including seven power play goals. Sudbury is second in the Eastern Conference.

There’s just over two months remaining in the OHL’s regular season. Right now, the team to beat is the Erie Otters, who are 34-7-2-0 and are unbeaten in regulation at home this season, sitting atop the Western Conference with 70 points. The Oshawa Generals are atop the Eastern Conference with 58 points and a record of 27-12-0-4.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE

  • Center Logan Nelson has 32 points in 35 games played with the Victoria Royals. He missed time from December 7 through the 27th with an upper body injury and has appeared in just five games since December 1. One particularly notable stat of Nelson’s is that half of his 12 goals have come on the power play.

Like the OHL, there are just over two months remaining in the WHL’s regular season. The Royals wrap things up on March 15 with everything coming to a close the next day. Victoria currently sits third in the Western Conference with a 29-15-0-2 record.

ECHL

  • Forward Jonathan Parker, since recalled by the AHL’s Rochester Americans, had eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 21 games with the Colorado Eagles.
  • Right winger Shawn Szydlowski has four points in 25 games with the Fort Wayne Komets.
  • Also with the Komets is goaltender Andrey Makarov. The Sabres prospect is 11-6-1-1 on the seaosn, with a .913 save percentage and 2.73 GAA, playing almost 1200 minutes.
  • Goaltender Connor Knapp has appeared in 16 games with the Greenville Road Warriors. Knapp is 7-7-2 on the season with a .933 save percentage and 2.32 GAA.

The ECHL’s season doesn’t end until mid-April, similar to the AHL and NHL, so there’s plenty of time for standings to shift prior to the start of playoffs.  Currently, the Komets and Road Warriors sit one point apart in the Eastern Conference, eighth and ninth, respectively. The Komets are 15-11-4-4 while the Road Warriors are 17-15-2-1.

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE

  • Forward Connor Hurley, drafted by the Sabres in 2013, is now with Green Bay of the USHL. He has five points (3-2) in six games, including a pair of game-winning goals. Hurley is committed to the University of Notre Dame.
  • Forward Judd Peterson now has 19 points in his sophomore season with Cedar Rapids. The 2012 Sabres draft pick has 12 goals and seven assists in 30 games this season, including three game-winners. Peterson is committed to St. Cloud State University.
  • Goaltender Cal Petersen has appeared in 22 games with Waterloo this season. He’s got a record of 19-2-1-1 and has a .918 save percentage and 2.43 GAA. Petersen, a 2013 pick of the Sabres, is committed to the University of Notre Dame.

INTERNATIONAL

  • Right wing Gustav Possler is third in scoring on Modo Hockey Ornskoldsvik, with 15 points (8-7) in 22 games played. Possler missed the IIHF WJCs due to lingering pain from a knee injury.
  • Goaltender Linus Ullmark has now appeared in 22 games with Ornskoldsvik this season, notching a 2.05 GAA and .932 save percentage. He’s even managed to notch an assist and has a pair of shutouts on the year.

COLLEGE

  • Left winger J.T. Compher missed the World Juniors with a broken foot, suffered just days before Team USA was set to travel overseas for the tournament. Back home, the 2013 Sabres draft pick has 15 points (6-9) in 18 games with the University of Michigan.
  • Defenseman Jake McCabe has 16 points and 20 penalty minutes in 20 games with the University of Wisconsin this year. McCabe has five goals and 11 assists.
  • Also with the Badgers is 2011 Sabres draft pick Brad Navin, who has six points (3-3) and eight penalty minutes in 20 games.
  • Defenseman Anthony Florentino now has eight points (3-5) in 18 games with Providence College.
  • Forward Christian Isackson has one goal and three assists in nine games with the University of Minnesota.
  • Center Sean Malone has three goals and six assists for nine points in 16 games with Harvard University.
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