Apr 12, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Minnesota Gophers forward Hudson Fasching (24) shoots as Union Dutchmen forward Nick Cruice (8) defends during the first period in the championship game of the Frozen Four college ice hockey tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
The Buffalo Sabres are struggling this season. Obvious statement is obvious, right? Down in the AHL, the Rochester Americans are 10 points out of a playoff spot. The Elmira Jackals are seventh in their conference.
But what about those prospects of the Buffalo Sabres playing in lower leagues, or overseas? How about guys like Sam Reinhart with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice, or Justin Bailey with the Soo Greyhounds? How’s Linus Ullmark doing overseas in Sweden? How about guys like J.T. Compher, playing college hockey?
Always good to keep an eye on the prospects — here’s an update on just how those guys, plus all the other Buffalo Sabres prospects, are doing with their respective teams. Broken down by position, here they are.
(Photo: Melissa Kania)
BUFFALO SABRES RIGHT WING PROSPECTS
Justin Bailey (SSM) is tied for 12th in Ontario Hockey League scoring with 67 points in 53 total games. Bailey, 19, has 14 points in 18 games with the Greyhounds since being traded from Kitchener in January. He’s currently on a five-game point streak.
Nicholas Baptiste is sixth on his team, the Erie Otters, with 42 points in 40 games this season. That includes 31 points in 28 games with Erie since being traded from the Sudbury Wolves. Baptiste’s stat line includes 11 power play goals.
Hudson Fasching has 15 points in 27 games with the University of Minnesota. That includes eight goals and seven assists, along with 16 penalty minutes and a plus-10.
Christian Isackson, 23, also plays with the University of Minnesota. He has five points (2-3) and 15 penalty minutes in 28 games this season.
Vaclav Karabacek is the Buffalo Sabres’ lone right wing prospect playing in the QMJHL. He’s joined the Baie-Comeau Drakkar and has 12 points in 19 games with his new team. Overall this season, Karabacek has 37 points in 50 games between Baie-Comeau and Gatineau.
Victor Olofsson is now playing overseas with Timra IK of SWE-1. He has two points – both goals – in four games with the team. He also has 18 points in 37 games with MODO Hockey Ornskoldsvik of the Swedish Hockey League.
Finally, Gustav Possler has 20 points, including nine goals, in 41 games with MODO Hockey Ornskoldsvik this season.
Oct 14, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Buffalo Sabres forward Sam Reinhart (23) before the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Buffalo Sabres defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
BUFFALO SABRES CENTER PROSPECTS
The Buffalo Sabres have a host of prospect centers playing below the AHL/ECHL level right now, starting off with Green Bay Gamblers forward Christopher Brown. Brown has 30 points (13-17) in 40 games with the USHL club. He also has 22 penalty minutes and is overall a minus-5 on the year.
Perhaps the most notable Buffalo Sabres prospect is, of course, Sam Reinhart, playing with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice. Reinhart has registered 45 points (13-32) in 33 games since returning to Kootenay from Buffalo, good for fourth overall on the team in scoring.
Live Feed class=inline-text id=inline-text-4Should the NHL make referees give postgame interviews? /
Eric Cornel, a Peterborough native playing for his hometown Petes in the OHL, has 44 points in 52 games. Cornel’s year includes 13 goals and 31 assists, plus 33 penalty minutes.
Notre Dame center Connor Hurley has 12 points in 31 games. He has three goals and nine assists, as well as four penalty minutes.
West Seneca native Sean Malone is playing college hockey for Harvard. He has nine points in eight games. Malone has registered four goals, five assists and six penalty minutes.
Brad Navin has five points, 16 penalty minutes and a minus-18 in 26 games with the University of Wisconsin.
Judd Peterson has five points (3-2) and 18 penalty minutes in 28 games with St. Cloud State.
Finally, Maxwell Willman has registered two points and racked up 10 penalty minutes in 24 games with Brown University. This is his first year playing college hockey.
(Photo: Melissa Kania)
BUFFALO SABRES LEFT WING PROSPECTS
One position where the Buffalo Sabres don’t have many prospects playing below the AHL and ECHL is at left wing. The Sabres have just two prospects in the system at this position: J.T. Compher and Jean Dupuy.
Compher, 19, was drafted 35th overall by the Sabres in 2013. He’s currently playing in his second season with the University of Michigan.
This year, Compher has registered four goals and nine assists for a total of 13 points in 24 games. He’s also managed to rack up 34 penalty minutes.
Meanwhile, Dupuy, 20, is playing with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. He has 36 points and an outstanding plus-32 in 43 games with Soo this year. That includes 12 goals and 24 assists, as well as 44 penalty minutes.
Dupuy was signed by the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent in November 2014.
Photo via 5of7 / Flickr
BUFFALO SABRES DEFENSIVE PROSPECTS
The Buffalo Sabres currently have three defensive prospects playing below the AHL and ECHL levels, including a pair of blueliners playing for Providence College.
Both Mark Adams and Anthony Florentino are playing for Providence, while Brycen Martin is suiting up for the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League.
Adams, 23, was drafted 134th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2009. This is his fifth season playing college hockey for Providence. This season, he’s registered a plus-6 and three points (1-2) in 23 games. He also has 18 penalty minutes.
Florentino, 20, was drafted 143rd overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2013. In his second season with the college, Florentino has a plus-12 and 11 points in 29 games. He has nine assists on the season and also has registered 17 penalty minutes.
Finally, Brycen Martin has 20 points (4-16) in 17 games with the Saskatoon Blades since his eventual trade there from the Swift Current Broncos. Overall, the 18-year-old has 36 points (6-30) in 56 WHL games this season.
(Photo: Melissa Kania)
BUFFALO SABRES GOALTENDING PROSPECTS
Finally, the Buffalo Sabres have four goaltending prospects playing below the AHL level.
Start things off with 19-year-old Sweden native Jonas Johansson. He’s split this year between Brynas IF Gavle (SweHL) and Almtuna IS (SWE-1).
With Brynas, Johansson has an 0-2-0 record, 6.30 GAA and .843 save percentage in 105 minutes played. (Obviously a small sample size.) With Almtuna, he’s 2-3-0 and has a 2.86 GAA, with 14 GA on 127 shots faced.
The newest goaltending prospect for the Buffalo Sabres is 22-year-old Jason Kasdorf, acquired via trade from the Winnipeg Jets. Kasdorf is currently playing for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has a record of 9-15-0, 3.06 GAA and .896 save percentage.
There’s also Cal Petersen, playing in his first season of college hockey with Notre Dame. Petersen has an 8-12-2 record and a 2.52 GAA. He has recorded three shutouts and played over 1200 minutes.
Finally, playing overseas is netminder Linus Ullmark (pictured above from the Buffalo Sabres 2012 development camp). Ullmark has played in 30 games for MODO Hockey Ornskoldsvik this season, registering an overall 11-17-0 record. He has a 3.02 GAA and .910 save percentage in 1,707 minutes played.
