Buffalo Sabres Players: A Closer Look At Scott Wedgewood

The Buffalo Sabres have recalled goaltender Scott Wedgewood from the Rochester Americans due to Carter Hutton having a slight upper body injury.

Wedgewood has spent the season so far with the Rochester Americans. He has played 14 games and has amassed 8 wins, 2 shutouts, a 2.91 GAA, and a .907 Sv% in that time. Nothing spectacular, but good enough for an AHL goaltender for sure. With Carter Hutton out, Linus Ullmark will be the one to take over the crease’s starting position, but what happens if Ullmark goes down too? What if Scott Wedgewood would be called upon to start in the Buffalo crease?

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Wedgewood was acquired by the Buffalo Sabres via free agency this past offseason, but prior to his current stint with the Sabres, he played for the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes. His NHL experience only spans a grand total of 24 games, and in those he has a modest 7-10-5 record with a 3.05 GAA, and .903 Sv% including 2 shutouts. Once again, those numbers are not anything to brag about, but they are enough to get the job done this season.

Any other time I would be saying that a goaltender like Wedgewood has no place but the AHL, but as it stands, some of the better teams in the league are winning with average goaltending. For instance, Tampa Bay has been starting Louis Domingue who is 12-4-0 with a 3.07 GAA and .903 Sv%. Those numbers are nothing to boast, but they are good enough to get the job done on a good team.

Despite the 4 game skid the Buffalo Sabres are on, they still are one of the top teams in the league right now. They have the firepower up front to score, and they have the stability on the back end to shut down opposing offenses. If Wedgewood would need to start a game anytime soon, I would not be too worried about it. He is a young and technical goaltender with some decent tendencies. My biggest critique about him is that he can over commit to some plays and it catches him out of his net at unnecessary times, similar to what we dealt with in Robin Lehner last season.

While Hutton’s injury is not serious enough (we hope) to keep him out long, I still have confidence that Ullmark can step in and play well. Having Wedgewood waiting on the bench is not the best option, but its a good enough one to win a game if absolutely needed.