Sabre Noise
Fansided

Sabres: Goalie depth chart projections for 2021 NHL season

By Jacob LeBlanc

BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 11: Carter Hutton #40 of the Buffalo Sabres defends his net during the third period of play in the NHL hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on January 11, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Nicholas T. LoVerde/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 11: Carter Hutton #40 of the Buffalo Sabres defends his net during the third period of play in the NHL hockey game between the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on January 11, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Nicholas T. LoVerde/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
T CATHARINES, ON – OCTOBER 4: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen #1 of the Sudbury Wolves watches the puck during an OHL game against the Niagara IceDogs at Meridian Centre on October 4, 2018 in St Catharines, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
T CATHARINES, ON – OCTOBER 4: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen #1 of the Sudbury Wolves watches the puck during an OHL game against the Niagara IceDogs at Meridian Centre on October 4, 2018 in St Catharines, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

The Sabres have not announced their depth chart for this upcoming season yet. But with five goalies currently signed to the team, what could the depth chart look like?

The Buffalo Sabres currently have five signed goalies for the upcoming 2021 hockey season. One of which is on loan. The other four are within the Sabres organization right now and we will see between the Rochester Americans and the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres did not make any big offseason goalie acquisitions going into this season. So, we should not be expecting to see anything very different when it comes to the goalies within the organization.

But these are my personal projections for the 2021 Sabres goalie depth chart.

5. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is the only signed goalie that is currently on a loan. He is currently playing for TPS in the Liiga in Finland. He is yet to make an appearance at the NHL level, as the closest he has gotten is the Rochester Americans in the AHL.

But Luukkonen has shown some promise for sure. And at only 21 years old, he has so much time to develop. At such a young age, he already has a hefty list of awards.

He received the Red Tilson Trophy, which is the most outstanding player in the OHL. He was the first European born player to receive that award. He also was selected to the 2020 ECHL All-Star Classic as a rookie.

The future looks bright for the Sabres with Luukkonen if he continues to show improvement. I could see him starting in the AHL very soon. If he performs well, I would not be surprised to see Luukkonen as the starting goaltender in Buffalo within the next couple of seasons.

Home/Sabres News