The Buffalo Sabres have a plethora of AHL prospects ready to prove themselves in training camp and earn a spot on the main roster
The Buffalo Sabres remain a team in transition. And given that transition, they will continue to get younger come October 2022.
However, it’s likely the Sabres, since they won more than they lost over much of their second half of the season, will simultaneously get younger and better. They are no longer rebuilding, but reinforcing.
Although they are still not relevant enough of a franchise to attract a big name free agent or free agents, they don’t need to worry about adding anyone. The organization has plenty of viable AHL prospects looking to step up and contribute to the team’s top scoring lines.
The Sabres, however, have much of the stage set for next season. Their projected lines look like this:
- First Line: Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch
- Second Line: Peyton Krebs, Dylan Cozens
- Third Line: Rasmus Asplund, Kyle Okposo
- Fourth Line: Zemgus Girgensons, Casey Mittelstadt
- First Pairing: Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power
- Second Pairing: Mattias Samuelsson, Henri Jokiharju
- Third Pairing: Casey Fitzgerald
Ideally, the Sabres bring back Restricted Free Agents (RFA) Victor Olofsson and Jacob Bryson. Note, that I did not include any pending Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA). So, carrying over into next season, barring trades, what you see above is what the lineups might look like.
I placed the three top scoring forward on the first line. But if Olofsson re-signs, he may supplant Tuch, who will then migrate to the second line. Krebs and Cozens were productive enough offensively to generate an early projection for the second line.
Okposo has been a revelation this season and he can easily stick around on the third line. Asplund does not produce well offensively but he possesses a better defensive game, which makes him valuable on the lower lines.
Girgensons is good with puck control and he improved his face-off performances this season, making him an ideal fourth-liner. The only player I have a tough time deciphering is Mittelstadt. So for now, he’s projected on the fourth.
The defensive pairings feature two top overall picks out front, with two players of opposite styles on the second. Casey Fitzgerald is ideal on the third pairing, but Jacob Bryson is another RFA. Colin Miller, Will Butcher and Mark Pysyk are UFAs.
So, as you can see, there are holes, albeit fewer of them. So which AHL prospects will best fill the roster? Keep reading for more.