Buffalo Sabres: Ranking the system’s top ten prospects

The Buffalo Sabres have a plethora of prospects to get excited about. From Owen Power to Isak Rosen, today, we are listing the top ten.

Of course, we could write a 20-plus-slided slide show on all the prospects in the Buffalo Sabres system. But, as with all professional hockey systems, only a select handful will actually earn a spot in the NHL. In today’s show, we are not predicting who will eventually become a member of the Sabres, but instead we are ranking each prospect where they currently stand.

One name you won’t see listed is Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Although he has experience and has a good chance of becoming a full-time member of the Sabres next season, he has not necessarily lived to expectations and fans are starting to question whether he will become a long-term solution in the net.

Who are the top ten prospects in the Buffalo Sabres system?

I am also ranking these players as prospects IF they spent more time playing elsewhere than in Buffalo. Therefore, the likes of Owen Power, J.J. Peterka, and Jack Quinn are listed as prospects. However, I have not listed players that are not eligible to be NHL rookies. Therefore, you will not see Peyton Krebs, Mattias Samuelsson, or Casey Fitzgerald on this list.

While I mentioned Luukkonen above, you will not see Arttu Ruotsalainen here either. This is because his current contract situation is highly unstable given the possibility he plays in Switzerland instead of North America next season.

So who met the prospect criteria for this article and made the cut? Keep reading to find out.

Prospect #10 – Aaron Huglen

Looking at Huglen’s past performances, you may think he deserves a spot much higher than this. But, he was rather pedestrian during his first season at the University of Minnesota, scoring just 16 times in 37 games. He also remains unsigned, but this isn’t exactly why he’s so low – it’s more of his inability to make the huge leap at the collegiate level last season, but that’s also expected.

However, if Huglen makes the jump this season production-wise and ends up signing with the Buffalo Sabres, he will easily climb these rankings. The versatile center/winger made things look easy during his days at Roseau High, scoring 111 times in 79 contests.

Paying for the Fargo Force in the USHL, Huglen continued his dominance, with 35 points (15 goals) in 39 games. Given his past performances, it makes perfect sense to expect a breakout year from Huglen this season. And it makes even more sense to see him hop through these rankings.

Isak Rosen

One huge advantage about the former first-round pick is that he has professional hockey experience. Rosen has played in the SHL and no, he did not look like he belonged. At least from a production standpoint. In 51 games, Rosen scored just five times, proving he is nowhere near ready to step onto the ice with men.

He is also still growing into his frame, standing at just 5’10, and a spindly 165lb. However, Rosen showed how productive he can be against players at his level, compiling 47 points in 50 games playing at the Leksands IF Jr. level. And 28 of those 47 points were goals.

Given the sample size he’s shown, don’t expect Rosen to light up the AHL in his first season. But you should expect steady improvement to the point he can potentially make his way onto the top scoring line by the end of the year. If not, look for a breakout campaign in 2023-24.

Prokhor Poltapov

Drafted 19 picks after Rosen, Poltapov clocks in ninth. However, as of June 23rd, 2022, he remains unsigned. Poltapov, like Rosen, was also a non-factor in his home country’s highest level. But he has shown growth in the MHL. Since 2020-21, Poltapov has 79 points at the MHL level in 97 contests.

While the 19-year-old’s production is not on the same level as Rosen’s was in Sweden, Poltapov was facing a larger influx of talent in the MHL and KHL. The St. Petersburg native also has a slight size advantage over Rosen, at 6’0, 176lb.

With a more mature build and tougher competition, Poltapov gets the edge here. But if Rosen shows growth at the AHL level, he can easily overtake Poltapov and skyrocket up these rankings. However, if Poltapov’s performance also improves, he may continue to pace Rosen.

Erik Portillo

We need to cut Portillo a bit of slack here because of this low ranking. It has nothing to do with performance and everything to do with vibes around Sabre Nation that Portillo ultimately will not sign with the team.

Buffalo News‘ Mike Harrington even stated Devon Levi, not Portillo, appears to be more likely to sign with the Buffalo Sabres. That said, Portillo sits at number seven. However, I do think he has a much higher ceiling than fellow prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has shown us. So he deserves to be in the top ten.

Overall, Portillo has a 35-11-1 record at the University of Michigan per Elite Prospects. During a seven-game cameo in 2020-21, he averaged a 1.67 GAA and posted a 0.935 save percentage. Last season, he started 42 games, won 31 of them, and allowed 2.14 goals per game, saving 0.926 of his shots.

Portillo could be great in the Sabres organization. But the question remains, will he join?

Ryan Johnson

Many scouts at Elite Prospects will tell you that Johnson is not the most physical defenseman. And that’s okay. The Buffalo Sabres have plenty of big hitters in the system. However, Johnson has yet to sign and his eligibility to sign with the franchise is getting to the nitty gritty, much like Portillo’s.

He’s shown flashes as a two-way player, scoring 33 times in 66 contests at the University of Minnesota over the past two seasons. Despite this, Johnson, a former first round pick, does not measure to the likes of Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. Though he would make an incredible staple on the third pairing in Buffalo within a few seasons should he sign.

Right now, the jury remains out, which is why he is still so low on the list. He also hasn’t completely honed his game at the collegiate level, and it was wise for him to return to school for another season. If Johnson ends up signing, he will move up this list next season, but let’s not expect him to burst onto the scene at the KeyBank Center any time soon if that occurs.

Devon Levi

While Devon Levi remains unsigned, many in Buffalo Sabres spheres are confident that he will sign an entry-level deal with the organization. And for a seventh-round pick in 2020 for the Florida Panthers, Levi has come a long way. Especially since general manager Kevyn Adams is intent on giving either him, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, or Erik Portillo a chance in the net.

Well, Levi has more than proven his worth with a save percentage of 0.952 while posting a 21-10-1 record. Even more impressive is the fact that he has only allowed an average of 1.54 goals per game.

If Levi has the same type of season in 2022-23, it’s only a matter of time before he signs his entry level deal with Buffalo. Unlike Portillo, Levi earned a higher spot in these rankings based on the likelihood that he will sign and continue to improve his game.

Jack Quinn

Quinn’s 61 points in 45 games (26 goals) netted him Rookie of the Year (Red Garrett Award) and All-Rookie honors in the AHL. Then he fell flat on his face in the playoffs, which is why he dropped to third in these rankings.

While many fans stressed that opponents keyed on Quinn, he still should have figured something out in 10 playoff games. Instead, he scored just two points and never quite looked like himself.

However, logistically, this is most likely an outlier, so let’s not drop him too far down in the rankings. Another reason he can’t freefall is that he has NHL experience, in which he scored twice (one goal) in two outings.

Had he not gotten hurt, we may have seen a larger sample size of Quinn. So given the production in his limited NHL experience plus the way he looked in the regular season, Quinn is, at worst, third in these rankings.

J.J. Peterka

John-Jason Peterka is 5’10, 192lb of rock-solid steel, and he looked the part during an All-Rookie season with the Rochester Americans. Peterka was so good that he even got a chance to play in two NHL games when injuries hit the Buffalo Sabres.

While many fans would put Jack Quinn in this slot, Peterka showed more consistency and durability in 2021-22, so he gets the nod. In 70 AHL games he scored 68 times (28 goals) and put up another 12 points (seven goals) in the playoffs. Yeah, 80 points in 80 games is nothing to scoff at, and Peterka was literally lights out all season long.

Like Quinn, you can expect Peterka to take the next steps and find his way onto the Sabres roster. Now, don’t expect him to light up the league. But you also shouldn’t expect him to experience immense growing pains.

He can score, but scouts have routinely said Peterka’s physical nature and tendency to fight for the puck along the boards makes him an incredible defensive-minded forward. He is also a ball of energy, so expect him to find his way onto the fourth line at worst this season. And he might just make his way to the third line.

Owen Power

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider won the Calder Trophy this season and for a rookie, his production was just incredible. We shouldn’t set the bar so high for Owen Power, but his eight-game sample size gives Buffalo Sabres fans a reason to believe.

Power is also playing for a team that’s a bit more talented this season than what Detroit was in 2021-22, so it’s not like the Sabres need to rely entirely on him. The Red Wings are building around Seider, but the Sabres don’t need to build around Power.

Therefore, expect Power to score somewhere in the range of 35 to 45 points, knocking down about 20 goals in the process. Look for him to record more than his fair share of takeaways, and you can also expect Power to sacrifice the body in blocking some would-be goals.

He will contend for the Calder Trophy. But again, the Sabres don’t need to rely on him entirely. So even if he doesn’t win the Calder outright, it won’t mean his rookie season was disappointing.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference and Elite Prospects)