Buffalo Sabres: Ranking the top five defensemen in Rochester

The Buffalo Sabres are deeper at defenseman than you think. Both at the NHL level and the AHL level. So who sits at Number One?

For this article, I am not going to include Owen Power although he is technically still a prospect. However, barring some unforeseen tank job, Power is slated to go full-time with the Buffalo Sabres, and this post only has to do with those with better odds of starting the season with the Rochester Americans.

So who will most likely end up in Buffalo for the 2022-23 NHL Season? Here are my projected lines:

Pairing #1: Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin

Pairing #2: Owen Power – Henri Jokiharju

Pairing #3: Jacob Bryson – Ilya Lyubushkin

Rotational: Casey Fitzgerald

While Fitzgerald can easily end up starting the year in Rochester, I believe his best bet is to remain in Buffalo. Fitzgerald gave the Sabres a physical presence, and chances are he can do the same this season, even with Samuelsson likely to go full-time with Lyubushkin also joining in – two other physical specimens.

So where does that leave the rest in the pecking order over in Rochester? Let’s find out.

Ranking the top five AHL defensemen for the Buffalo Sabres – Defenseman #5: Oskari Laaksonen

I was a big fan of Laaksonen last season and he played so well that when injuries and COVID hit the Buffalo Sabres, he became part of their taxi squad. Laaksonen has played well on offense since he arrived in Rochester during the 2020-21 AHL Season, appearing in 99 games and putting up 51 points, seven goals, and 44 assists.

Laaksonen, however, did not enjoy preferred status for long, as he saw time in just two of the Americans 10 playoff games, recording an assist in the process. One reason is that Laaksonen’s defensive skills remain null, and heading into his third season, it is make-it-or-break it.

He should be higher on this list, but he isn’t because of the lack of faith the Amerks showed in him over the latter stage of the season. Laaksonen can eventually sneak his way onto an NHL roster, whether it’s in Buffalo or somewhere else. But he needs to hone his defensive skills if he is interested in taking that next step.

Jeremy Davies

The highlight so far of Davies’ time with the Buffalo Sabres organization was probably his jaunt to Staples to buy a printer so he could sign his contract. But he may provide a few more highlights in both the AHL and NHL, if he is needed for the latter.

Last season, Davies continued to show off his ability to score during a 54-game stint with the Milwaukee Admirals, knocking down 31 points, six goals, and 25 assists in 54 games. Davies had an additional two points in six games (no goals) for the Nashville Predators.

Like Priskie, Davies mainly saw time on the taxi squad down in Nashville, but he does have 22 NHL games and 314 minutes of total ice time on his resume. Over those 22 games, Davies has three points, three assists, eight blocks, 16 hits, five takeaways, and 16 giveaways.

Davies does have more NHL experience than Priskie. So unless the latter outperforms Davies in camp and during the 2022-23 AHL Season, I would expect Davies to be the favorite to get the call-up to the next level if necessary. But he will remain behind the last two players on our list.

Kale Clague

The Buffalo Sabres signed three young defensemen early in free agency: Priskie, Davies, and Kale Clague. He has 58 games of NHL experience, with 16 points and two goals to go along with it. Last season, Clague was a part-time player for both the Los Angeles Kings and Montreal Canadiens, appearing in 36 total games.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Clague snuck his way onto the Sabres roster following a solid training camp, but he would need to outperform Casey Fitzgerald and Jacob Bryson to snag a spot on the third line. And that will be no simple task.

Clague struggled with puck security last season, averaging nearly one giveaway per game – 35 total. His possession metrics were also forgettable. Overall, Clague would need an outstanding training camp and continue that dominance into the regular season if he’d rather stick to the Sabres roster.

The more likely scenario is that he sees extended time in the AHL. in which he played in just five games last season, scoring four assists with the Ontario Reign. He also scored 12 points and a goal with the Reign in 2020-21 over 23 games.

Lawrence Pilut

Everyone in Buffalo Sabres nation was glad to see the triumphant return of Lawrence Pilut, who spent two seasons in the KHL. Pilut has 46 games of NHL experience and he could end up becoming a staple on the Sabres third pairing this season as opposed to spending time on Rochester’s first pairing if he outperforms Bryson and Fitzgerald in camp.

But, Pilut is also returning to a much different Sabres team than what he had seen between 2018 and 2020. And while some of his possession metrics weren’t encouraging, his on-ice save percentage (oiSV%) sat at 0.917. Pilut was also good at placing himself in prime position for blocks, and recorded 52 of them at the NHL level.

Overall, I would see Pilut as a great addition either to the Sabres rotation or the top pairing in Rochester. His play wasn’t the greatest in the NHL, but he is a seasoned veteran after having played 97 games in the KHL, where he logged 39 points, seven goals, and 32 assists.

Will Pilut or any of the players listed above see time in the NHL? Clague and Pilut have the best chances of doing so, but ideally, the duo would hop into the rotation on the third pairing if they donned the blue and gold, rotating in and out with Fitzgerald and Bryson. We will see once training camp and the preseason begin in September.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference, Elite Prospects, and Hockey DB)