Buffalo Sabres: 3 winners from Game 1 of the 2022 Prospects Challenge

The Buffalo Sabres prospects fell into a 2-0 hole early, but climbed out and ended up winning Game 1 of the 2022 Prospects Challenge. 

While I felt there were a lot of candidates to list below, three players in the Buffalo Sabres Prospects Challenge caught my eye from the first to the final whistle. The names you will find listed either capped off sound performances or needed to look good in front of the coaching staff after displaying some rust late last season.

So who impressed me the most in last night’s game against Montreal? Keep reading to find out.

3 Buffalo Sabres who stood out: Player #1 – Tyson Kozak

No one on the Sabres prospects had a better scoring output than Kozak, who tipped a pass from defenseman Mats Lindgren in the second and found twine. It was the first of two goals for Kozak, who also scored later when the Sabres were shorthanded to increase their lead to two.

Kozak’s last 15 months have been something you see in an inspirational sports movie. Drafted just last year in the seventh round, players like Kozak must fight with everything they got to earn recognition. And what better way than a 69-point season for the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks augmented with a strong development camp?

He signed an entry-level deal earlier in the offseason, and if Kozak plays like this during the rest of the Prospects Challenge and in Portland, expect him to see NHL ice in 2023-24 on at least a part-time basis. He is a shoo-in for Rochester next year.

Player #2 – Beck Warm and Tomas Suchanek

Warm allowed two goals in the first period, but he also didn’t get much help from his defense early. Despite the mishaps, it could have, or really should have, been much worse for Warm and the Sabres prospects during those first ten minutes. Thanks to Warm, the game didn’t get out of hand early and he ended up with a 0.916 save percentage, saving 22 of 24 shots on goal.

Tomas Suchanek played the second half of the game and had a welcome to the Buffalo Sabres moment when he took the ice during a Canadiens power play. It would be one of three power plays with Suchanek in the net, and he helped ward off all three of them, even if the third power play only lasted a minute thanks to the Canadiens committing a penalty of their own.

Suchanek ended up allowing one goal late, but like Warm, he played better than expected. We will see if the trend continues for the rest of the Prospects Challenge.

Player #3 – Oskari Laaksonen

If anyone needed a big game defensively, it was Laaksonen. And he answered the call, displaying relentless physicality every time he stepped onto the ice. During the Calder Cup Playoffs in the spring, Laaksonen rode the bench and saw action in just two games given his lack of defense.

While the Prospects Challenge, by design, intends for players like Laaksonen to look good, no other defenseman in the system needed a better start. He will face intense competition for ice time in Rochester this year, so starting things off right, even against junior hockey players and invitees, is a good place for a tune up.

Up Next…

The Sabres continue their journey through the 2022 Prospects Challenge against the New Jersey Devils prospects on Saturday, September 17th at 7:00pm following a day’s worth of Fan Fest fun. You can catch the game on the team’s social media channels, or watch it live at LECOM Harborcenter.