The Devon Levi hype continues for the Buffalo Sabres fanbase

BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 13: Devon Levi #1 of the Northeastern Huskies makes a save during a game against the Harvard Crimson during NCAA hockey in the championship game of the annual Beanpot Hockey Tournament at TD Garden on February 13, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. The game officially ended in a 2-2 tie with the Huskies winning the shootout 1-0 to capture the title. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 13: Devon Levi #1 of the Northeastern Huskies makes a save during a game against the Harvard Crimson during NCAA hockey in the championship game of the annual Beanpot Hockey Tournament at TD Garden on February 13, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. The game officially ended in a 2-2 tie with the Huskies winning the shootout 1-0 to capture the title. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)

After his legendary performance in the Beanpot Championship, Buffalo Sabres prospect Devon Levi continues to excite the starved fanbase. 

I stand by what I said last week: It’s premature to believe Devon Levi will jump straight to the NHL and start winning games for the Buffalo Sabres. It naturally takes goaltenders longer to develop, and Levi will be no exception to that mantra.

But I will concede and claim that Levi will require a shorter, but not much shorter, learning curve. When he signs with the Sabres, expect them to play him almost-exclusively in the AHL, calling him up to the NHL only if it’s necessary.

At this point, there is no need to rush him. Let the former seventh-round pick play out the rest of the season at Northeastern, maybe give him a trial run in the NHL if the Sabres fall out of contention when he signs, but let him keep captivating you next season with the Rochester Americans.

Devon Levi is giving Buffalo Sabres fans hope

So what’s the latest deal with Devon Levi? His performance on Monday night has drawn praise from across the NHL universe. This past Friday, he logged 54 saves vs. Providence before coming up big in the Beatpot Championship with 32 saves in a shootout win.

Levi, who is 14-9-5 on the year, has a 2.32 GAA and a 0.930 save percentage. Ironically, he is not performing as well this season as he did last year, where he had a ridiculous 0.952 save percentage and a 1.54 GAA.

But the Beanpot Tournament MVP and 2022 recipient of the Mark Richter Trophy remains arguably the NCAA’s best goaltender. So overall, it won’t be long until Levi’s tearing it up at the NHL level.

Let’s just make sure he’s fully ready to take on and beat the other 31 teams beforehand. Let him duplicate his college hockey success in the AHL, and in perhaps 2024-25, you will see a lot of him in the NHL.

(Statistics provided by Elite-Prospects)

Article Source: NHL Prospect Roundup: Buffalo Sabres’ Devon Levi continues to dominate by Steven Ellis

Article Source: Sabres notebook: Another practice with line changes, power-play work by Lance Lysowski

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