Buffalo Sabres Prospects: Top 3 stars from the Amerks playoff run

The Rochester Americans fell to the Hershey Bears in what was a 1-0 thriller. And it concluded a remarkable run for several Buffalo Sabres prospects.

Last night, I stated Jiri Kulich was the top prospect for the Rochester Americans. Without him, I’m not sure the Amerks would have even enjoyed their series sweep against the Toronto Marlies because I highly doubt they’d have gotten past the Syracuse Crunch. It just goes to show you how valuable Kulich was to the Amerks not only during the playoffs, but also in the regular season, as he became a goal-scoring machine.

Therefore, Kulich more than deserved the First Star in my book. But who else impressed enough to snag the Second and Third Stars? One individual is an older player who the Sabres should do everything in their power to retain for next season. The other is someone who became a familiar face to fans.

Veteran goaltender Malcolm Subban earns our Second Star

While Malcolm Subban only finished the postseason with an 8-6 record, he excelled in numerous outings, at times single-handedly keeping the Amerks in games. He played in all 14 contests and logged 843 minutes of ice time, leaving the game only when Rochester needed to pull their goaltender.

Subban ended up with 395 saves, or 28.2 per game. He posted a save percentage of 0.916, and a GAA of just 2.56, along with a shutout. Expect the Blue and Gold to try and talk Subban into returning, but his performance likely put a few NHL teams on notice.

Buffalo Sabres brewing fan favorite earns the Third Star

Lukas Rousek doesn’t take many shots. In fact, he logged just 11 shots on goal in 14 playoff games. But few are better at making smart decisions with the puck, as he boasted a shooting percentage of 45.4%, meaning five of those 11 shots found twine.

Rousek’s efforts during the regular season and the postseason will make him yet another front runner, along with Kulich and Isak Rosen (who also enjoyed a productive postseason) to try and sneak their way onto the Buffalo Sabres lineup in training camp.

(Statistics provided by theAHL.com)