If the NHL preseason showed us anything, it’s that for one, the Sabres won games they should have won, winning big against some B-squads, and two, they showed how far their prospects pool had come, given its dominance through most of the games that supposedly don’t matter.
They don’t matter in terms of a team’s points total, but they give us insights on who might just impress in the minor leagues. And there are three players I’ll have my eye on after the Blue and Gold loaned quite a few prospects to the AHL’s Rochester Americans for what should be an exciting season.
Noah Ostlund
While Jiri Kulich got an extended look with the big club, Noah Ostlund, the other 2022 first-round pick still with the organization, will play his first full professional season in North America. When the Sabres drafted Ostlund, “playmaker” was the best adjective to describe him and his playing style, and it was something we saw often in international play last season - 11 assists and 17 points in 12 games.
Ostlund played a portion of the 2023-24 season in Rochester, appearing in five regular and postseason matchups with two points to show for it. During his first full-time campaign in the SHL with Vaxjo, he finished with 12 goals and 23 points in 38 regular season contests, or 0.605 points per game.
Overall, I’m looking for Ostlund to put up similar numbers this season and break out in 2025-26. But in the meantime, his versatility should allow him to fit in as a center and winger, and his playmaking ability should become more evident as time passes.
Vsevolod Komarov
I’m not going to lie: I have been waiting, waiting, and waiting for Vsevolod Komarov to finally get a taste of professional hockey. Yeah, he’s a former fifth-round pick, and I get it when fans scoff at such late-round selections.
But he held his own in the preseason, and he scored like a forward despite being a blueliner during his junior hockey days. Last season, Komarov saw time in 60 QMJHL games and put up 69 points and 14 goals before he turned around and scored another five goals and 15 points in 19 playoff games.
Sure, he was part of an excellent Drummondville Voltigeurs team, but he was one of the main drivers behind their success. He’ll need at least a year to figure out the pro game, but very few rookies in the AHL should be more fun to watch.
Konsta Helenius
Because who else am I going to put here? Okay, there were some honorable mentions like Nikita Novikov and Anton Wahlberg, but few may figure things out better in their first season in North America than Konsta Helenius. This was a player I praised the Blue and Gold for drafting, and for good reason.
He didn’t look like a young player last season in Liiga when he took the ice for Jukurit, where he scored 14 goals and 36 points across 51 regular season contests. He’ll have his struggles in Rochester, just as I felt he was up and down during the preseason, though his overtime goal to end the preseason certainly helped.
Once Helenius gets more of a feel for pro hockey in North America, he should evolve into one of the Amerks top points producers.