JJ Peterka burst on the scene for the Sabres in 2022-23, and he’s one of very few draft picks who has only gotten better with each year. And his age-23 season was no different, as Peterka finished the year tied for second in points, behind only Tage Thompson.
Then again, is anyone even going to come close to Tage? Probably not if he keeps up his scoring prowess. But still, Peterka hasn’t been bad in the slightest throughout his evolution. While I doubt he’ll ever be a point per game player, he’s someone who will likely guarantee 65-75 points throughout an 82-game campaign year in and year out.
Grade: A - JJ Peterka more than exceeded expectations with the Sabres for the second year running. And he did that by getting better as a player whose ice time has grown into first-line minutes. If I were a Sabres fan, players like Peterka would be the standard that I would set for any general manager looking to acquire talent through the draft and develop them properly.
JJ Peterka’s 2024-25 season was nothing short of magnificent
I feel like I’m saying that a lot about the Sabres, especially since Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin both shined, albeit in different ways. Tage was the high-scoring forward, Dahlin was the playmaker on the blue line, and Peterka was the team’s best playmaking forward.
He ended the season with 68 points, 27 goals, 41 assists, and a minus-1 rating. His shooting percentage crept up to 15.6, and his 18:11 average total ice time is the new normal unless someone knocks him off the podium. Hint: It’s not happening, so forget about it.
The only real downside is that Peterka’s not a physical player, nor does he get in front of many shots on goal. His defensive play won’t get the Sabres far, and that will force the team to compensate. But still, he can produce at 5-on-5, and on the man advantage, where he scored six goals and put up 18 points total.
At even strength, he snagged a 14.3 on-ice shooting percentage, making him part of a group that created and converted a lot of opportunities. But again, his 87.0 on-ice save percentage is a concern. Still, after the growth he showed offensively, it’s hard to dock Peterka a letter grade.
What might Peterka’s season look like in 2025-26?
A 30-goal, 70-point season isn’t out of the question if Peterka suits up for 80-plus games. He’s already shown he can create chances and, if needed, finish sequences, and given the sample size of his last three seasons, I’m not expecting his production to drop any time soon. He’s one of those few Sabres you can feel completely optimistic about.
But, with better performances comes larger expectations, so we’ll see if Peterka is up to it. Some players come up big when there isn’t a ton of pressure staring them in the face, but others struggle. In what will be a pivotal 2025-26, we’ll see what kind of player Peterka will be.