Rochester, N.Y. (WGR 550) - This wasn’t the rookie season of professional hockey that goalie Devon Levi had thought he was going to have.
Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams was convinced that Levi could be the first goaltender ever to jump right from college hockey to the NHL. He showed it right after he signed Levi out of Northeastern University on March 17, 2023.
Buffalo was in the middle of a playoff race, and Levi was thrown right in, playing seven games. He went 5-2-0 with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.
Those numbers aren’t particularly strong, but Adams doubled down going into this season with Levi as Buffalo’s No. 1 goalie.
It failed right from the start, as Levi played the first four games before getting injured, going 1-3-0 with a 3.26 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage. It didn’t get that much better when he came back, as the 22-year-old gave up four-or-more goals in nine starts before Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen earned the net.
It was soon after when Adams finally realized that Levi needed to play and go to the Rochester Americans.
Levi didn’t pout about the decision, rather he made the Amerks his team and led them from almost being out of the playoffs to a tie for first place in the North Division.
In the NHL, Levi went 10-8-2 with a 3.10 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage. In Rochester, he went 16-6-4 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.
He then led the Amerks into the playoffs, and almost stole them a series against the Syracuse Crunch.
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Rochester had one more point than the Crunch in the regular season, but Syracuse was the better team in much of the best-of-5 series. It was Levi who gave the Amerks a chance to win and advance.
Levi made 60 saves in a double overtime loss in Game 3 that saw the shots 62-34 in favor of the Crunch. Overall, he posted a .923 save percentage, and solved much of the chaos that was around him.
Levi, of course was sad that his team's playoff run was over.
"We’re proud as a group, but the hardest thing is I’m going to miss everyone," said Levi following Friday's loss in Game 5.
Levi had a great attitude with how the season went. He had the right frame of mind getting into the net down in Rochester.
"It’s been great. I learned so much about myself, about my teammates, about the game, being a pro. It was a pleasure being here, and with all my heart, it was an unbelievable segment of my life playing here," Levi recollected.
"This year has been a lot of chaos, and my time in Rochester has been nothing but amazing. It was a calm in the storm."
Levi admitted didn’t have a lot of expectations when he arrived in Rochester.
"I just came in and was ready to do my job, and stop the puck," he said. "I didn’t think it would be this fun. It was one of the most fun things that I’ve ever played for.
"I came in with more of a professional mindset. Do my job, focus on my game, and give the team the best chance. But I think it became more than that. It became more of, 'Do it for the guys.' With that bond, a lot of us share a love for each other, and everyone was a great teammate. We’ll be teammates for the rest of our lives."
Levi will likely be teammates in Buffalo with a number of players currently in Rochester like defenseman Ryan Johnson and winger Jiri Kulich. He might be teammates at some point with players like wingers Isak Rosen and Lukas Rousek, as well as defenseman Nikita Novikov in Buffalo.
At the end of this season in Rochester, Levi also spent a short time with the likes of Noah Ostlund and Anton Wahlberg, who will both eventually be NHL players.
Of course Levi wants to play in the NHL, and his AHL days are likely over. However, he says he’s glad it happened.
"I wouldn’t give it up for anything," Levi said. "I had so much fun here, and I learned so much. You don’t know what happens if this doesn’t happen, but it did happen and I’m super grateful that I got to play here. I made some unbelievable friends that I’ll be friends with for a long, long time."
Levi got to play 54 professional games this season, while Luukkonen played 54 for the Sabres. As far as two young goalies, for them both to get 54 games is a plus for the organization.
Levi says he took away many lessons from his first full year as a professional.
"How to be a professional goalie. Coming from college and playing a little bit last year in Buffalo, it was a sample size. But I got a full year this year, and I haven’t fully digested it yet," Levi admitted. "I have the summer to look back on it, but I learned so much about myself on what it takes to have success at this level."
The Boston Bruins had two NHL goalies that played all year and it worked well for them. Jeremy Swayman played 44 regular season games, while Linus Ullmark played 40.
That’s a recipe I could see happening for the Sabres next season under returning head coach Lindy Ruff.
