Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The biggest takeaway I took from the Buffalo Sabres' 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens in the Sabres Prospects Challenge was Michael Peca was absolutely right about Tyson Kozak.
The 2021 seventh-round pick scored two goals for Buffalo in the win, but his defensive effort was probably better.
After development camp, Peca couldn’t believe what he was seeing from Kozak.
"Watching him out there, you'd think he went in the top-three rounds. The kid's impressive," said Peca. "He's quiet, he's unassuming, but he's a real hockey player. He does everything right on the ice."
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Kozak’s first goal gave the Sabres their first lead of the game in the second period, and it was one of those dirty goals. Kozak went to the net, screened the goalie and tipped in a Mats Lindgren shot.
A great individual effort put the game away early in the third when Kozak went hard to the neutral zone, battled hard, took the puck away and came in down the left wing side.
“It’s a fearless goal, because he took it to the back post," said head coach Seth Appert following Thursday's win. "A lot of young players are going to settle for the snap shot on the short side. They’re not going to take that puck to the back post, because it’s big boy hockey. Sometimes you take pucks to the back post and you get lit up. I had no doubt that he was going to take that thing to the back post.”
Just like Peca, Appert makes it sound like there’s a future in the NHL for Kozak.
“He just has a lot of bite, a lot of substance," he said. "He wins puck battles, he can win faceoffs. He’s a very useful hockey player.”
Another player I liked was 2021 first-round pick Isak Rosen. After drafting Rosen, the Sabres made it sound like they had an extremely skilled, scrawny player that was going to get pushed all over the arena, but show very nifty skills in the offensive zone.
I definitely saw the skilled player on Thursday, but I saw a guy who works very hard, a guy who hustled back more than once to break up outnumbered rushes the other way, and a guy who is fast, forechecks well and creates offense. Rosen had an assist, but it was a play in the final five seconds of the game that showed me what he has burning inside of him.
With less than five seconds left in regulation time and the Sabres nursing a one-goal lead, Rosen flew out to the left point and sacrificed his body to block a heavy shot to help win the game.
That took guts, and I’ll guarantee you every Sabres player in that building took notice.
Appert had a glowing review of this year’s ninth overall pick, Matt Savoie. I thought Savoie was trying to force things early, and as the second period rolled on, he looked fatigued. I wouldn’t fault him, because he’s been rehabbing a shoulder injury.
Once the third period started, Josh Bloom left the game holding his left shoulder and Appert double shifted Savoie. It became very clear quickly he wasn’t fatigued.
I thought Savoie's game improved immensely, and the more Appert used him, the better he got. He played on the wing on one line and then centered his own line.
Linus Weissbach made a gorgeous pass that led to Buffalo’s first goal, and he looked like a guy who has played a year in pro hockey. I liked him with and away from the puck.
During last year’s Calder Cup Playoffs, Appert benched defenseman Oksari Laaksonen until very late in the postseason. Laaksonen just wasn’t improving in the defensive part of his game and it showed.
In this game on Thursday, Laaksonen looked like he came to camp with a new attitude. I thought, for the most part, his defensive game was good in this one. This is an absolute make-or-break year for the defenseman.
Beck Warm was invited to play this tournament after spending most of last season in the ECHL. Warm held Buffalo in the game, making many great saves thanks to solid positioning. Warm played 30:22 and stopped 24 of 26 shots.
Warm’s work earned him the third star of the game.
Tomas Suchanek also did well in his 29:38 in net, making 15 saves on 16 shots faced.
Buffalo will practice on Friday and then play the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Join me and Brian Koziol for all the play-by-play action starting at 7 p.m. ET on WGR Sports Radio 550.
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***Photo: Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres)
