Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn were the first two selections of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2020 NHL Draft. Quinn went eighth overall in Round 1, while the Sabres traded up in the second round with the San Jose Sharks to take Peterka at No. 34.
In 77 games, Quinn has scored 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points. In 79 games for Peterka, he has 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points.
After last season ended, both players went on to play at the World Championship. Quinn suited up for Team Canada, while Peterka represented his home nation of Germany.
Although Quinn performed well with seven points (2+5) in 10 games played for the Canadians, Peterka was phenomenal with six goals and six assists for 12 points in 10 games. He ended up being selected as the tournament’s Best Forward.
Sabres head coach Don Granato felt playing at the tournament helped Peterka's overall development.
"That’s a great experience for every young player to go to the World Championships. They get out of the NHL season, they get a couple of weeks to heal, and then they go to a tournament that’s a festive environment with a bigger ice sheet, which is a little more forgiving than the NHL season," said Granato following Tuesday's practice. "They can actually see they didn’t regress, because sometimes in an NHL season, you feel like you didn’t get any better and you’re just surviving. But when you get to the Worlds, you get to see how much better you’ve become, because sometimes you forget that."
Playing at the World Championship helped forward Dylan Cozens' confidence in 2022, and Peterka says the same happened for him in 2023.
"I think a lot. I just wanted to compete as hard as I can, and do good for my country," said Peterka following Tuesday's practice session. "Getting that award felt good, but it even felt better when we placed second as a team, because it was unexpected. Just to have that experience is unreal."
If you ask Granato where Peterka improved in his rookie season, I think you’ll be surprised to hear his answer.
"I think it’s the offseason, because you have time to step back and look at things. You gain another perspective that you don’t get in the rapid amount of games and stress during the regular season," Granato explained.
Granato added a young player's mind gets spinning through the year, and it tends to turn into information overload.
"You’ve got all these lessons and all these experiences, but you have no time to reflect on it," he said. "You know what its like to play in other arenas, you know the hardships of, 'I was told this, now I’ve experienced this.'
"When these players come back at JJ’s young age (21), you see immense spurts and maturity, primarily because of hindsight that they never had in their hockey life."
Peterka felt the ups-and-downs of last season, and believes he has learned from them.
"It was a huge process from Game 1 to Game 82, and I was expecting that going into the season," Peterka said. "There were going to be good games and bad games, but the goal this year is to be more consistent every night."
When he was playing in his first year in North American two seasons ago with the Rochester Americans, Peterka learned the grind of professional hockey. He now knows what to expect over the course of a long season.
The combination of Peterka, Quinn and Cozens turned into a very good line in the back half of the 2022-23 season, but now Quinn is out until around Christmas with an Achilles injury. Peterka was heartbroken for his friend when he heard the news.
"I called him right away, and it’s pretty sad, because we were building some good chemistry the last two years," Peterka said. "He’s a good friend of mine too, so hearing that wasn’t good."
Cozens is only 22-years-old, which means he’s the old veteran of the line. Peterka says he was able to learn a lot from his center last season.
"It’s how he prepares himself for games, how hard he works on and off the ice, and how well he reads the game," he said of the 2019 first-round pick. "Having a guy like him on the line is just a huge advantage."
Nobody has really stepped up yet to play in Quinn’s place, so for the last few practices, it's been veteran Victor Olofsson.
The Sabres have a group that works hard in the offseason, because they don’t want to let each other down.
"I worked a lot on my shot this last offseason and my finishing overall, because I think there were a lot of situations last year where I got in front of the net, but couldn’t finish," Peterka said. "That was one of the biggest keys when I went to the offseason."
Buffalo worked on the power play on Tuesday and if you want to read the tea leaves, here's a look at how the lined up:
PP1: Skinner – Tuch – Benson – Thompson – Dahlin
PP2: Mittelstadt – Olofsson – Cozens – Greenway – Power
PP3: Okposo – Krebs – Peterka – Kulich - Power
The Sabres have released their roster for Wednesday’s preseason game in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be in net for the Sabres, and is expected to get the whole game in the crease.
Meanwhile, both Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton will get their first action as members of the Sabres. They were both signed as free agents this offseason.
