Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Matthew Savoie played for the Winnipeg Ice of the Western Hockey League before being drafted ninth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Savoie’s head coach in Winnipeg is former Sabres defenseman and assistant coach James Patrick. Patrick also coached Sabres forward Peyton Krebs while he played in Winnipeg.
Patrick joined the "Howard and Jeremy Show" on Monday and doesn’t think the NHL will be too big for Savoie.
“He’s probably been in the hockey spotlight since he was 12-years-old. He was able to play about half our games as a 15-year-old, so I coached him as a very young player," said Patrick with Howard Simon on WGR. "He’s very low-key, modest, but he’s driven. He wants to be the best, but he doesn’t go out of his way to seek the attention.”
Don’t forget, when Savoie was playing as a 15-year-old, he was playing against 19- and 20-year-olds in the WHL.
“The noticeable thing was he could skate in our league. He’s a great skater and very explosive,” Patrick said.
If Savoie doesn’t make the Sabres in the next two years, he can’t go to the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League. He must go back to Winnipeg in the WHL.
Now fast forwarding to Savoie now as an 18-year-old, Patrick says he is as explosive as they come.
“His first three strides are as fast as you’ll see, and there’s no doubt, in my mind, that he can skate with the top players in the league," he said. "He makes plays quick, and he has really quick hands with a great shot. So he’s rounded out to be a good two-way player. He’s a player I totally trusted late in games when we had the lead.”
As I mentioned at the NHL Draft, all three of the Sabres' first-round picks say they played both center and wing.
“He played 90% of the time for me at center. I just think it’s his more natural position," Patrick said of Savoie. "It gives him more room to skate, and down the stretch, we traded for another center. So I put him at the wing with [Conor] Geekie, the other player that was drafted [by the Arizona Coyotes 11th overall], and I think in their first game, the line got about seven points. The line kept scoring, and I didn’t want to change it and we kept winning. So he probably played around 10 games on the wing and was fine. He played well.”
Many feel like the reason Savoie wasn’t drafted higher was because he’s only 5-foot-9. Patrick says he’s asked all the time if he’s big enough to play center in the NHL.
“My gut feeling is this type of player has succeeded in the NHL, and guys his size can play center now," he said.
“He’s solid, he’s a thick body that’s strong, he has a real thick base and real strong legs. He’s totally fine battling around our net, so I believe he can play center.”
Savoie will be at Sabres Development Camp this week, but it’s not known if an injury will keep him off the ice.
