Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) – With Tyson Kozak possibly out for the rest of the NHL season with hip strain, Noah Ostlund has been called up from Rochester.
The 21-year-old has been on fire with the Amerks scoring nine goals and five assists for 14 points in March. Those 11 games earned him AHL Rookie of the Month honors. He was also AHL Player of the Week near the end of March.
Ostlund was in the locker-room after Wednesday’s game and Amerks coach Mike Leone announced it to the room. Ostlund said,
“I got so happy and excited, it’s something I worked for my whole life, so it’s cool.”
Ostlund missed 21 games earlier this season when he had surgery on his hand, but he’s back to 100%.
Overall Ostlund has 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in 44 games. This is his first taste of professional hockey in North America and he said,
“I just found my game a little bit more, I’ve been playing more with the puck and creating more every shift.”
Another part of learning for European’s is that the ice surface is smaller in North America. Ostlund said,
“It was a little bit different, but I got a taste of it last year, so I think that helped me, but of course it’s a whole different hockey.”
After Ostlund finished his season in the SHL last year, he came to play for the Amerks. He got into two regular season games and had one assist and played in three playoff games and had a goal.
Before he was drafted in 2022 he told teams that he was planning on spending two seasons playing in Sweden before he came over and he did. He said that really helped his development,
“I think just playing pro hockey I think that’s important and in Sweden if you’re a young guy you have to be reliable defensively so you're able to play.”
Ostlund said he didn’t play that well at the start and credited Rochester assistant coach Vinny Prospal with helping him a lot.
Jason Zucker broke into the NHL with the Minnesota Wild in the 2011-12 season. The 33-year-old said he’s there for Ostlund if he needs him,
“For the most part you just let them do their thing. Let them know that they can ask questions and be a part of that with you, but you don’t want to inundate them with data or give them too much stuff, the coach is already doing that, so as players you try to let him feel comfortable around the room, but ultimately kind of leave him alone.”
Ruff has been getting good reports about Ostlund. He said,
“It’s been nothing but good, the way he’s played, the way he’s defended, how well he’s operated with the puck, he’s put together a real good year down there.”
Ruff’s first exposure to Ostlund was development camp and then training camp. He said,
“I think players need that time. It’s a hardness that you have to get, and sometimes playing down there is harder than playing up here and he’s navigated that path pretty well.”
Recently they’ve had grittier type guys like Kozak and Brett Murray come up as well as Isak Rosen who is more of a threat. Ruff said,
“There’s different roles down there, we brought Kozak up and he’s been a good piece for us, so there’s different types of players for different types of opportunity, so offensively and the way he’s played with the puck, he’s been a force down there and that’s a little bit different than some of the other choices to come up.”
Ruff is going to start him between Beck Malenstyn and Sam Lafferty because Peyton Krebs has been on fire playing with Zucker and Alex Tuch and the same thing goes for Ryan McLeod in the middle for JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn.
Ruff didn’t have too much on Josh Norris or Jordan Greenway. He said,
“Both are progressing, Norris skated this morning and the plan is still to try to get both of them back in.”
On Saturday Zemgus Girgensons will get his first game back in Buffalo after signing a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.