Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres are entering their second phase of training camp with fewer players.
Many have already been sent down to the Americans this weekend, with a few more players needing to clear waivers for the purpose of assignment to Rochester. The Amerks will start their training camp on Monday.
Buffalo still has 10 defensemen on the roster, as 2019 first-round pick Ryan Johnson has performed well enough in camp and in the preseason games to continue getting a look.
Up front, 2022 first-round pick Matt Savoie may be able to re-join the team later this week after dealing with an injury suffered during the Sabres Prospects Challenge.
This year’s first-round pick Zach Benson has been fantastic since being drafted 13th overall back in June. This includes his play during Development Camp, the Sabres Prospects Challenge, training camp and in the preseason games.
The way he thinks the game is quite a bit more mature than other 18-year-olds.
After the Sabres fell beind to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, Benson scored the game-winning goal on the power play in the third period.
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Playing with Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson for most of training camp, Benson has two goals and two assists in four games played. There’s no question his talent and his savvy would put him on the team as a rookie.
The only question, in my mind, is can he hold up physically in the NHL against men at such a young age?
If Benson could make the team, Sabres head coach Don Granato could keep him with Thompson and Skinner, freeing up Alex Tuch to play with either Dylan Cozens or Casey Mittelstadt.
I think Peyton Krebs centering Tuch and Mittelstadt would be an interesting line.
Or course, there’s still a long way to go before the roster has to be settled on Monday, Oct. 9.
When it comes to goaltending, Devon Levi is the No. 1 goaltender, but who will be the backup? In addition, will the team keep three goalies again?
If they do keep three goalies, it’ll make it close to impossible to keep Benson in Buffalo, even for nine games before the team would have to burn Year 1 of his entry-level contract.
If you go by performance, Eric Comrie has the early lead for the No. 2 spot. However, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen still hasn’t played a full game, which likely will come Wednesday in Columbus.
Goalie is the one position where I’m not sure preseason plays all that much into it. Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has been very clear he’s not ready to give up on a 24-year-old goaltender, but Luukkonen has to get better when it comes to breakaways and keeping his team in games.
In last Wednesday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, his team was playing poorly, but the score was tied at 1-1. The Leafs got a shorthanded goal on a breakaway, and just over a minute later, Max Domi got another breakaway coming out of the penalty box to make it 3-1.
Luukkonen has to be able to make a big save for his team. He can’t allow a 1-1 game become a 3-1 game with his team on the power play.
You can’t have a goalie where your only chance to win a shootout is if the opponent misses the net. You give away too many points that way.
Luukkonen is a very capable goalie, and there were stretches last season where he showed us that. However, without some consistency, he’s never going to be a NHL goaltender.
Many are already saying how great Johnson is and want to rush him right into the NHL. Don’t forget, preseason games are against some NHL players, some AHL players, some junior players and even some ECHL players. Nobody has faced a full NHL lineup yet, and that needs to be taken into account.
The Sabres had Sunday off and traveled to Orchard Park to take in the Buffalo Bills game against the Miami Dolphins. They already had been to one Bills game, as captain Kyle Okposo organized a trip to New Jersey to see the Bills take on the New York Jets in Week 1.
