Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams joined Brian Koziol and myself on Saturday for our last monthly pregame chat with him on WGR.
We covered many different things in our conversation, including Owen Power, Erik Portillo and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
However, it’s been over a week since 2019 first-round pick Ryan Johnson was eliminated from the Frozen Four Tournament with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, and there has been no word on what the 31st overall pick is going to do. He can either sign his entry-level contract with the Sabres, or stay in school for his senior season.
“He has not, at this point, made a final decision," said Adams of the 20-year-old defenseman. "We’ve had great conversations, I’ve personally talked to him, and I think everybody is excited about the prospect he is. We’ve let him know that we’re certainly comfortable with any option that he wants to take, which is turn professional or stay in school. Ultimately, it’s up to him.
“We’ve talked to him about where we see things, where we see him fitting in. We’ve talked about our younger core, and he fits in that age of players that could grow up together. We’ll see where it goes.”
It seems with Portillo and Levi not coming to play in Rochester next season, there’s a gap between the development between the young Sabres skaters and their goaltenders.
“They’re both in great situations," Adams said. "You take a step back and say, 'Where are your prospects playing? What competition is it? What’s their coaching staff like?' They play every minute of each game, basically. We weren’t surprised by their decision. I guess the takeaway, from my standpoint, is you don’t know the answer to that question until you see how it develops.”
If Portillo wants to, he can become an unrestricted free agent after next season. Many Sabres fans think he’s already made the decision and will be leaving. Adams said Portillo has not told him that he wants to go that route.
"He said the opposite, when I had a conversation with he and his father at one point," Adams said. "They actually said when you look at the National Hockey League, this looks like a great organization, in terms of the opportunity to develop into a National Hockey League goalie. So no, he’s never indicated that, and we’ll continue to do the right things with him. We’ll continue to have Shamus Kotyk lead, in terms of the conversations with them, with what they need to work on and how they need to get better.”
Another factor to think about is Portillo is very close with Power, as well as Rasmus Dahlin. Adams says that’s huge when considering his future with the organization.
“He and Owen are close, and I didn’t realize that the families know each other," he said. "The Dahlins; they had played together when they were younger kids. The parents know each other, so I’ve encouraged our players to pick up the phone and call, because when players talk to each other and Rasmus Dahlin can talk to Erik Portillo about, 'Here’s what’s going on in Buffalo and here’s why I’m excited to be part of this organization and this is something special,' that is really powerful.”
If you look at Luukkonen’s numbers in Rochester, he’s 13-13-5 with a 3.37 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage. In Buffalo, he was 2-5-2 this season with a 2.74 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
Many fans look at those numbers and don’t feel Luukkonen is a legitimate NHL prospect. Adams thinks differently about the soon-to-be 24-year-old.
“His overall game, in some ways, has been probably better than his numbers showed," Adams said. "There was a stretch where they had a decimated lineup and he’s facing a lot of shots, but he was making a lot of key saves at key times. On nights where maybe he gave up a goal or two that he didn’t like, I loved his response. So there’s a lot of good growth there, and learning the ups-and-downs is part of the journey as a goalie.”
Buffalo has one more call-up from Rochester this season, and fans want it to be Luukkonen.
“They’re basically playing a playoff game every night in Rochester," Adams said of the possibility. "They’re percentage points in or out, and they can go from sixth to second in a weekend. He could come up and play one game, but I think the grind and the pressure of playing in those meaningful games has been really good for him.”
When Power arrived in Tampa Bay to join the Sabres, the captains spent some time with him. Adams really liked that exposure for the 19-year-old.
"He's a curious kid. He wants to learn, he asks a lot of questions," Adams said. "Okposo and Girgensons took him out to dinner the first night in Tampa and I said, 'Okie, how was dinner?' He said, 'It was an hour of questions. He wanted to learn,' which I think s a great trait."
After beating the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, the two teams will meet in Philadelphia on Sunday. Join Brian Koziol for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 4 p.m. ET when you’ll hear from head coach Don Granato, Vinnie Hinostroza, Rasmus Asplund and Victor Olofsson.
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