Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Thursday's 3-on-3 tournament at Harborcenter capped off Sabres Development Camp, and the event didn’t disappoint.
When all was said and done, it was Team Robert winning the tournament. The prospects featured on that winning team were Zach Benson, Nikita Novikov, Viktor Neuchev, Viljami Marjala, Joel Ratkovic-Berndtsson, Norwin Panocha, Nicolas Savoie, Josh Fleming and Nathan Airey.
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Benson really wanted to impress the huge crowd at Harborcenter, and for two games, appeared to be trying too hard. The 2023 first-round pick didn’t get a point, but you could see how he’s always moving and the skill he possesses. He was just trying to skate through three men and it wasn’t working for him.
Once he simplified his game, you could see why Benson was the 13th overall pick. He ended up with a goal and three assists.
"It was cool to play in front of such passionate fans," Benson said following Thursday's tournament. "At the start, everyone was getting used to the flow, and I really hadn’t played a game in awhile. So doing battle and going into the corners took a little bit getting used to, but as a team, we started playing our game at the right time."
Neuchev and Novikov are highly skilled players from Russia, and Benson loved playing with them.
"It’s pretty cool playing with a couple of guys that you just met," he said. "They’re not the best at English yet, so communicating with them is a little difficult, but they’re such smart hockey players. It’s pretty cool to play with and watch. You know they make some plays where you’re like, 'Wow, that’s pretty impressive.'"
Benson’s linemate with the Winnipeg Ice, Matt Savoie, was Buffalo’s first-round pick last year. He’s been in the organization for a year, and I wondered what he has told Benson about the Buffalo Sabres.
"He told me it’s an unreal group," Benson said. "The guys are so nice in the dressing room, and then the management staff and the coaching staff was all unreal. He was definitely right about that."
There were a lot of drills this week, and a lot that Benson will be taking home to Vancouver.
"Learning from different skill coaches, they’re the best in the world. So taking things from them, I’ll be able to take it home and work on it with my skills coach," Benson said.
Benson is a player that is always moving and always on the puck, which makes him frustrating to play against.
After two seasons in the United States Hockey League, Jake Richard is on his way to the University of Connecticut for his freshman season. The Sabres' sixth–round pick in 2022 is a huge offensive talent, scoring 31 goals and 31 assists for 62 points in 57 games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Tri-City Storm.
Richard, along with Aleksandr Kisakov and Ryan Johnson, were a highlight film all morning in their games. He had three goals and two assists, while Kisakov had two goals and four assists.
The 18-year-old said he loved playing with Kisakov on Thursday.
"It was fun, he’s a really good player," said Richard following the tournament.
Richard also knows Clarence Center native Gavin McCarthy really well since they were teammates in Muskegon.
"We’ve been really good friends from the start," Richard said. "Seeing his name pop up on my TV, when I was watching the draft, I was so excited."
McCarthy is headed for his freshman season at Boston University, and Richard says his friend has already been trash talking.
"I’m excited to be able to go out and play against him," he said.
As Sabres head coach Don Granato was watching camp, he wasn’t really evaluating the prospects in the pipeline. He says this camp isn’t for that.
"They get comradery, what it means to be a Sabre, a feel and a better vision of what may lie ahead for them," Granato said following Thursday's tournament.
What Granato is looking for is how have the guys that have been here before handled themselves, have they worked on their game to get better?
"Part of their progression is natural, but you can also see that a big part of them is deliberate training the right way, and they’ve become better with the attributes that they have," Granato said.
"If you look at Kisakov, [Mats] Lindgren or Johnson, who are three players in three different organizations, they’ve all enhanced their attributes as a player not only through strength, but through awareness."
As I mentioned, Benson appeared to be pressing at first on Thursday, but Granato liked the overall game the winger brings.
"He was more impressive as things went along, even today was a perfect example," he said. "They had three or four different segment games, and he just kept being more noticeable every time. He is a very talented hockey player."
Ratovic-Berndtsson was huge for Team Robert on Thursday.
In one game, the 2022 seventh-round pick tied the score and then with around 10 seconds left, walked a defenseman and through the left circle, ripped a shot into the top corner of the net to win it. In the next game, he did it again, scoring the goal to win it late in the game.
Overall, Ratovic-Berndtsson had three goals and three assists.
Until the championship game, goalie T.J. Semptimphelter was stellar in net. He plays at Arizona State after transferring from Northeastern University, where he was Devon Levi's backup. Semptimphelter also had two assists.
This year's fifth-round pick, Scott Ratzlaff also looked good in net throughout Thursday.
The Sabres Prospect Challenge is next up for this team in September, and then it’s on to training camp.
