Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - A pair of Buffalo Sabres prospects are set to compete for the Memorial Cup after their junior teams won championships in their respective leagues in the Canadian Hockey League.
Back on Tuesday, it was 2022 fifth-round defenseman Vsevolod Komarov and the Drummondville Voltigeurs earning a four-game series sweep of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to win the Gilles-Courteau Trophy as champions of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
In his third season in the QMJHL, Komarov really came into his own as he totaled 14 goals and 55 assists for 69 points in 60 games played between the Voltigeurs and Quebec Remparts. The 20-year-old led all defensemen in scoring during the regular season, helping him earn the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the QMJHL Defenseman of the Year.
Komarov was a midseason acquisition of the Voltigeurs after spending 144 games with the Remparts between 2021 and 2023. The Russian-born defender had also won a QMJHL championship and the Memorial Cup in 2023 with Quebec.
During his 2024 playoffs, Komarov's success continued to roll into the postseason, where he scored five goals and added 10 assists for 15 points from the blue line in 19 games. That was good enough for the 6-foot-3, 187-pound defenseman to win the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the QMJHL Playoffs MVP.
In his 183 career games in the QMJHL, Komarov finished with 28 goals and 99 assists for 127 points. In the playoffs, he ended up with eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points in 49 games played.
The right-shot defenseman will next make the jump to the professional ranks with the Sabres organization to start the 2024-25 season.
Meanwhile, Wednesday saw 2022 first-round pick Matthew Savoie and the Moose Jaw Warriors also complete a four-game sweep in their Western Hockey League (WHL) championship series with the Portland Winterhawks to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
After battling an injury at the start of training camp and into the opening portion of the regular season, Savoie ended up playing a hand full of games with the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League before making his NHL debut on Nov. 14, 2023. After his one game played with the Sabres, he was reassigned to the Wenatchee Wild in the WHL.
Savoie completed his fourth season in the WHL this past year, leading all skaters in the league with an average of 2.09 points per-game. In 34 regular season games split between the Wild and Warriors this season, the 20-year-old scored 30 goals and added 41 assists for 71 points.
Come playoff time, Savoie continued to deal with some nagging injuries, but still managed to put up 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points in 19 games played. He also carried over a 16-game point streak to close the regular season into the postseason, where he ended up playing 30-straight games while registering, at least, a point.
Last season with the Winnipeg Ice, who eventually relocated to Wenatchee, Savoie put up 95 points (38+57) in the regular season, and followed that with 29 points (11+18) in the postseason. However, his postseason ended in the WHL Final with a five-game series loss to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
Over his four years played in the WHL, Savoie combined to put up 103 goals and 160 assists for 263 points in 183 games played, good for an impressive 1.44 points per-game average. In the postseason, Savoie scored 27 goals and added 38 assists for 65 points in 47 games played.
It is expected for Savoie to compete for a roster spot in the NHL with the Sabres starting next season. If he fails to make the roster in Buffalo from Day 1, he will be eligible to start the year in Rochester with the Amerks.
Both Savoie and Komarov will now compete for the Memorial Cup against the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) champion London Knights, as well as the OHL's Saginaw Spirit, who are playing host to the 2024 tournament.
The puck will drop on the Memorial Cup starting next Friday, May 24, with the Final set to be played on Sunday, June 2.
