With a 16-day training camp and six-game preseason schedule complete, Don Granato gathered the Buffalo Sabres on the KeyBank Center ice Saturday for another rigorous practice to address a few areas of their game that got exposed in their exhibition finale.
Breakouts were a focus. Those are easier to execute, though, when the Sabres have their top four defensemen on the ice in Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju, none of whom played in the 7-1 loss in Pittsburgh that capped the preseason slate.
There were full-ice sprints, competitive small-area games and drills specific to the offensive zone. Granato is taking advantage of the few practices remaining before the regular season begins Thursday night in Buffalo against the Ottawa Senators.
The Sabres will need to trim their roster to 23 players by Monday at 5 p.m. Defensemen Chase Priskie, Kale Clague and Jeremy Davies were the latest to be placed on waivers with the intention to send them to Rochester. A few more cuts will be made, but there aren’t expected to be any surprises.
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Although the past three weeks didn’t give us a better idea how the Sabres will fare when the games begin to count against the standings, a few notable questions were answered.
Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka made the Sabres’ roster
The Sabres’ offseason moves, including those for the Rochester Americans, indicated that Quinn and Peterka were graduating to Buffalo, and nothing has changed over the past month. Quinn and Peterka, like other young Sabres before them, will be given every opportunity to learn from mistakes in the NHL. There’s no point in either rejoining the Amerks. Both were all-rookie selections – Quinn was named the AHL’s top first-year player – and need to acclimate to the best league in the world.
Quinn’s play in preseason showed that he’s ready to contribute in the top six. Right now, he’s better at protecting the puck and making split-second decisions than Peterka, which are critical to finding time and space in the offensive zone. In five preseason games, Quinn had two goals, three points and a team-high 16 shots on goal.
Peterka explained following the preseason finale that he needed time to adjust to the pace of camp and to regain his timing. There were times he tried to get away with plays that work against lesser competition but will turn into goals against in the NHL. But there were also moments that showed his immense skill. Peterka also played five of the six preseason games and totaled one goal with two points. The Sabres’ coaching staff proved last season that it can help young players acclimate to the league.
That the game didn’t count against the standings was the only solace the Sabres could take from their exhibition finale and 7-1 loss to the Penguins.
“Very important for JJ and Quinner to play (preseason) games," Granato said. "They played almost the whole year in the American Hockey League last year. It's a different level. This game here was a different level than earlier preseason games obviously because of their lineup. And that'll be the case through the early going.
"We're still a really young team. The negative is we will have growing pains, the positive is they will grow really fast. For all our young guys. We've seen that, we've witnessed that, we need to stay confident and comfortable in that. There's no reason not to."
Casey Mittelstadt and Peyton Krebs will line up at center throughout the season
Mittelstadt will get the first opportunity to play center at the start of the season, as Krebs spent the latter portion of training camp and preseason at left wing. This is going to be fluid, though. Granato doesn’t sound committed to lines or pairings yet. He’s going to mix and match until he finds the proper mix. Mittelstadt has more experience than Krebs and played at a half-point-per-game pace in the final weeks of his injury-shortened 2021-22 season.
Krebs has the playmaking ability to make an impact at left wing, though his speed and defensive instincts are a great fit at center. In Granato’s system, forward positions only matter for faceoffs. The first skater back into the defensive zone will take the center’s responsibilities. While there will be an ongoing debate among fans regarding where Mittelstadt and Krebs fit best, this is a good problem for the Sabres, or any team, to have. This club didn’t have enough NHL-caliber centers one year ago. Now, there could be six on the roster.
”In all honesty, I’m not one to put numbers down or make big goals,” said Mittelstadt. “I like to focus on day-to-day things. I find that if you’re doing the right things every day and getting good meals, getting good sleep, and usually that leads to good practices, and good practices lead to good games. That’s the plan for me. I’m not going to put anything down on paper necessarily; I just want to go out and play to the best of my ability every time I touch the ice.”
Rasmus Dahlin continues to grow as a leader
We saw Dahlin emerge as a vocal leader for the Sabres during his fourth NHL season and his role will only grow as he gains more experience in the league. During multiple training camp practices, Dahlin challenged teammates to compete harder in physical, small-area drills. His confidence is apparent every time he’s on the ice and when he’s handling media responsibilities. It shouldn’t be a surprise if Dahlin eventually becomes the next long-term captain of this franchise. And his performance in the preseason indicated that he’s prepared to excel in a top-pairing role when the games begin to count against the standings.
Eric Comrie’s preseason statistics are deceiving
The stat line is ugly for the new Sabres goalie. In two exhibition games, Comrie allowed 11 goals on 58 shots for an .810 save percentage, but both appearances were on the road against an NHL-laden lineup while the Sabres were missing key players. It’s not an ideal way for a goalie to build confidence entering a season in which he’s expected to start the bulk of games for Buffalo.
The difficult assignments were Comrie’s idea, though, and most of those goals against were the result of errors by his teammates. Comrie, 27, still has the trust of the coaching staff and management, both of which view him as a key piece of their plan to take another step this season.
Tage Thompson will remain paired with Jeff Skinner
Victor Olofsson is positioned to play right wing on the top line next to Thompson and Skinner, but we will like see Alex Tuch and others see time there. The first-line center and left wing won’t change. Thompson and Skinner will remain a duo following a season in which they combined for 71 goals. The Sabres scored 52 goals at 5-on-5 with them on the ice together at 5-on-5. Their chemistry should provide stability atop the lineup. The next step is developing two productive middle-six lines.
Dylan Cozens looks bigger, stronger and ready to produce
Cozens had the remarkable training camp and preseason the Sabres expected of him. He attacked the middle of the ice, won puck battles and, most important, made his linemates better. This is a continuation of what we saw in the second half of last season. Though Cozens totaled only two goals after the All-Star break, he consistently generated scoring chances. At the IIHF World Championship this spring, Cozens capitalized on those opportunities. And he did the same over the past three weeks.
At 21 years old, he’s ready to be a play-driving second-line center and should benefit on the road when opponents use their personnel to try to shut down Thompson’s group. Cozens was the Sabres’ best player over the past three weeks, totaling two goals and a team-high five points in four preseason games.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s development is trending up
Don’t panic about Luukkonen. Yes, he’s been inconsistent with the Rochester Americans and injuries have extended his timeline to reach the NHL, but Luukkonen looked more poised in goal during training camp and the preseason. He’s leaner and better prepared to handle a starter’s workload with the Amerks. It’s also important to note Luukkonen’s been productive when in goal for the Sabres, recording a .913 save percentage in 13 appearances.
The most intriguing question left about the Sabres' roster is whether the club will break training camp with Peterka on the team.
It’s possible he would have spent the entire second half of last season with the Sabres if it weren’t for a lower-body injury suffered in January. Then, he lost a development opportunity in the playoffs because of an unavoidable in-crease collision with a Utica forward. The Sabres were wise to opt for a bridge plan in goal rather than bet valuable cap space on an expensive replacement. Most Cup contenders draft and develop their franchise goalie. Luukkonen still has the talent to become one, and his encouraging performance in camp should remind fans that he’ll help the Sabres sooner than later.
Rasmus Asplund will center the fourth line
Asplund, 24, is moving back to center after spending most of his time in the NHL on the wing, but he played down the middle early in his pro career in Sweden and Rochester. This allows Zemgus Girgensons to stick on the wing, where he’s been a shutdown forward, and provides the fourth line with a play-making, two-way center who can contribute offensively. Though Asplund totaled only eight goals and 27 points in 80 games last season, he was stricken by bad puck luck and showed at the IIHF World Championship this spring that he’s capable of more. Asplund’s six goals in eight games were tied for second-most in the tournament.
“I’m feeling pretty comfortable,” Asplund said of the position switch. “I think I need to work a little bit more on the defensive side of it because it’s different from playing wing, but I’ve been playing a lot of center growing up and I started my pro career at center. (The knowledge is) somewhere back there, but I have to find a little more. I think I’m making a pretty good transition here.”
Final roster takes shape
If practice lines are any indication, the Sabres appear ready to carry 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies at the start of the season. Casey Fitzgerald is currently in line to be the extra defenseman, but you could see a rotation with him and Jacob Bryson. Vinnie Hinostroza and Anders Bjork will likely be the extra forwards, barring injury.
