The plan for top goaltending prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was revealed Wednesday when the Buffalo Sabres assigned the 22-year-old to the Rochester Americans.
There wasn’t going to be an opportunity for Luukkonen to man the Sabres’ crease anytime soon, and the 2017 second-round draft choice needs games.
Anderson is 5-3 in eight games this year with a 2.62 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. That has him at 296 career wins and he's racing with Dallas' Braden Holtby (298) to become the 40th goalie in NHL history to reach 300.
Luukkonen hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury Jan. 11, and although his talent tantalized in nine NHL appearances this season, coach Don Granato didn’t feel comfortable turning the starting job over to a prospect who has missed so much time, especially with how poorly the Sabres have played some nights.
The Amerks (23-15-3), now third in the American Hockey League's North Division, have nine more games this month, beginning Friday with a weekend back-to-back.
“That’s exciting for us because, obviously, we want him back up here,” Granato said following the morning skate Thursday. “I don’t think there’s anybody in the room that’s not excited to see his next game here. … I didn’t feel comfortable from the coaching side throwing UPL in tonight or the next game and jumping him ahead of (Dustin Tokarski) or (Craig Anderson) right now. Let him get some games, get back in a rhythm and we’ll see where we’re at then.”
People are also reading…
Buffalo owns a 14-24-7 record, 20 points out of a playoff spot, ahead of its matchup Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets in KeyBank Center.
Luukkonen has proved capable of handling the starting job in Buffalo, albeit in a limited sample size. He has a .917 save percentage and 2.74 goals-against average in the NHL this season. Luukkonen hasn’t experienced as much success while competing in the chaos-riddden AHL, totaling a .886 save percentage in 37 career games at that level.
This strengthens a Rochester team that’s received solid goaltending from Aaron Dell, who is 7-1 with the Amerks, and gives coach Seth Appert another talented prospect with NHL potential. Jack Quinn isn’t the only Sabres draft choice who has thrived under Appert.
Winger JJ Peterka, a second-round draft choice in 2020, is tied for second among all AHL rookies with 36 points (11 goals, 25 assists) in 35 games. Peterka has 16 points in 12 games since a two-game stint with the Sabres in December.
Forward Brandon Biro, who signed with the Sabres as an undrafted free agent, ranks sixth among AHL rookies with 31 points (seven goals, 24 assists), including 23 in his last 19 games. Biro, 23, has multiple points in three of his last four.
Oskari Laaksonen’s 24 points are tied for seventh among AHL defensemen; winger Linus Weissbach has seven points in his last eight games; forward Arttu Ruotsalainen has 16 points in 17 games since rejoining the Amerks; and winger Brett Murray has 11 points in 17 games with Rochester.
Luukkonen practiced with the Sabres on Tuesday for the first time since a knee injury forced him from a game in Buffalo against Tampa Bay on Jan. 11.
The Amerks are on the road against Providence on Friday, followed by a Saturday game in Hartford. It's likely that Luukkonen will play one of those games.
"I think right now it’s best for him to go get back in a rhythm without the pressure of jumping in here right now," Granato said.
Memorable debut
Owen Power’s first game in the Winter Olympics showed why he’s not far from helping the Sabres. Power, 19, had one shot on goal while skating on Canada’s top defense pair during a 5-1 win over Germany on Thursday. He finished with a team-high 19:33 of ice time in his Olympic debut.
Family ties
Cammi Granato, one of the best women's hockey players in the history of the sport and sister of the Sabres' head coach, was named an assistant general manager for the NHL's Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Granato, 50, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and played in every IIHF Women's World Championship since the event's inception in 1990 up until 2004. She announced her retirement as a player in 2005 and became the NHL's first female scout upon joining the Seattle Kraken in 2019.
She recently released a children's book titled, "I Can Play Too."
"I know she's very excited," Don Granato said of the book. "I'm very excited about it, too, for her. ... Our nephew did a really nice job. He did all the illustrations in the book and helped her quite a bit."
