The Buffalo Sabres’ 27-man NHL group has touched down in Munich, Germany to continue preparation for their two Global Series games against the New Jersey Devils in Prague. That marks the end of the team’s training camp in Buffalo, with the prospects and minor leaguers staying behind to finish out the North American preseason schedule.
It’s a good time to take stock of who has helped themselves the most during training camp and preseason to this point and who still has more to prove as the season approaches.
Risers
Henri Jokiharju
In Rasmus Dahlin’s first practice back, he skated alongside Henri Jokiharju. That’s a huge win for Jokiharju, who signed a one-year deal this offseason and can become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Jokiharju was Dahlin’s most effective partner last season in terms of on-ice expected goal share. The Sabres had 56 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five when Dahlin and Jokiharju played together. And that was with just under 500 minutes played. Playing these two together also helps balance out the other pairs. Mattias Samuelsson playing with Connor Clifton gives the Sabres a physical bottom pair, while Bowen Byram and Owen Power could be an explosive offensive tandem when they’re at their best. This is a great chance for Jokiharju to show how he can fit into coach Lindy Ruff’s system.
Zach Benson
Ruff hasn’t tried to hide his excitement about Zach Benson. The 19-year-old winger has made a quick impression on his new coach because of the way he competes on pucks and always does the right things in all three zones. That attention to detail is why Ruff said he’s starting to feel really comfortable with how Benson plays.
“Watching a lot of games, I liked him,” Ruff said. “I think I like him more now through practice and through games, he does a lot of good things.”
Now Benson will get a chance to play on the second line with Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn. He’s also working on the second power-play unit. That should make it easy for Benson to increase his point totals from a season ago. And his mentality to be a pest in front of the net and win one-on-one battles for loose pucks will fit perfectly with how Ruff wants the Sabres to play on the power play.
Mattias Samuelsson
Ruff has brought up Samuelsson multiple times when discussing the leadership on this team. It hasn’t taken him long to see what Samuelsson means to his teammates. And while there’s a chance Samuelsson starts the season on the third defensive pair, that could end up making him a more effective player for Buffalo throughout an 82-game season. He needs to stay healthy, and playing fewer minutes should help. He’s also going to benefit from the Sabres being a better backchecking team. He’ll still have a big role on the penalty kill, too. Samuelsson has looked stronger at camp and every bit as confident when killing plays in the defensive zone.
Peyton Krebs played on the top line against the Blue Jackets and scored a simple but significant goal. (Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
Holding steady
Peyton Krebs
Alex Tuch got the night off for the Sabres’ second preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, so Peyton Krebs filled in at right wing on the top line. Krebs took advantage of the opportunity. Tage Thompson set him up with a perfect pass, and Krebs buried the goal. It was a simple goal, but for someone like Krebs, who has been working on his shot and had only four goals last season, it felt significant. Krebs wasn’t auditioning on the top line. With Tuch out, Ruff didn’t want to disturb the other lines. That’s a sign that Krebs is still the 13th forward in the pecking order, especially with how well the fourth line has played throughout camp. But for Krebs to play wing and do it further up the lineup than he’s played the last two seasons shows what he can bring as a depth forward.
“I’m going to play the same way wherever I am,” Krebs said. “Bring my work ethic, try to dish the puck around. I think it definitely shows I can play there, but I’m just going to keep momentum going from there and keep working.”
A question mark: Will Jordan Greenway stick on the third line?
Jordan Greenway was a player the Sabres targeted because of Don Granato’s familiarity with him. This summer, though, Ruff and general manager Kevyn Adams targeted speed on the third and fourth lines. Greenway isn’t a stylistic match in that regard. His defensive game is a good fit with Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker, who both excel in that area. But if Ruff is looking to change the lineup at any point, this seems like a spot where he could do it. Krebs would add a quicker playing style and more offense. So would Jiri Kulich, who made the trip to Prague but faces an uphill battle to stick on the 23-man roster. That’s a spot to watch once the Sabres are up against regular-season playing speed and competition.
Those with more to prove
Ryan Johnson and Isak Rosen
With a longer training camp, some younger players might have gotten a better opportunity to state their case. As it stands, Ryan Johnson and Isak Rosek were among those with NHL experience who didn’t make the trip. Johnson was the first player pulled into the NHL practice group when Dahlin got injured in the first practice of camp. But the Sabres decided to leave him behind on the trip to Europe and brought Kale Clague as the ninth defenseman instead. That’s not strictly an indictment on Johnson’s play, though. Leaving Johnson in Buffalo means he’ll get to play more preseason games. And it was clear by his participation in the rookie tournament that the Sabres felt Johnson had some things to work on. He’s one of the smoothest skaters in Buffalo’s system, but Ruff is asking a lot more of his defensemen in terms of physicality and quick decision-making on breakouts. Those will be areas for Johnson to focus on in Buffalo.
The same sentiment is true for Rosen. He’s better off getting preseason games in Buffalo than going on a trip where he will only get to practice. The Sabres’ main emphasis during that trip is getting ready to play the two games against the Devils in Prague. They don’t have a ton of time to hand out extra reps to the extra players. With the bottom six of the Sabres’ forward group locked in, there was no spot for Rosen to win in camp. Krebs and Rousek are more NHL-ready in the case of an injury, so it made sense for Rosen to hang back.
Prospect watch
For the Sabres’ younger prospects, training camp is primarily a chance to develop. To that end, I loved the goal Nikita Novikov scored against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, wiring a wrist shot to beat Alex Nedeljkovic, who is an NHL-level goalie. Novikov has put together a nice camp. His physicality stood out throughout the rookie tournament, but he’s also shown his skating and puck skills can stand up to NHL competition. The Sabres have a lot of organizational depth on defense, so it might be tough for Novikov to see NHL games. But this should be a big season for him in Rochester and he should have plenty of confidence after the month he’s had.
(Top photo: Timothy T. Ludwig / Imagn Images)
