An NHL team's issues, problems and problems often end up being problems that its AHL affiliate needs to solve.
The Rochester Americans are well aware of this trickle-down effect and its reality less than a week into the AHL season. As the Buffalo Sabers try to address a number of issues, including their goaltending image, Team USA finds itself affected as well.
Several factors are already at play.
First, while an 8-4 home win over the Ottawa Senators to open the week eased some of the pressure on Buffalo after an 0-3 start, there was always considerable tension lurking behind the team's past 14-consecutive season of missing the Stanley Cup playoffs. This Saturday afternoon, the back-to-back champion Florida Panthers will visit the Sabres. From there, the remainder of their October schedule will feature six games over 11 nights.
Buffalo is under pressure. Last season, a promising start was replaced by a disastrous 0-10-3 collapse from late November into December, putting the Sabers in a hole from which they could never escape.
Second, Rochester's organizational priority is once again to give top prospect Devin Levi as much work as possible. Last season, Levy led the Amerkes to the North Conference finals against the regular-season champion Laval Rocket. Levy, who is entering his third full pro season after a stellar showing at Northeastern, has largely delivered on his commitment to Amerkes. He led Rochester to the Calder Cup playoffs his first two seasons and played in the AHL All-Star Classic last February. Still, he hasn't stayed with the Sabers full-time, playing just nine games for them last year and going 2-7-0 | 4.12 | 4.12 .872 line. But this is a highly cerebral goaltender who has proven himself more than capable of being a No. 1 goaltender at the AHL level, even on par with anyone in the league. The 2020 seventh-round pick has established himself as a top prospect, and he has the competitiveness and drive to do so.
Buffalo's front office became quite active this past offseason and went into training camp revamping the organizational depth chart in net.
Veteran Alex Lyon signed a two-year contract as a free agent from the Detroit Red Wings. James Reimer, who made 22 appearances last season, is gone. Uko-Pekka Lukonen had a solid 55-game season last season, but he missed the start of training camp last month. When he made his preseason debut for the Sabers on Oct. 1, he left the game after one period. According to the Buffalo team's website, head coach Lindy Love said this is different from the injury at the start of training camp.
Levy, 23, signed a two-year contract extension with Buffalo last July. But on September 26 he found himself assigned to Rochester. At that point, the Sabers had also added Alexander Georgiev, who signed a one-year contract with the team on Sept. 10 after the 2024-25 season is split between the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks.
But Buffalo's goaltending continued. On October 6, Colten Ellis of the St. Louis Blues joined through waivers. Ellis, who turned 25 a day earlier, was a standout performer for the Springfield Thunderbirds last season. 42 appearances, 22-14-3 record | 2.63 | 2.63 .922 and recorded three shutouts. Georgiev, 29, found out he had been granted immunity and was sent to Rochester.
Among them are two other rookies: Topias Leinonen and Scott Ratzlaff. Leinonen, 21, joined the Sabers as a second-round pick in 2022 and is entering his first season in North America. Last season with the Hockey Allsvenskan, Mora IK posted a solid 13-10-0 | Ratzlaff is a 20-year-old rookie who has spent parts of the past five seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. He played in 49 games last season and was named to the WHL (West) All-Star first team with a 23-19-4 record. 3.10 | 3.10 Thunderbirds’ .916 line.
To help set up the goaltending chart, the Sabers have been busy making moves. Ratzlaff needs work. That's why the Sabers elected to assign him to their ECHL affiliate, the Jacksonville Icemen, to start the season. The Icemen will be on the road Saturday through Sunday and will face the expansion Greensboro Gargoyles this weekend. An eight-game road trip awaits the Icemen to start the season, but even Jacksonville's crease is loaded with Michael Breen and rookie Cameron Rowe, who was a member of Western Michigan's national championship team last April.
But Rochester also has a roster stacked with Levy, Leinonen and Georgiev. Levy started in Rochester's home opener last Friday, making 24 stops in a 4-3 win over the Toronto Marlies. The next afternoon in Toronto, it was Leinonen's turn. He made 17 saves, helping the Marlies finish their home game with a score of 4-1. The Amerks visit the Utica Comets on Friday night before traveling to Syracuse the next night. From there, they will begin a three-on-four schedule next week, with the game coming to Blue Cross Arena on Wednesday. Amerkes head coach Michael Leone told the media last Tuesday that Levi would start Friday night.
“We will then reassess future developments,” Leone added. “They are all very capable.”
2025 Rochester Americans vs. Utica Comets
Lyon has had to shoulder all four starts so far as Buffalo tries to deal with its early-season woes. Where does Ellis's starting point fit in? A game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers at KeyBank Center with a 1-3-0 record? Then it's off to Montreal's Bell Center before a home game against the Detroit Red Wings. A home series against the Toronto Maple Leafs will conclude Buffalo next week.
There aren't many easy, clear-cut options for the Saber right now.
Not in Rochester either. The start of the AHL season is always a challenging time for coaching staffs. They are working hard to bring in new faces, fully implement the system, and help young players adjust to the professional game. For example, first-round pick Radim Mrtka has some pro experience. But the ninth overall pick in this June's NHL draft is, after all, an 18-year-old defenseman trying to find his way in the AHL. Another first-rounder, Konsta Helenius, is still a year away from Amerkes, but is already 19 years old himself. Anton Wahlberg is 20 years old. Viktor Neuchev, 21, faces a crucial third season in Rochester. Vsevolod Komarov is a 21-year-old on Rochester's blue line. Even most of Rochester's veterans are freshmen, with captains Mason Jobst, Brett Murray and Kyle Cragg all departing in the offseason.
To add more energy, Buffalo recalled Amerkes captain Zach Mesa on Thursday. Young guard Ryan Johnson did the opposite, heading to Rochester.
Lukonen, Lyon, Ellis, Levi, Leinonen, Georgiev and Ratzlaff. There's a lot to figure out, and schedules (at least in the NHL) rarely provide enough time for situations to be resolved. Buffalo front office needs to make a decision. Players from Buffalo and Rochester will help inform those choices. But in Rochester, Leone and his coaching staff have to help execute those plans. What happens now and in the future in Buffalo will largely depend on whether Team USA can turn those goals into reality. Fortunately for Buffalo and Rochester, the highly regarded Leone is the kind of even-tempered guy who can handle the team's changing circumstances.
Nothing comes easy in the AHL, especially in October.
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