Buffalo Sabres: Top 10 prospects entering 2019 season
The Buffalo Sabres are slowly building up their prospect pipeline. Here are their top 10 prospects as the 2019-20 season draws near.
The Buffalo Sabres rebuild has been going on for the past six seasons. However, they haven’t seen results, in large part because the previous general manager, Tim Murray, did a bad job drafting. Current general manager Jason Botterill has done a slightly better job, giving the Sabres a deeper prospect pipeline.
Their pipeline desperately needed a bluechip prospect and they got one in the 2019 draft. However, the Sabres prospect pool is still not quite as deep compared to the top ones. Still, it’s in far better shape than it was years ago.
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Before I begin, let me clarify my definition of a prospect. For me, a prospect is anyone who is under 25 years old (as of the start of the season) and has yet to play in 40 NHL games in a single season or 50 in any two consecutive seasons.
As an example, Rasmus Dahlin is no longer a prospect. He’s only 19 years old, but he’s played a full season in the NHL. However, Henri Jokiharu counts as one since he didn’t play over 40 games last season (he played 38).
If he plays at least 12 games in the NHL this season, he will no longer count as a prospect. I did not include Arttu Ruotsalainen, a free agent signee from Finland.
First, let’s take a look at the goaltenders.
Goaltenders
1. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Acquired: 2017 second-round pick
Age: 20
Stats: 53 games played, 2.50 GAA .920% save percentage, 8 playoff games, 3.27 GAA, .906% save percentage (Sudbury Wolves, OHL); 1 game, 2.00 GAA, .941% save percentage (Rochester Americans, AHL)
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen sort of sounds like a Pokemon, but he’s actually a really great goaltender. It’s a bit interesting that he went from playing professionally in Finland (albeit in a lower league) to Canadian juniors, but I think it went well for him. Luukkonen got a starting job and he ran with it. He even made his AHL debut last season.
Luukkonen is currently out with a hip injury but should return in late October to early November. Whenever he returns, it appears likely he’ll be joining the Americans. Luukkonen is very sound technically and move quickly in the crease. I like his size (6’4″) as well.
He projects to be an NHL goaltender. I reckon he’ll be a starter at some point.
2. Erik Portillo
Acquired: 2019 third-round pick
Age: 18 (turns 19 in September)
Stats: 26 games, 1.99 GAA, .931% save percentage, 4 playoff games, 2.02 GAA, .933% save percentage (Frolund HC J20, SuperElit)
Erik Portillo was drafted this year by the Sabres. It’s a good thing too, because other than Luukonen, their prospect pool was mighty shallow as far as goalies. Portillo has outstanding size (6’6″). Most goalies don’t know how to use their size to their advantage, but Portillo does. He’s not afraid to go to the butterfly and take away the bottom part of the net.
Portillo is still a bit raw, but I like how calm and focused he appears to be in the net. He’ll be heading over to North America this season to play in the USHL. After that, Portillo is committed to the University of Michigan for the 2020-21 season. He has a fairly high ceiling but a low floor.