Michael Houser has been the long-awaited success story the Buffalo Sabres needed this year.
Over the course of this season, I’ve found myself continually, and quite bizarrely, drawn towards the Buffalo Sabres. In spite of all the missteps and troubles they’ve endured over the course of this long difficult, seemingly never-ending season, they’ve still managed to pull out the occasional interesting or feel-good story. None of which, are as feel-good and or interesting, as Michael Houser.
I’m willing to bet that most Sabres, or NHL fans in general, had no idea who Houser was prior to him being thrown into the mix of what has been a rather chaotic season in Buffalo. On any other day, Houser would’ve been preparing to suit up with the league he’s called home over the past few seasons, the ECHL.
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Used nowadays as primarily a development league, the ECHL, or East Coast League as it used to be known, was at one point, primarily comprised of guys like Houser, undrafted journeyman/failed prospects drifting through the professional hockey landscape in search of their next paycheck.
Recently, however, Houser has found himself with an unlikely opportunity in a season in Buffalo that has sadly been lacking in much of that sort. With top prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, starter Linus Ullmark, and backup Carter Hutton out due to injury, Houser has found himself with the starting job following a rough stretch of games from similar journeyman Dustin Tokarski.
Facing a potent and depth filled New York Islanders offense in his debut on Monday night, Houser pulled off the shock of all shocks, making 34 saves on 36 shots as the Sabres snatched a 4-2 win. In a rematch on Tuesday, Houser one upped himself, making 45 saves (seriously) on 48 shots as the Sabres snagged a 4-3 win in a shootout.
Needless to say, the fact that Houser even managed to start an NHL game this season is a surprise in of itself, with the 28-year-old having spent most of this season unsigned before being scooped up on a one-year deal worth league minimum this past March. To say Houser’s road to the NHL has been long and winding would be a gross understatement, rivaling the yellow brick road for the length to the ever-enticing Emerald City.
A native of the small town of Youngstown, Ohio, Houser got his start in the USHL and OHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers and London Knights, respectively. In spite of some impressive numbers over his three seasons in London, posting a 46-15-1 record with 6 shutouts in 2011-12, Houser was never selected over three NHL drafts, subsequently signing a three-year entry level deal with the Florida Panthers out of their development camp.
Splitting time between the Cincinnati Cyclones and San Antonio Rampage, Houser saw split duties with long-time backup Dan Ellis in 2014-15, posting a 19-9-4 record with a 2.83 GAA with the Rampage. In spite of these solid numbers, though, this served as the last true AHL opportunity Houser has seen since.
Longtime journeyman Michael Houser’s NHL debut has been a long time coming
Moving from training camp tryouts to AHL contracts, Houser mainly played off two-way AHL deals, spending most of his time as a starter in the ECHL, where he shone and shone brightly. Having just begun to follow the ECHL on and off at this time, Houser immediately caught my eye as an intriguing and reliable starting option.
In a league where goaltending is often seen as an afterthought, Houser has been a consistent 40 game starter for most of his time in the ECHL. Posting a 29-7-5 record and a 2.13 GAA with the Cyclones in 2018-19, he was named Goaltender of the Year, which the Sabres media was quick to point out after his acquisition.
Along with the many, many other issues Buffalo has experienced over the course of this season, from nearly, if not all of their offseason acquisitions failing spectacularly, to their previously mentioned goaltending issues, to the 18-game losing streak, to the numerous bad contracts they’re stuck with, including, but not limited to $9 million fourth-line winger Jeff Skinner, not a lot has gone right for the Sabres this past season.
However, in spite of it all, though, they’ve at least managed to give some previously unheralded players opportunities down the stretch with the Sabres now done for the season. Tokarski’s name should be a familiar one to at least a few passing NHL fans, with the 31-year-old having at one point been the backup to Montreal Canadiens starter Carey Price.
Having spent time primarily as an AHL backup over the past few seasons, however, Tokarski found himself with, like Houser, a starting opportunity, which, not surprisingly, hasn’t panned out. With a 2-8-2 record and 3.54 GAA over 13 games, Tokarski’s done his best to plug the gap, but his inexperience eventually began to show.
In total, Houser started four games for the Sabres down the stretch and he didn’t do his future NHL chances any harm by going 2-2-0 with a .901 Save Percentage and a 3.46 Goals Against Average, with his only poor outing coming in a shelling against the Pittsburgh Penguins where he allowed eight goals on 34 shots but, that one blemish aside, the 28-year-old was a bright light in a tough, tough year for Buffalo.
With the Buffalo Sabres now having finally been put out of their misery in 2020-21 following their 1-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in their final regular-season game on Saturday, they can at least look back fondly on some bright spots this year, including the emergence of Michael Houser who had to wait a long time for his chance to shine in the National Hockey League. But it was well worth it.