The Buffalo Sabres are back and it is right when you need them the most.
The Sabres prospects hit the ice for some game action today as the 2023 Prospects Challenge kicks off at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, NY.
There will be six teams participating in this year’s event: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sabres will be playing in games against the Canadiens (Friday), Devils (Saturday), and Penguins (Sunday).
Here is the Sabres roster for the event. A full PDF roster can be found here:
Unfortunately, there are no playoffs, so no champion will be crowned at this event. The Sabres will be unable to create the same 2011 Traverse City Prospect Tournament magic when their team led by Luke Adam, Marcus Foligno, and Zack Kassian defeated a Rangers team led by Michael Del Zotto, Carl Hagelin and J.T. Miller in the finals. Man, those were the days.
Well, that’s enough talk about the 2010s Sabres prospect pool (anybody remember Jerome Gauthier-Leduc?)
Let us dive into a quick preview of the 2023 Prospects Challenge where I will go over five Sabres prospects I look forward to watching this weekend:
Zach Benson, LW
Is there a single player at this event who I am more excited to watch than Zach Benson? No and that’s not discounting the other prospects at this event. That’s just how fun of a player I think Benson is. He has been largely untested outside of the WHL or U18 international environment, so it’s going to be interesting to see what he can do in the blue and gold.
Benson is an absolute game-controller and has been since he was a 16-year-old playing in the WHL. He has been a premier playmaker, creating lanes for himself and his teammates, hitting them with complex passes in dangerous areas of the ice.
His hockey intelligence is off the charts, he is always finding himself in the right spots and knows how to tilt the ice in his team’s favor.
The other very fun part about his game is how he combines his work-rate with his intelligence to be an incredibly efficient puck-hound. He generates a decent chunk of his opportunities by making strong defensive reads, stripping the puck from his opponent, and creating opportunistic counterattacks for his team.
Here is a 2-minute highlight reel that Mitchell Brown of EP Rinkside assembled of just Benson steals. Yep, a highlight real of only steals:
Benson is the perfect blend of chaos and patience; work and skill. If his offense starts to pop at this tournament then do not be surprised if the 2023 13th overall pick makes training camp and preseason very interesting. I firmly believe that he has the talent to push for an NHL spot as early as this season.
Matthew Savoie, C
We already talked about the Sabres’ first pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, so may as well talk about their first pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. We got to watch Savoie and Benson play a lot of hockey together for the Winnipeg Ice of the WHL the past two seasons. We’ll continue to watch them play a lot of hockey together in the NHL in the very near future.
Savoie is another small stature forward at 5’9” but he provides a multi-faceted skillset with his above average skating, puck-handling, passing, and shooting. As crazy as it sounds, his greatest tool may actually be his shot. He is not your traditional 6’3” sniper, but he is still a player who has a shot that can overpower goaltenders at the NHL level someday.
He zips around the ice at a great pace, always keeping the defense on their heels. Savoie improved the quality of his attacks in the WHL last season. Instead of just trying to beat defenders with his speed and speed alone, he has become more willing to cut inside to be a bit more dynamic. As a 5’9” forward, he is going to need that creativity to catch up with his skill to reach his top six projection at the NHL level.
Matthew Savoie is expected to center a line featuring Zach Benson to start the Prospects Challenge. Expect a lot of speed, skill, and chemistry when those two are on the ice together. They can be a natural playmaker/shooter duo.
Nikita Novikov, LHD
Look at the Sabres roster for the 2023 Prospects Challenge and the 6’4”, 211 lb defenseman will immediately jump off the page. The Russian defenseman was selected in the 6th round by the Sabres in the 2021 NHL Draft and went on to accumulate over 100 KHL games played for Dynamo Moscow before his 20th birthday.
The now 20-year-old defenseman has made the move to North America for this season where he will play for the Rochester Americans in the AHL. He has already impressed in a Sabres uniform being a standout at their development camp this summer. Now we will get a look at what Novikov can accomplish in a 5v5 game setting.
Novikov’s skating may be a bit heavy and his toolkit is not the most complex, but he has all of the tools to develop into an effective defensive defenseman. His frame and reach allow him to eat space to suffocate opponents. He has the basis of a game that no other prospect in the Sabres system has and already has a great deal of professional experience playing on one of the best non-NHL teams in the world.
Here is a clip from Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News of Nikita Novikov in Wednesday’s practice:
There are plenty of reasons to be excited about Novikov even though his game is very simple. I will certainly be watching him closely to see how he looks amongst his prospect peers at this event.
Viktor Neuchev, LW
I was ecstatic when the Sabres picked Viktor Neuchev in the 3rd round.
He was an incredibly fun player in the Russian junior league in the 2021/22 season. He had 67 points that season on a team whose second highest scorer only had 40. Oh and he also averaged 5.95 shots on goal that season. Just a very fun prospect with an intriguing ceiling.
Neuchev moved up to the KHL last season where he scored 12 points in 57 games. His contract in Russia expired after the season and he has made his official move to North America where he will be playing for the Rochester Americans in 2023/24. At just 19 years old, there is still a lot of room for his game to grow at the professional level.
His game became more mature at the KHL level, learning how to fit in a system more than just racking up counting stats. He has a fantastic motor and great defensive awareness which makes him an absolute pest when the puck is not on his stick. He can win possession for his team and create with his slick puck-handling skills. There is more than just pure skill to his game.
Neuchev’s skating is still a work in progress and a good chunk of his pro projection may rely upon that. He may have the highest ceiling outside of the top five prospects in the Sabres’ system. It will be interesting to see how his game evolves in North America. He has leveled up his game the past few seasons, we will see if that continues.
Jiri Kulich, C
Well, I think I almost have to go with Jiri Kulich after the 2022 28th overall pick had an impressive rookie campaign for the Rochester Americans.
He put up 46 points in 62 regular season games and 11 points in 12 playoff games. He also put up these numbers while being 18 years old for the majority of the season. There have not been a lot of 18 year olds who have played AHL hockey, let alone put up numbers like he did.
At this point of Kulich’s development, he is viewed as a prospect with a very high floor. He will be an NHLer in some capacity thanks to his shooting, skating, work rate, and board play. The only thing left to question will be what his ceiling can be.
This question will be answered by his ability to add a bit more complexity to his game. More diverse rush patterns, improved stick-handling, better offensive positioning, etc. There are plenty of things Kulich can add to his game that can help elevate his status as a prospect from a high-end complement to a play-driver.
The Prospects Challenge will be the first test for a player like Kulich to see how much he can add or has already added to his game. His AHL rookie season is out of the way and the 19-year-old still a lot of time to continue to form his game into something special.
Follow along with us on Twitter for live coverage of the event @TheChargingBUF