Games Below From 11/11/2019 – 11/17/2019

NOTE:  For recaps below, we are highlighting any prospects who contributed on the score sheet over the past week or did anything notable.  For an overall view of Sabres Prospects and their stats, be sure to check The Charging Buffalo’s Prospect Stat Tracker which is updated daily here —-> TCB Sabres Prospect Stat Tracker 

Prospect of the Week:  G – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Cincinnati (ECHL) – 2GP – 2W – 0.00 GAA – 1.000 SV%

Luukkonen stopped all 45 shots he faced in the 2 games played for the Cyclones of the ECHL last week and earns the honor for Prospect of the Week.  The giant goaltender remains with Cincinnati as of now but with performances like this he will likely get called up to Rochester in the near future.  It’s clear that he is fully recovered from his off-season hip surgery and will only improve an already solid Amerks team in the AHL.

• Dylan Cozens had a busy week as he represented the WHL in the CHL/Russia Series which sees the 3 Major Junior Leagues in Canada face off against a team of junior age Russians.  In these 2 games, Cozens chipped in 2 assists en route to helping the CHL claim the series over Russia.  For Lethbridge, Cozens played 2 games and had 2 goals, both of which came in the same contest as he improved his point total to 30 points in 21 games.
• Pekar had one blow up game this past week where he scored 1 goal and 3 assists.  One of those assists being a beautiful spinning pass out to the front of the net as highlighted below.  As this organization clearly has a lack of depth at forward coming up, Pekar is on track to get an opportunity to crack the bottom 6 of the Sabres by the 2021-22 season.
• It would be nice if the Sabres had access to call up Arttu Ruotsalainen who continues his torrid pace playing for Ilves in the Finnish pro league.  He scored a goal and added 2 assists in 3 games which kept him at a point per game through 16 contests this season.  A great skater who has a lot of offensive potential, he is looking more and more likely to be a part of the Buffalo Sabres once Liiga play ends and thereafter.  
• There’s zero excuse for 24 year old Lawrence Pilut to be playing in Rochester at this point.  He has proven himself capable at the NHL level and due to the struggles the Sabres are currently having, he needs to be called up and playing regular minutes.  His 9 points in 11 games for the Amerks is a great start to the season and what he brings to the table from an offensive standpoint cannot be overstated.  
• With the injuries to the forward group plaguing the organization, Jason Botterill may be forced to call up Andrew Oglevie who is excelling in his 2nd season with Rochester.  He himself struggled with injuries last year and was not able to produce very well offensively but that has since changed as he chipped in 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games last week.  This brought his totals to 10 points in 16 games for Rochester which is good for 3rd best on the team.
• Linus Weissbach got moved off of a line with Caufield and Turcotte but still produced 2 goals and 1 assist for the Badgers.  He is truly showing that he deserves an ELC at the end of this season and get a chance with Rochester to see if his game continues to develop in a positive direction.  His 14 points in 12 games are good for 3rd on the team and he’s on pace to beat his career best 26 points scored in his freshman season.
• It was a strong week for the goaltending prospects in the season and Erik Portillo added to his win totals for the season going 2-0 for Dubuque of the USHL.  Turning away 43 of the 45 shots he faced.  This brought his save percentage up to .907 which is good for 10th in the league.  The Michigan commit for 2020-21 is developing his game in a positive direction after dominating the Swedish junior leagues last year.
• Tage Thompson was pointless in his 3 games with Rochester and 1 game with the Sabres as he was called up to Buffalo due to injuries to the forward group.  He himself fell victim to the injury bug  with a shoulder injury suffered during a game against Chicago Sunday night.  Per the Sabres injury report, Thompson will likely be out for 3-5 weeks and further depletes the available forward depth in the organization.

WHL

C Dylan Cozens – Lethbridge

2GP 2G 0A 2PTS

OHL

C Matej Pekar – Barrie

3GP 1G 4A 5PTS

AHL – Rochester Americans

LW Bretty Murray

3GP 0G 4A 4PTS

LD Lawrence Pilut

3GP 1G 2A 3PTS

LD Jacob Bryson

3GP 0G 2A 2PTS

RW Andrew Oglevie

3GP 2G 2A 4PTS

RD Casey Fitzgerald

3GP 0G 1A 1PTS

NCAA

LW Linus Weissbach – Wisconsin

2GP 2G 1A 3PTS

LD Mattias Samuelsson – Western Michigan

2GP 0G 1A 1PTS

SHL

C Marcus Davidsson – Vaxjo

2GP 0G 1A 1PTS

Liiga

LW Arttu Ruotsalainen – Ilves

3GP 1G 2A 3PTS

Czech

LW Lukas Rousek – Praha

3GP 2G 0A 2PTS

USHL

G Erik Portillo – Dubuque

2GP – 2W – 0.99 GAA – .955 SV%

ECHL

G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – Cincinnati

2GP – 2W – 0.00 GAA – 1.000 SV%

Not Active – Injured

• Aaron Huglen – Fargo (USHL)

Continue to check in every Monday for a weekly prospect update from The Charging Buffalo Crew.

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Week Ahead Schedule