Buffalo Sabres Prospects – #1 Devon Levi

The Buffalo Sabres https://rtb.thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres are considered to have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL, not only because of their selecting high in recent drafts but also due to their eye for talent and their organizational choices of either leaving players to develop in their home countries or bringing them to North America. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres, or are on AHL or NHL deals and have played less than 40 NHL games.

1. – DEVON LEVI – G (ROCHESTER – AHL / BUFFALO – NHL)

The Montreal native was a 2020 seventh-round pick of the Florida Panthers and was acquired by the Sabres in July 2021 in the deal that sent Sam Reinhart to the Sunshine State and brought back a 2022 first-round pick that turned in the club’s #2 ranked prospect in Jiri Kulich.

The 23-year-old has an impressive list of credentials, including winning the top goaltender at the 2021 World Junior, making Team Canada for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and winning the Mike Richter Award for best NCAA goaltender twice at Northeastern University before turning pro and signing with Buffalo late in the 2022-23 season.

Levi played well in a seven-game stint at the end of the season, which convinced the Sabres hierarchy that he was ready to be their starter, but after going 1-3 in four straight starts at the start of last season, the weight of being the go-to guy appeared to be too much, too soon.

After posting a 10-8-2 record with a sub .900 save percentage in the first half, Buffalo decided it was the best for the youngster to play regularly in the AHL with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen getting most of the starts with the Sabres. The decision paid dividends, as Levi went 16-6-4, with a 2.42 GAA and .927 save %, and had a positive experience with the Amerks.

This season, Levi started as a backup for Luukkonen after Anaheim claimed veteran James Reimer, but the youngster went 1-4-0 in his first five starts. After Reimer was reclaimed, the Sabres took advantage of Levi’s waiver exemption and chose to have him play regularly in the AHL. That has resulted in an impressive 16-4-2 record, 2.16 GAA, and .919 save percentage in 22 games, and the likelihood of him playing full-time in the NHL next season, but with Luukkonen likely to remain the workhorse in Buffalo, it could mean Levi will be used as a trade piece before the trade deadline or during the offseason.

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