BREAKING DOWN THE SABRES ROSTER FOR THE 2022 PROSPECTS CHALLENGE: DEFENSEMEN AND GOALTENDERS
Sep 12, 2022By Suzie Cool
Good news. With another day marked off the calendar, we’re another day closer to the Rochester Americans 2022-23 campaign.
Even better news. That just means we’re another day closer to the Prospects Challenge, an annual event hosted by the Buffalo Sabres now in its seventh year at LECOM Harborcenter. For the first time in the history of the event, the Sabres will be joined by five other teams to compete in a round-robin challenge featuring prospects from each team. The participating teams this season are the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE BUFFALO SABRES ROSTER FOR 2022 PROSPECTS CHALLENGE
There are 27 players invited to this year’s Prospects Challenge with 17 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders making up the roster we’ll see in action later this week. After taking a look at the forward group that’ll be showcasing their skillset in just a few days, here’s a closer look at the defensemen and goaltenders on this year’s roster.
DEFENSEMEN
Zach Berzolla – Defenseman
Signed a one-year AHL contract with Rochester on July 14, 2022.
After spending a majority of the 2021-22 campaign with the Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL), Berzolla appeared in eight games with the Hartford Wolf Pack during his first professional season. With Jacksonville, Berzolla appeared in 51 games, logging a career-high 17 assists and 20 points.
From 2017-21, Berzolla attended Colorado College (NCHC), playing in 133 career games while posting 23 points over his four-year tenure. Prior to his time in Colorado, Berzolla played with the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) for a three-year stint, appearing in 110 games and posting 22 assists.
Francois-James Buteau – Defenseman
Buteau is an invitee to this year’s Prospects Challenge in Buffalo.
Over the last two seasons, Buteau has played in the QMJHL with the Cape Breton Eagles, appearing in 102 career games and tallying 22 points. In 2021-22 with Cape Breton, Buteau posted career-highs in all offensive categories.
Vsevolod Komarov – Defenseman
Komarov was a fifth-round selection (134th overall) by Buffalo in the 2022 NHL Draft and has yet to sign his entry-level contract with the club.
Last season was Komarov’s first in the QMJHL in which he played for the Québec Remparts. In 60 games with the Remparts, Komarov posted 19 points on two goals and 17 assists while adding 40 penalty minutes to his stat line.
Looking ahead to the 2022-23 season, Komarov seems to be heading back to the QMJHL with the Remparts to get some more junior experience under his belt.
Oskari Laaksonen – Defenseman
Laaksonen was a third-round selection (89th overall) by the Sabres in the 2017 NHL Draft. The defenseman signed his three-year, entry-level contract with Buffalo on July 17, 2020.
Last year in Rochester, Laaksonen posted career-highs in all offensive categories, including 29 assists and 34 points while appearing in 71 games. In Laaksonen’s first year with the Amerks in 2020-21, he appeared in all but one game with Rochester, was named to the 2020-21 AHL North Division All-Star team and was the team’s recipient of the Fairand/O’Neil Sportsmanship award.
From 2017-21, Laaksonen played three seasons with the Ilves Tampere in SM-liiga before playing a partial campaign with the Pelicans in 2020-21. Following his first three pro seasons in SM-liiga from 2017-20, Laaksonen ranked in the top 20 in league history for most assists (35, 5th most) and points (40, 8th most) among defensemen prior to their age 21 seasons.
Additionally, Laaksonen won a gold medal with Finland at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships with fellow Sabres prospect, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen, alongside him.
Once again, we’ll more than likely see Laaksonen on a top pairing on the blueline here in Rochester.
Mats Lindgren – Defenseman
Lindgren was a fourth-round selection (106th overall) by Buffalo in the 2022 NHL Draft, the first defenseman taken by the Sabres this year. The young defenseman has yet to sign his entry-level contract with Buffalo.
From 2019-22, Lindgren has appeared in 94 games in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers, totaling 54 career points on six goals and 48 assists. In 2021-22, Lindgren had his best offensive season, notching 44 points, 42 penalty minutes and a +25 plus/minus rating. After recording seven assists in the postseason with Kamloops, Lindgren helped advance his team to the WHL championship.
Lindgren’s father, also Mats Lindgren, is a former NHL forward who appeared in 387 games with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks.
Ethan Ritchie – Defenseman
Ritchie is another invitee to this year’s Prospects Challenge, having spent the last three seasons splitting time between the OJHL and OHL.
Most recently in the 2021-22 campaign, Ritchie split time between the Kingston Frontenacs and Sarnia Sting of the OHL, appearing in 65 games while tallying 38 points. Additionally, Ritchie saw time in six postseason matchups with the Sting, notching one goal.
Chas Sharpe – Defenseman
Sharpe is yet another defenseman invitee to this year’s Prospects Challenge in Buffalo.
The past two years, Sharpe has been putting in work in the OHL with the Mississauga Steelheads. In 2021-22, Sharpe produced a career-year with 28 points in 62 games and racking up 35 penalty minutes.
Spencer Sova – Defenseman
Sova is the last of the invitees on the defensive side of this year’s Prospect Challenge.
In 2021-22, Sova played in his first OHL season with the Erie Otters. He appeared in 64 games with Erie, posting nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points.
GOALTENDERS
Tomas Suchanek – Goaltender
Suchanek is the goaltender invitee to this year’s Prospects Challenge, spending last season in the WHL.
With the Tri-City Americans, Suchanek went 12-24-4 with a .901 save percentage in his first year in the WHL. Suchanek allowed just 150 goals-against while making 1,358 saves on the season.
Additionally, Suchanek represented Czechia at the 2022 U-20 World Junior Championships, appearing in 14 games.
Beck Warm – Goaltender
Warm signed a one-year AHL contract with Rochester on July 18, 2022.
In 2021-22, Warm split time between the Norfolk Admirals and the Chicago Wolves. Warm posted a 7-10-1 record with a .912 save percentage with the Admirals in the 2021-22 campaign, while seeing just one game with Chicago.
During the condensed 2020-21 season, Warm spent its entirety with the Wolves in his first professional campaign. After beginning his pro career winning five of his first six starts, Beck went on to accumulate an 8-4-1 overall record with two shutouts with the Wolves.
He completed a five-year career in the WHL, splitting his tenure between the Tri-City Americans and Edmonton Oil Kings. Warm combined for a 71-56-13 record with five shutouts in his time in the WHL.