HOW PLAYING THE RIGHT WAY HAS LED TO SUCCESS IN THE LEONE ERA
Several Amerks having career seasons under first-year head coach
Mar 19, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans are 14 games from completing their 69th regular season in franchise history. Barring an unforeseen misstep into a giant crater, this team will not see its story end there.
With 76 points, the Amerks are currently second in the AHL’s North Division and fourth in the league overall. At their current pace, Rochester will finish with the most points the team has had in a season since the 2018-19 campaign and are doing so under the second-youngest head coach in the AHL in Michael Leone.
“I believe in our process,” said Leone. “If we stick to it, we’re going to win a lot more hockey games and I know we will.”
From day one, the Amerks’ identity seemed different this season. The roster is one of the youngest in the AHL, yet their style of play mimics the days of yesteryear when the league was once littered with veterans whose time in the NHL had passed.
The Amerks are a bit of a throwback at times: rugged, hard-nosed, blue-collar hockey. They can also play with skill and certainly have the talent to do so.
Isak Rosén has had consecutive All-Star seasons and is on pace to be the first 30-goal scorer this team has seen since Victor Olofsson in 2018-19.
Brett Murray has returned to being the power forward from two seasons ago as he’s matched his career-high in goals from that year with 23.
Noah Östlund has operated at nearly a point-per-game pace since the start of January and is having a marvelous rookie season.
Devon Levi has somehow improved his play from a season ago. After a stupendous rookie campaign in the Flower City, the netminder is top 10 in the AHL in practically every statistical category, including a share of the league lead in shutouts with five.
But it’s more than just your standout names. Under Leone, everyone has benefitted. His system has helped players who maybe flew under the radar in previous seasons now flourish with the current game plan.
“I just think there's a certain way you have to play the game. My job is to develop hockey players to hopefully get them to the highest level. To get there, you have to be physical, compete, and work.”
Words like that were taken to heart by Tyson Kozak, a player who after two injury-plagued seasons posted career numbers early this year as an Amerk. His efforts have been rewarded by splitting his third professional season between Rochester and Buffalo, playing in 13 games with the Sabres to date.
“I look at a player like Tyson Kozak. His time's going to come one day. I truly believe that he's going to play in the NHL,” prophesized Leone in November.
“When he gets called up, whenever that is down the road, how is he going to have to play to make an impact at that level if he's not going to be asked to go make plays off the line rush? He's going to be asked to be physical and work. And I think that's with all our players, even our young guys that have a lot of skill.”
Graham Slaggert is another player who’s blossomed during his second year in the Flower City. He has scored a career-high in goals (10), including five shorthanded goals, becoming the first Amerk to do so since Hall of Famer Don McSween scored five shorties 35 years ago in the 1989-90 AHL season.
“I think we’ve just been able to remain consistent,” said Slaggert earlier in the season when looking at the success of the depth players on the roster. “It’s a really simple recipe when you look at it: get pucks deep to chase and work hard to win puck battles in the corners on a night-to-night basis. I take pride in being an Amerk. It’s awesome to be here and that’s where my focus is right now.”
Riley Fiddler-Schultz is another, if not the success story of the season. The second-year pro appeared in six games with the Amerks last season before spending the rest of the season in with Jacksonville in the ECHL. He made Rochester out of training camp to start the 2024-25 season, then didn’t appear in a game until Nov. 20, sitting as a healthy scratch for over a month. Since then, the 22-year-old has amassed nine goals and 19 points in 37 games wearing the red, white, and blue.
Leone referenced several conversations with Fiddler-Schultz during that time, keeping an open line of communication with one of his players to ensure they felt belief and motivation even if it wasn’t always in plain sight. Like his teammates, the results have proven the success of trusting the process.
“It means a lot to have that kind of trust from your coach,” said Fiddler-Schultz. “I’m just very grateful for the opportunities I’ve gotten here and that I’ve been able to capitalize on the opportunities awarded to me.”
The list goes on. Brendan Warren is another ECHL success story. Kale Clague has more goals this season than any of his other six professional campaigns. Felix Sandström hasn’t lost a game in goal since Dec 6.
If the Amerks are going to go the distance come playoff time, it’s not going to be because they had the most skill or they had the fastest team. Leone often points to one clear objective: playing the game the right way.
“The biggest thing for me is like when we had our two years in Green Bay and when I was there; if you look at the kids that we had that are now playing college hockey, they've all have had big time success. And that's the biggest thing that you want to have as a coach. It feels great when you get a call back from their college coach saying that he plays the game the right way. He's competitive and he's a winning hockey player. I think that's really important. When I accepted this job, I brought in a certain belief system of what needs to be held accountable for players to be successful. I'm not saying I don't want guys to play with skill, but you've got to play the game the right way to ultimately get rewarded. It’s the non-negotiables that matter.”
“The tracking, the 50-50 battles, stopping in the blue paint, coming back in your zone, being responsible. I think that's what ultimately separates the good from the really great players that are ultimately going to help you win hockey games.”
The Amerks have won hockey games October-March. They hope to do more of that throughout the month and into April.
But the ultimate goal is almost in sight. If the Amerks can reach that brass ring, they’ll be winning more games in May and June, too.