Star power and intrigue at the 5th annual Sabres Prospects Challenge

Published by hockkeybuzz.com, 9-6-2019

The 5th annual Buffalo Sabres Prospects Challenge begins tonight. Prospects from the Sabres, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins will get the opportunity to show what they've got against their peers in the round-robin tournament that ends on Monday. The event will be held at Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo adjacent to KeyBank Center and admission is $10.

Sabres fans get to see their prospect pool in a competitive environment, some of whom will be donning the Blue and Gold for the first time. And for those attending tonight's game at 7:30 pm, they'll have the added bonus of seeing 2019 first-overall pick Jack Hughes in action as he'll be skating for the Devils.

Hughes is the marquis name at the tournament and one can expect a heavy dose of the 5'10" 166 lb. Orlando, Florida native as he'll be bringing his speed, vision and skill-set to the rink for the first time in a Devils sweater. Fans of all four teams will be watching their own prospects but Hughes is the player that should grab the attention of every fan base.

Whomever lines up across from Hughes' line will have a tough task and luckily for the Sabres they'll be getting back their 2019 first round pick, Dylan Cozens. The Yukon native and seventh-overall selection in June was injured at Buffalo's development camp when he was checked by Brandon Hickey resulting in a fractured thumb. Cozens shucked his red, no-contact jersey yesterday and was declared ready to play in the tournament. The 6'6" 215 lb. two-way center is ready for a matchup against the best the tournament has to offer, beginning with Hughes tonight.

There a few forwards of intrigue at this tournament for Buffalo, with Victor Olofsson being the one most are excited about. At 24 yrs. old and with nearly five full seasons playing professional hockey against men, Olofsson will be expected to look and play the part of one that's older and more experienced than almost every player out there. Teams will be keying on the winger and his wicked shot but it will also be interesting to see whether coach Chris Taylor will use him on the penalty kill. Taylor, who coached the Swede last year with the Rochester Americans, said that the 5'11" 188 lb. Olofsson wanted, and worked for, more ice-time and that he put him on the PK because of that willingness and desire. 

Buffalo's prospect pool up-front was bolstered by the signing of forward Arttu Ruotsalainen, who was signed out of Finland in May after scoring 21 goals and 42 points for Ilves. Ruotsalainen is on the smaller side at only 5'8" 179 lbs. but according to his coach in Finland, Karri Kavi, "he's not skating around the rink. He goes there when it's happening" (via Sabres.com.) Kavi relied upon Ruotsalainen as the team's top center and was also on their No. 1 powerplay and penalty kill units. 

Matej Pekar missed the second half of his 2018-19 OHL season with an injury but was having a strong campaign in his first year with the Barrie Colts scoring 14 goals and 36  points in 33 games before he was lost for the season. The two-way winger, who's a banger with some finish, will see his first action since breaking his collar bone in January.

Expectations have grown for center Rasmus Asplund, who had a strong September last season and eventually found his footing in the AHL to finish with 41 points (10+31) in 75 games. Asplund's progress should provide a challenge to Buffalo's bottom-six incumbents this year but a '20-'21 arrival seems more likely for the 2016 second round pick (33rd-overall.)

There's plenty of intrigue on Buffalo's blueline as well beginning with two players who play completely different styles. 

Twenty year old defenseman Henri Jokiharju was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks on July 9 in what was considered a one-for-one hockey trade of first rounders (Alexander Nylander.) Jokiharju, with his fluid skating and deft puck movement, is the type of defenseman the Sabres want to move forward with. He played in 38 games for the Blackhawks last season as a 19 yr. old with the blessing of three-time Stanley Cup-winning head coach Joel Quenneville and has the look of a top-four defenseman. 

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Will Borgen, who's on-ice presence and command with the Amerks last season seemed much bigger than his 6'3" 196 lb. frame. Whereas Jokiharju has the fluidity, Borgen is a more of a rugged defenseman yet one who can skate extremely well. 

Steady blueliner Casey Fitzgerald has been on a long developmental curve having played four full seasons at Boston College before tuning pro in March. Expectations are increasing for the 2016 third-round pick (86th) as he fared well in his first taste of the pro game with the Amerks late last season. Like Borgen and Fitzgerald, Jacob Bryson also took the college route but left a year early to sign with Buffalo. Bryson is packing 184 lbs. on a 5'9" frame and although it's on the smaller side, he never backs away from a battle and has great feet to maneuver in and out of traffic. Bryson is also a pretty good puck distributor with 62 assists in 111 games for the Providence Friars.

Other than Hughes, here's a few names to watch from the opposition.

Todd Cordell, Devils blogger for hockeybuzz.com, points to defenseman Ty Smith as "one of the better d-prospects in hockey" and RW Graeme Clarke as a mid-round pick who "has one of the better shots in his draft class and is not shy about using it." Cordell also makes mention of Jesper Boqvist, a top-five scorer in the SHL last season (13 goals and 35 points in 55 games) "who has the talent to force his way onto the (Devils) squad."

And Anthony Travalgia who covers the Bruins for hockeybuzz, chimed in with some of his players to watch for the B's.

Former Notre Dame winger Anders Bjork skated in 50 games for the Bruins the past two seasons and is "trying to work his way back to a consistent role after a pair of shoulder surgeries." He should be a force for Boston and Travalgia also mentions defenseman Urho Vaakanainen, who's part of a deep pool of defensemen for the Bruins.

The 2019-20 NHL season is less than a month away. Training camps open next week. But tonight we can whet our appetite with the beginning of the Prospects Challenge. Here are Buffalo's lines and pairings from yesterday's practice from Sabres.com:

68 Victor Olofsson - 74 Rasmus Asplund - 52 Andrew Oglevie
73 Matej Pekar - 42 Dylan Cozens - 93 Lukas Rousek
84 Sebastian Vidmar - 25 Arttu Ruotsalainen - 76 Pascal Aquin
75 Bobby MacIntyre - 57 Brett Murray - 82 Kyle Olson
80 John Wiitala - 59 Stephen Harper 

78 Jacob Bryson - 10 Henri Jokiharju
44 Brandon Hickey - 3 William Borgen
56 Kurt Gosselin - 45 Casey Fitzgerald
61 Devante Stephens / 83 Justin Baudry - 70 Tobie Bisson

34 Jonas Johansson 
60 Matthew Welsh