Most of the chatter surrounding the start of Buffalo Sabres training camp Thursday will be the on-ice absence of Jack Eichel, the frustrated star center who requires surgery and is still awaiting a trade.
Many of the marquee storylines entering camp revolve around the 24-year-old, including who will thrive in the top-line role vacated by Eichel and whether coach Don Granato will award the captaincy to another player when the blockbuster deal is completed.
Yet, there’s so much more to discuss with the 2021-22 version of the Sabres hitting the ice inside KeyBank Center on Thursday. How will Granato establish a culture in the dressing room following the departures of Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen? Is Rasmus Dahlin going to enter camp ready to become this team’s No. 1 defenseman? Which of the new additions will have a successful training camp?
Lance Lysowski and Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News provide their opinions on five notable topics at the start of camp:
1. How do you see the Eichel situation impacting this club and dressing room throughout training camp?
LL: This will be more annoying for the players than anything. The Eichel questions are inevitable, but those may only last the first few days of camp. After all, what can these guys say? Eichel isn’t going to be on this team and athletes tend to have a mutual understanding that business decisions must be made. You won't see anyone criticize Eichel’s decision or how the team handled his medical situation. Perhaps the bigger issue is the lofty expectations that will follow the two players tasked with replacing Eichel and Reinhart: Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt.
MH: It will be Topic No. 1 at the start of camp and the center tandem of Cozens and Mittelstadt, in particular, will get lots of questions about it. But the hope is that after the initial Q&A, it will die down because there will be nothing new to say. The real issue could be if things continue through the season and how much the Sabres hear about Eichel from media covering their opponents, especially when they head to Canada. On the ice, the distraction could grow if rumors rumble that a deal could be happening. Who might be coming? Who else, if anyone, could be going? The Sabres have already tried to put on a happy face this summer by saying they're not worried the Eichel affair won't be a distraction. Good luck with that one. Massive, leaguewide story.
2. Who takes on a prominent leadership role during camp with Eichel absent and Reinhart gone?
LL: Okposo, Colin Miller, Will Butcher and Jeff Skinner will lead in a more subtle way – exactly what you’d expect from players with their experience. But I suspect this is the season when we’ll see Dahlin step into a prominent leadership role. Cozens has all the traits you look for in a captain, but Dahlin has three years of NHL experience and he’s hardened by the adversity he’s experienced. While you won’t see Dahlin lead vocally on the bench the way Eichel did in the past, the 21-year-old defenseman’s desire to win, and his incredible work ethic, will be pivotal during a camp in which the Sabres must establish a positive culture in the room. The departures of significant voices from the room may make players like Dahlin more comfortable to speak in difficult times.
MH: Initially during camp, I want to see Okposo really direct traffic in the dressing room. Okposo has become a social media pinata over the years and understandably so, but he has some credibility from his years in the league – and the way he played at the end of last season under Granato. As the season gets going, the Sabres have to immediately transition from the Eichel-Reinhart era to the Cozens-Dahlin era. This is Dahlin's fourth season. Now that he has a new contract, he needs to start to make it his team. We've already seen signs Cozens can do that. Maybe Dahlin was being too deferential to Eichel, Jake McCabe and Ristolainen. No need for that anymore.
3. Among the Sabres’ offseason additions, who are you looking forward to seeing in camp and why?
LL: Does J-J Peterka count? The 19-year-old winger was a standout performer throughout Prospects Challenge week, showcasing his top-end speed and remarkable shot. The true test comes when he’s competing against older, stronger NHL players. Peterka, a second-round draft choice in 2020, fared well in Germany’s DEL last season – he had nine goals and 20 points in 30 games – but this is a different challenge. He must show that he can create time and space in the offensive zone against more talented competition.
MH: I like players in prove-it seasons (Taylor Hall of 2021 notwithstanding). That means defenseman Butcher is a guy who you want to watch in camp and see if he makes a real statement that he can approach the form of his 44-point rookie season from four years ago. He's still only 26 years old, and remember all the buzz from the summer of 2017 when the then-Hobey Baker winner was a free agent and meeting with the Sabres? That talent should still be there. You had to love Peterka in the Prospects Challenge and you're intrigued by the high-end skill. But there were a couple bad turnovers that showed he's going to need to learn what he can get away with in North American pro hockey, and that means getting some time in for Rochester.
4. Which two goalies do you predict will make this roster?
LL: Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen would benefit from carrying the load for the Sabres at 22 years old, and we saw late last season that he has the talent to succeed in the NHL. However, Luukkonen has played only 24 games in the American Hockey League, totaling an .886 save percentage. The latter figure doesn’t paint an accurate picture of Luukkonen’s performance, as the Amerks were thin on the back end last season, and he struggled following a two-week Covid-19 pause. But Luukkonen can go play for a talented Amerks team and earn his full-time job in Buffalo.
MH: Anderson and Luukkonen. The Sabres can't possibly run an Anderson-Dell duo out there and insist they're not tanking, right? I don't think they are but a decision like that might say otherwise. Part of me wonders if some of Luukkonen's struggles last year can be connected the slipshod play you see at times in any AHL game. Then there was the Amerks' two-week pause because of multiple Covid-19 positive tests. The Amerks will be much better this year and maybe that would be a better environment for him than what could be a shooting gallery in Buffalo at times. But the cold bottom line is this: If he's your best goalie in camp or one of your two best, he plays in the NHL. Period.
5. Who is the player most likely to surpass expectations and earn a spot on the team?
LL: Mattias Samuelsson. The 21-year-old doesn’t have the offensive upside of Owen Power and Samuelsson may have been buried on the Sabres’ depth chart with the additions of fellow left-shot defensemen Butcher and Robert Hagg. But Samuelsson made significant strides last season, proving that he can make smart breakout passes and prevent high-danger chances. Samuelsson earned his NHL opportunity, appearing in 12 games with Buffalo. He’s 6-foot-4 and possesses a few attributes that will be needed in the absence of Ristolainen, most notably a physical style of play.
MH: I feel Luukkonen should be on the team and Arttu Ruotsalainen is clearly expected to make it. I like Samuelsson to make a real bid for a spot and what about Brett Murray? Based on being the best player on the ice at times in the Prospects Challenge, let's see what he can do in main camp against NHL players. He's 6-5 and clearly has learned a lot about using that size in key areas, especially around the paint. And while you wonder about his skating, he didn't seem out of his element on a line with Peterka and Jack Quinn. Can he keep up with an NHL pace? Murray is a prospect a lot of people have forgotten about but he continues on an interesting upward projection in the organization.
