Sabres Prospects Have Key Roles For Rochester
The Rochester Americans open the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs on Friday against the Syracuse Crunch at Blue Cross Arena as one of the hottest clubs in the AHL. The Amerks won eight of their last 10 games to finish tied with Cleveland with 88 points but lost the tiebreaker for top spot in the North Division because the Monsters had one more regulation win.
The two clubs met in the first round last season and Rochester rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win the series in five games. The Amerks then swept Toronto before losing to Hershey in six games in the Eastern Conference Final. This season Seth Appert has the benefit of young prospects eager to prove to the parent Sabres and new head coach Lindy Ruff that they are ready to make the jump and the best sign of that being the case would be a good showing in the postseason.
Perhaps the key to the Amerks chances is rookie goalie Devon Levi, who after being demoted in January by Buffalo posted a 16-6-4 record, 2.42 GAA, and .927 save percentage in 26 games. Jiri Kulich (27 goals) and Isak Rosen (20 goals) each increased their goal totals in their second North American pro season, Rochester got some late-season reinforcements in Swedes Anton Wahlberg and Noah Ostlund, and Appert may get even more help as the playoffs progress depending how far 2022 first rounder Matthew Savoie and defensive prospect Vsevolod Komarov go in their CHL Playoff quest.
NHL aspirations may not be limited to players, as Appert could be a candidate to move up to Buffalo to join Ruff’s staff after the season.
“Realistically, it’s not something I’ve put any thought into,” Appert said to Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News. “At the end of the day, those decisions are made by Kevyn, Jason, and Lindy, so I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about things that are outside of my control. I know that I’ve got the trust of people in this organization in terms of the job that we’ve done here and to me that’s good enough, and wherever it goes, it goes.”
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