Buffalo gets 2022 draftee signed to two-year, entry-level contract
The Buffalo Sabres could lose some of their prospects if they are not signed by June 1, but the club was proactive in getting one of their promising NCAA products signed. The club announced on Thursday that they have signed University of Connecticut winger Jake Richard to a two-year, entry-level deal.
The Jacksonville, FL, native was drafted in the sixth round (170th overall) at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal and has made impressions at the prospect tournaments and summer development camps the last few seasons with his scoring prowess. The 21-year-old had a stellar season as a sophomore with the Huskies, posting 15 goals, and 28 assists in 34 games, but took a slight step back in his junior season, with 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 38 games.
According to Puckpedia, Richard’s deal was for an AAV of just over $1 million, likely due to wanting to get him signed to a pro deal rather than going back for his senior season and potentially becoming an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2027.
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In other news, the Sabres recent success could mean a number of defections from their roster and potentially from their coaching staff. On his 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated that Rochester assistant Vaclav Prospal may be in the mix for an NHL assistant coaching position with St. Louis under Jim Montgomery.
The former NHLer joined the Amerks in 2023 as an assistant under head coach Seth Appert after coaching five years in Czechia, and has had a significant impact on the development of some of the Sabres top prospect forwards, including fellow Czech Jiri Kulich, and other first rounders Isak Rosen, Noah Ostlund, and Konsta Helenius.
This potential change could be the first of many upcoming with the club off the ice, as Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen indicated at his season-ending media availability earlier this month.
"I think we have a few announcements coming soon here,” Kekalainen said. “I expect all of our staff to be the best in their areas. We have our amateur scouting staff here…. they've done a great job. I expect them to be the best amateur scouting staff in the whole league, and that's what we're striving for with our selections for different roles. I think there are some areas where we need some more people, good people, we have some in mind, and some of them will come out soon. We've already made some decisions. We just need to make sure that we finalize the paperwork and get going.”
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