Matt Savoie, Jiri Kulich headline Sabres' roster for 2023 Prospects Challenge

Buffalo roster for the six-team tournament includes five first-round picks

The Buffalo Sabres announced their roster for the 2023 Prospects Challenge on Tuesday.

Five first-round picks highlight the 25-player roster, with forwards Matt Savoie (2022), Jiri Kulich (2022), Zach Benson (2023), Isak Rosen (2021), and defenseman Ryan Johnson (2019) slated to participate in the six-team tournament.

Savoie and Kulich are expected to compete for an NHL roster spot when training camp begins next week.

Savoie, 19, earned a long look at training camp last season before returning to the Winnipeg Ice. He didn’t miss a beat in his return to the WHL, putting up 95 points (38 goals, 57 assists) in 62 regular-season games and another 29 (11 goals, 18 assists) in 19 WHL playoff games.

Kulich, 19, had 24 goals and 46 points 62 games as a rookie in the American Hockey League in 2022-23 last season, and added another seven goals and 11 points in 12 games in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Others on the roster include second-year pros Aleksandr Kisakov, Tyson Kozak, and Filip Cederqvist, each of whom played all last season with the Rochester Americans. Forwards Olivier Nadeau and Viktor Neuchev, and defenseman Nikita Novikov headline those kicking off their (North American) professional careers. Nadeau got a brief taste of life as a pro last spring when he joined the Amerks (but did not play) during their postseason run after his QMJHL season ended.

Goalie Devon Levi isn’t on the roster, as he prepares to compete to be the starting goalie at training camp. The 21-year-old impressed in his seven games late last season as the Sabres pushed for a playoff spot, going 5-2-0 with a .905 save percentage.

Scott Ratzlaff, the Sabres’ fifth-round pick (No. 141) in the 2023 NHL Draft, will be Buffalo’s top goalie in the tournament.

The prospects will first hit the ice for practice Wednesday afternoon. The six-team tournament begins Friday at LECOM Harborcenter, with a tripleheader of games kicking off at noon. The Sabres cap off the day’s action against the Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m.