The Sabres drafted Rousek in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Draft
The Sabres drafted Rousek in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Draft
The Buffalo Sabres are considered one of the best deepest prospect pools in the NHL, not only because of their selecting high in recent drafts but also due to their eye for talent and their organizational choices of either leaving players to develop in their home countries or bringing them to North America. Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club’s top 40 prospects. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals and have played less than 40 NHL games.
READ ABOUT OTHER SABRES PROSPECTS
13. – LUKAS ROUSEK - RW (ROCHESTER – AHL, BUFFALO - NHL)
Rousek was the Sabres sixth-round pick at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver and was selected as a 20-year-old overager after playing two seasons for Sparta Praha of the Czech League. The plan was to bring the winger over to North America in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to stay at home and play another season, and that resulted in a 38-point season.
His first season in North America was shortened to just 19 games by a serious knee injury and nearly over before it started, but he bounced back in 2023, leading AHL Rochester with 56 points (16 goals, 40 assists), making his NHL debut, and scoring 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in the Amerks run to the Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final
Last season, it was thought that the 25-year-old winger would be a good fit to replace the injured Jack Quinn at the start of the season, but a subpar training camp performance saw he demoted back to the AHL. Rousek bolstered his case for promotion with another solid season in Rochester (41 points - 10 goals, 31 assists in 51 games), but he failed to produce when called up after the trade deadline (2 assists in 15 games with the Sabres.
With the additions made to the bottom six, Rousek will be hard-pressed to make the Sabres roster, unless he has an excellent training camp and makes an impression on new head coach Lindy Ruff.
LATEST THN BUFFALO STORIES
Sabres Say They Are Ready For Accountability
Ruff Sees Similarities Between Sabres And Former Club
Ruff Hopes To Bring Winning Culture Back To Buffalo
Follow Michael on X @MikeInBuffalo