The Buffalo Sabres have announced that they have assigned goaltender Scott Ratzlaff to their ECHL affiliate, the Jacksonville Icemen. Ratzlaff had been with the Sabres' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In his most recent appearance for the Amerks, the 20-year-old goaltender allowed seven goals on 41 shots. This was after he put together a 25-save shutout against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Feb. 6. In six games with the Amerks this season, Ratzlaff has posted a 3-2-1 record, an .882 save percentage, and a 3.38 goals-against average. Now, with this roster move, Ratzlaff will be working on his development down in the ECHL with Jacksonville. The 2023 fifth-round pick has performed well this season with the ECHL club, as he has posted a .916 save percentage and a 2.99 goals-against average in 12 games. This is Ratzlaff's first professional season, as he completed a five-year stint with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season. In 49 appearances this past season for Seattle, he had a 23-19-4 record, a .910 save percentage, and a 3.16 goals-against average. Ratzlaff is one of the Sabres' most promising goalie prospects, and it will be interesting to see how he performs with the Icemen from here.
