It was a big season followed by a crazy ride through the Calder Cup playoffs for Devon Levi. Now, we see what is next for the Sabres’ top goaltending prospect. Can he break through in the NHL, or does he need more seasoning in Rochester?
“I’m super grateful for this year, and I’m excited for next year,” Levi said Tuesday on a video call during Amerks breakup day in Blue Cross Arena. “I feel like I’m ready to play in the NHL, but, obviously, it’s out of my control, and I leave that up to the people in charge, people paid to make that decision. It takes time as a goalie. ... All I can focus on is being the best version of myself every single day.”
Levi was a pretty good version most of the time for the Amerks, giving them one of their best seasons in goal since Ryan Miller was between the pipes 20 years ago.
Rochester goalie Devon Levi makes a save in the second period of an AHL division final playoff game against Laval on May 14. Joed Viera, Buffalo News
Levi went 25-13-4 with a 2.20 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in the regular season, finishing third in the AHL in wins and sixth in GAA and save percentage. He then went 5-3, 2.52/.910 in the playoffs, including back-to-back shutouts of Syracuse to close a first-round sweep.
“I was not surprised,” Sabres center Jiri Kulich, who joined the Amerks for the playoffs, said Tuesday. “The things he’s done before, being here for the playoffs last year, too. Everyone just believes in him, and he’s such a great goalie, you can’t wait for his future.”
But things didn’t go nearly as well in Rochester’s five-game loss to Laval in the North Division finals as Levi’s numbers ballooned to 3.64/.862 in the series. He was stellar in Rochester’s 5-1 win in Game 4, but gave up a tiebreaking backhand in the third period of Game 3 to Laval’s Florian Xhekaj, and couldn’t make the key saves needed in Game 5 as the Amerks were blanked 5-0.
“It hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows this year. There’s been good moments, and then there’s been harder moments, and all those moments you take in and you learn from them,” he said. “And at the end of the day, the more you go through as a goalie, the more challenges, adversity, the thicker your skin gets. And you need thick skin to be able to play in the NHL.”
The Sabres, of course, are still trying to figure out their goaltending in the wake of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s subpar season in the first year of his five-year contract. A Luukkonen-Levi tandem come fall would seem to be too risky a proposition, but the goaltending market is thin this offseason, so the team would appear to be in a tough spot.
Levi has been drawing a lot of comparisons to Calgary’s Dustin Wolf, who played 169 games for the club’s AHL affiliates before breaking through this season with the Flames to became a Calder Trophy finalist. Levi has played 89 career games in Rochester, counting playoffs.
Wolf, 24, is eight months older than Levi, and they’re both 6 feet tall at a time when much bigger goalies are the norm.
Levi said he understands comparisons, but simply wants to “enjoy the process and let the outcomes happen.”
“I kind of leave that up to other people to decide,” he said. “It’s obviously easy to compare and easy to look at trajectories, but I know that if I just stick to what I’m doing and what makes me successful, that’s all I can control and ... things will happen for me eventually.”
Levi was spotted by the Sabres in nine games, going 2-7, 4.12/.872 overall and 0-5 on the road while enduring a spate of the club’s poor games in front of him.
“I know what makes me successful,” he said. “Having another year of self reflection, understanding myself a little bit better and using that knowledge to my power this summer and going into next year ... If you do that right, it’s always a big tool.”
Rousek to Sweden
Forward Lukas Rousek, the only Amerk to play in all 72 regular-season games this season, has been rumored for the last month to be headed overseas to play in the fall, but said, “Nothing official. I don’t know yet. We’ll see for next couple days” when asked about those reports Tuesday.It didn’t take that long. HV71 in Sweden announced a two-year deal with Rousek later Tuesday. The Sabres’ sixth-round pick in 2019 had seven goals and 35 assists this year for the Amerks, and scored in back-to-back games against Laval. Rousek, who has played 211 games in Rochester the last four years, did not get an NHL callup this season after scoring one goal in 17 games with Buffalo the previous two years.
