Sabres Recall Noah Ostlund, Assign Trevor Kuntar To AHL
Trevor Kuntar’s first NHL stint was short-lived. After his minor league deal was converted to an NHL pact back on Wednesday, his time in Buffalo is up for now as the team announced that they’ve assigned him to AHL Rochester and recalled center Noah Ostlund.
Ostlund has spent the bulk of the season up with Buffalo but with the team needing a seventh defenseman earlier in the week, he was the odd player out with his waiver exemption allowing for a quick solution. The 21-year-old has played in 20 games with the Sabres this season, picking up three goals and three assists while averaging 12:45 of ice time per contest. Ostlund has also gotten into seven games with the Amerks, collecting three goals and seven assists; three of those points came in his game on Wednesday, a mandatory outing before he could become recall-eligible again.
Kuntar is in his first season in Buffalo’s organization after coming over as an unrestricted free agent following his being non-tendered by Boston in June. The 24-year-old leads Rochester in goals this season with nine while also chipping in with four assists in 24 appearances. He made his NHL debut on Thursday, playing 5:12. Now that he’s on an NHL deal, there should be an opportunity for him to come back at some point later in the season whenever injuries arise.
Sabres Recall Zach Metsa, Reassign Noah Ostlund
The Buffalo Sabres have recalled defenseman Zach Metsa from the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Metsa was reassigned last Monday. He played in three games with Rochester last week and recorded two points, one penalty, and a plus-two.
Metsa played in the first four NHL games of his career earlier this season. He hasn’t found a scoresheet yet, other than one penalty, but has recorded a plus-three. Metsa has been a much more electric piece for Rochester. He has 13 points in 14 games with the Americans, good for second on the blue-line in scoring behind Zac Jones’ 20 points in 20 games.
Metsa, 27, is emerging as a potential NHL option after two strong AHL seasons to start his career. He joined Rochester as an undrafted free agent in 2022-23, after five years at Quinnipiac University, where he won one NCAA National Championship. Metsa had a quiet first year – with just 28 points in his first 72 AHL games. That preluded a true breakout last season. He recorded 49 points in 77 games, including playoffs, last season. That led Rochester’s defense in scoring and ranked third on the team overall. He has kept up the hot scoring through this season, helping to cement his spot on top of Buffalo’s call-up sheet over the more experienced Jones.
To make room for Metsa’s recall, Buffalo has also loaned center Noah Ostlund back to the AHL. The second-year pro has been Metsa’s counterpart on offense, bouncing between the NHL and AHL lineup for much of the year. He has seven points in six AHL games and six poinst in 20 NHL games. It’s the first scoring of his NHL career, after he failed to produce in the first eight games of his career last season. Ostlund will look to rediscover his offensive production with a return to the Americans, after only posting one assist in his last nine games with Buffalo.
Sabres Recall Noah Ostlund
The Sabres announced the recall of center Noah Ostlund from the AHL’s Rochester Americans. Buffalo does not have an open roster spot, but placed winger Jason Zucker on injured reserve in a corresponding move, per the NHL’s media portal. He’s expected to miss tonight’s game against the Mammoth due to an illness, but the IR placement rules him out for another two games after this one.
It’s the second recall in recent succession for the 21-year-old Ostlund. A first-round pick out of Sweden’s Djurgården in 2022, he still ranked as the Sabres’ No. 3 prospect entering the season. He’s an undersized but extremely cerebral pivot who demonstrated high-end two-way acumen against professionals in his home country. He made the jump to North America last year and has played primarily with Rochester since then, but has gotten a handful of NHL chances – including an 11-day call-up last month.
Ostlund has arguably been the Amerks’ best forward since his arrival. He put together a 19-17–36 line in 45 games last season, along with a +20 rating that led Rochester forwards. The defensive play hasn’t quite been at that level so far in 2025-26, but he’s been a scorching hot playmaker, rattling off a pair of goals and five assists for seven points through his first six minor-league games.
He’s fallen victim to limited ice time and role when given NHL call-ups, though. In 12 career appearances, he’s averaged just 10:50 per game and is still looking for his first career point. His defensive impacts haven’t yet translated, either. That was particularly true during last month’s recall, when Ostlund controlled just 41.3% of shot attempts at 5-on-5 despite starting 75% of his shifts in the offensive zone. He’s struggled in the faceoff dot, too, going 36% on draws.
He’ll nonetheless get another chance here to squeeze into a role as Buffalo’s forward group is decimated by injuries. Not only will Kulich be unavailable tonight, but they’re also expected to be without center Jiri Kulich as he deals with an undisclosed injury. That’s on top of the four forwards they already had on injured reserve before today, a list that includes a pair of top-six names in Zach Benson and Joshua Norris. As such, Buffalo’s lineup card will be submitted tonight without five of its top 12 forwards on the organizational depth chart.
Sabres To Activate Jordan Greenway
The Sabres are activating forward Jordan Greenway from injured reserve as he makes his season debut tonight against the Bruins, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed (via Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550). Center Noah Ostlund is being returned to AHL Rochester in the corresponding move.
It’s now been more than a seven-month absence for Greenway. His 2024-25 season ended a few weeks early due to a lower-body injury, and he then had follow-up surgery on a previous core muscle injury over the offseason. He underwent that procedure in mid-July, causing him to miss training camp and now nearly the first month of 2025-26.
The 28-year-old will be making his return to the lineup in an unfamiliar position. He’s expected to center a line between Jason Zucker and Jack Quinn, Ruff said yesterday. While Greenway played a bit of center in his junior/college days, it’s not a position he’s logged any significant time at in the NHL. He’s never taken more than 100 faceoffs in a season and hasn’t played a single game down the middle for Buffalo since the Sabres acquired him from the Wild at the 2023 trade deadline.
Greenway is kicking off his ninth season in the league, but has been hampered by injuries for much of his career. He only ever cracked the 70-game mark during his rookie season despite playing a key checking role as a top-nine forward for both Minnesota and Buffalo, essentially from the jump. Last year was one to forget expeditiously for the 6’6″ forward. Multiple injuries limited him to only 34 appearances and his two-way effectiveness was reduced, only notching eight points with a -4 rating. He still managed 100 hits, his fourth straight year at or above the mark, despite the limited time.
Those injury concerns also didn’t stop the Sabres from giving Greenway some security. He inked a two-year, $8MM deal with trade protection back in March to keep him around through the 2026-27 campaign.
With Greenway and defenseman Michael Kesselring coming off IR in the past few days, the Sabres are the healthiest they’ve been all season. They don’t have any defensemen on injured reserve and their total IR count is down to three with Joshua Norris, Justin Danforth, and Tyson Kozak still on the list.
Meanwhile, Ostlund’s first recall of the season ends after 11 days. The 2022 first-round pick slotted into the lineup four times during his summons, but his usage wasn’t tangibly different from the limited minutes he got in an eight-game recall last season. He’s still looking for his first NHL point, although he did show marked improvement defensively. He managed an even rating and 51.4 xGF% at even strength compared to his -6 rating and 37.1 xGF% last year. He was off to a hot start in Rochester with a goal and four assists through four games and will look to pick that back up in the coming days.
Sabres Recall Zac Jones, Noah Ostlund
The Sabres have recalled defenseman Zachary Jones and center Noah Ostlund from AHL Rochester, per a team release. They already had one open roster spot, and they’ve placed winger Beck Malenstyn on injured reserve to open up the other one, according to the NHL’s media site.
Buffalo now has two options to insert into the lineup for tomorrow’s game on the blue line. It’s looking like they won’t have Jacob Bryson available after he exited yesterday’s win over the Panthers and entered concussion protocol. Zach Metsa was already on hand as a healthy extra after being summoned from Rochester earlier in the week. Whether he or Jones enters the lineup for Bryson, a lefty who was assuming third-pairing duties on his off side next to Mattias Samuelsson, remains to be seen.
It will be either player’s Sabres debut and a potential NHL debut for Metsa. As for Jones, the 25-year-old successfully cleared waivers during training camp after inking a rather rich two-way deal ($900K NHL/$550K AHL with Buffalo on July 1. He was an unrestricted free agent after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Rangers, where he’d spent the first five years of his NHL career. The 5’11” lefty was a third-round pick in 2019 and showed decent offensive promise in depth roles for New York, but was never able to elevate himself on their depth chart.
Jones is coming off something of a career year, notching a 1-10–11 scoring line in 46 appearances for the Blueshirts while averaging 17:15 of ice time per game. He was still a semi-frequent healthy scratch, though, no doubt due to a lack of physicality and poor possession impacts. He’s averaged 0.58 hits per game throughout his 115-game NHL career and has had negative relative Corsi shares at even strength in all five of his seasons at the top level. Last year’s possession numbers were particularly underwhelming at a 48.6 CF% and 44.2 xGF%, both below team averages.
That lack of two-way acumen, plus his above-league-minimum cap hit, were contributing factors to him clearing waivers. He’s off to a hot start in the minors, though, rattling off four assists through four games for Rochester – albeit with a -4 rating. Him and Metsa carry similar profiles, both in size and minor-league offensive production, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Buffalo opt for Jones, who has more NHL experience, as they try to extend their win streak to three and get to .500 on the season.
Ostlund’s recall ensures the Sabres will continue to carry 13 healthy forwards, with Malenstyn evidently getting banged up in the win against Florida. The team hasn’t offered an announcement on Malenstyn’s status. He didn’t see a shift in the last 10 minutes of Saturday’s win. The IR placement rules him out for Buffalo’s next three games. He’ll be eligible to return a week from his initial injury, making him available for activation on Oct. 25 against the Maple Leafs for the second half of their back-to-back. Malenstyn had no points and a -2 rating through his first five games, averaging 9:52 of ice time per night.
The Sabres also have Joshua Dunne on hand to insert into the lineup after he was scratched against Florida, so Ostlund isn’t a guarantee to make his season debut tomorrow. The 2022 first-round pick made his NHL debut last year, going pointless in an eight-game run late in the year with a -6 rating. He’s had more inspiring performances in Rochester, where he ranks second on the team in scoring with a goal and four assists through four games. The 21-year-old Swede also had 36 points in 45 AHL contests last season, his first in North America.
While there’s been recent on-ice momentum for the Sabres, it’s still been a disastrous start to the campaign for them in the injury department. Malenstyn joins Justin Danforth, Jordan Greenway, Michael Kesselring, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Joshua Norris on IR.
Snapshots: Vlasic, Ostlund, Sabourin, McCormick
Although he was cut in the leg in a collision on Sunday, it appears the Blackhawks got about the best-case scenario when it comes to defenseman Alex Vlasic. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times notes that while the blueliner won’t play in Chicago’s remaining three preseason games, he’s on track to be ready for the start of the regular season next week. The 24-year-old was a top-pairing player for the Blackhawks last season, notching a career-high 30 points while playing in every game and logging over 23 minutes per contest for the first time in his career. They’ll be counting on him to play a similar role this season.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Sabres center Noah Ostlund is listed as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 21-year-old made his NHL debut last season, getting into eight games with Buffalo while notching 19 goals and 17 assists in 45 games with AHL Rochester. Ostlund will likely be ticketed for a return to the Americans upon being cleared to return. If that doesn’t happen before the start of the regular season, the Sabres will carry a small pro-rated cap charge relative to the number of days that Ostlund was on Buffalo’s roster last season.
- The Lightning announced that they have recalled winger Scott Sabourin from AHL Syracuse. Cut earlier this month, he’ll now get a chance to skate in another preseason game or two and stake his case for a possible in-season recall. Signed to a one-year, two-way deal this summer, the 33-year-old had 25 points and 111 penalty minutes while playing with San Jose’s AHL affiliate last season and has 47 career NHL appearances under his belt. Any time spent on the roster for the rest of the preseason won’t affect his waiver exemption which is 10 games or 30 days during the regular season.
- Veteran center Max McCormick’s season is over before it even began. AHL Coachella Valley, affiliate of the Kraken, announced that the 33-year-old will undergo hip surgery and that he is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season as a result. McCormick was limited to just 19 games with the Firebirds last season where he had 13 points. He’s in the final season of a two-year pact with Seattle and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Sabres Recall Noah Östlund
The Sabres announced they’ve recalled 2022 first-round pick Noah Östlund from AHL Rochester. The 21-year-old forward could be in line to make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Lightning. Center Tyson Kozak sustained a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s win over the Senators and is day-to-day, so assuming Jordan Greenway and Joshua Norris remain sidelined tomorrow as well, Buffalo needed to make a recall from Rochester to give them 12 healthy forwards.
The promotion comes amid a vital season developmentally for Östlund. It’s his first in North America after logging his previous professional experience in his home country of Sweden, and the adjustment across the Atlantic has been smooth. The 5’11” pivot has missed a chunk of the year with an injury but still ranks fifth on Rochester in scoring with 19-17–36 in 44 games, leading their forwards with a +20 rating.
His game’s hallmarks – speed, playmaking, and defensive acumen – have been on display. His lack of size means he topped out at No. 5 in Buffalo’s prospect rankings by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic in January, but he still tabbed him as a top-100 prospect (No. 90) league-wide. He’s done what he’s needed to do so far to reaffirm his ceiling as a second or third-line center for the Sabres in a couple of years, a position they’re looking to fill out after trading away Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt in back to back seasons.
Östlund was one of three first-round picks Buffalo held in 2022 – their own, the Golden Knights’ (acquired in the Jack Eichel trade), and the Panthers’ (acquired in the Sam Reinhart trade). They selected Östlund with the Vegas pick at No. 16, using their own selection to select Matthew Savoie and Florida’s pick to select Jiri Kulich. Savoie has since been flipped to the Oilers for Ryan McLeod, while Kulich has 14-7–21 in 54 games with the Sabres in his rookie outing in 2024-25. Early returns are strong on all three of those selections yielding players with lengthy NHL careers.
Where he slots in the lineup to begin his NHL career remains unclear, but he could replace Kozak in an insulated fourth-line role between Sam Lafferty and Beck Malenstyn. He still has two seasons left on his entry-level contract, so he won’t be a restricted free agent until 2027.
Image courtesy of Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images.
Buffalo Sabres Reassign Noah Ostlund
Playing the season with the Växjö Lakers of the SHL while on loan from the Buffalo Sabres organization, forward Noah Ostlund is set to make his debut in North American hockey. Earlier today, the Sabres organization announced that they have reassigned Ostlund to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
According to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, Ostlund clocked in as the fifth-best prospect for the Sabres headed into the 2023-24 NHL season. Being selected with the 16th overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft, Ostlund has spent all of his professional playing career in Sweden until today.
After being drafted by Buffalo, Ostlund spent much of last season playing for Djurgårdens IF of HockeyAllsvenskan. Over 37 games last season, Ostlund scored eight goals and 26 points in total.
Now a full-time player in Sweden’s top professional league, Ostlund still kept pace, scoring 12 goals and 23 points in 38 games. Outside of professional hockey, Ostlund has certainly made a name for himself in international competition, scoring four goals and 14 assists over the last two World Junior Championship tournaments.
Having already clinched a spot in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, Ostlund should get a decent opportunity down the stretch with the Americans. As the team will likely take away some of his minutes come playoff time, Ostlund will still be available for important playoff games as he appears to earn a roster spot with the Sabres next season.
East Notes: Östlund, Reinbacher, Gomez, Bochner
The Buffalo Sabres confirmed today they’ll be loaning 2022 first-round pick Noah Östlund to the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League. It’s unclear what the delay was in Buffalo announcing the move – Växjö confirmed it in early June. Regardless, it presents a step up for Östlund, as the 19-year-old center spent last season in the second-tier Allsvenskan with Djurgårdens IF, where he recorded a respectable 26 points in 37 games. He’ll aim to carve out a top-nine (potentially even top-six) role in Växjö, who is coming off two SHL championships in the span of three years. This is expected to be his last season in Sweden before coming to North America to play for either the Sabres or AHL’s Rochester Americans in 2024-25.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- In some other loan news, CapFriendly reports the Montreal Canadiens have recalled 2023 fifth-overall pick David Reinbacher from EHC Kloten of the Swiss National League ahead of rookie camp next month. Reinbacher will not suit up for them this season, however – they’re expected to return him to Switzerland when training camp is over, and he’ll lace up the skates in a top-four role for Kloten. The 6-foot-2, 194-pound right-shot Austrian defender could see full-time NHL action as soon as the 2024-25 season.
- Former New Jersey Devils forward Scott Gomez has found a new post-hockey home with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles, the junior A club with which he posted 124 points in just 56 games with during the 1996-97 season. Gomez, a Calder Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion with New Jersey, will be an assistant coach next season. Gomez has not worked behind a bench in nearly five years, last serving as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders from 2017 to 2019.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have hired Daniel Bochner as a development coach, according to a team release. The 38-year-old has spent the last five seasons on staff with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg in a player development role, graduating to an assistant coach job in 2020-21. Born in Toronto, the former pro defenseman carries Israeli nationality and represented them at multiple low-level World Championship tournaments throughout the 2000s.