Sabres Recall Lukáš Rousek, Place Zach Benson On IR
Nov. 3: Buffalo has now moved Benson to IR to accommodate Rousek making his 2023-24 Sabres debut tonight against Philadelphia, Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report notes.
Nov. 2: The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Lukáš Rousek from the AHL’s Rochester Americans, per a team announcement Thursday.
Buffalo currently has a full 23-man roster, so a corresponding transaction needs to be made along with the recall. This will likely be moving rookie winger Zach Benson to IR. The 18-year-old is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury and missed the team’s last contest, a Wednesday night win against the Flyers.
The Sabres are slated for a rematch with the Flyers at home on Friday. Rousek, 24, could be an option to slide into the lineup if winger Alex Tuch is unavailable to play. He was absent from practice today due to a maintenance day, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports. The team also has Swedish winger Victor Olofsson available, although he’s been a healthy scratch in four out of ten games this season and remains without a point in 2023-24.
This is the fourth NHL call-up for Rousek, who was brought up three times on emergency and standard recalls near the end of last season. He made two appearances, notching a goal and an assist on three shots and a +2 rating. A sixth-round pick of the Sabres in 2019, Rousek is off to another strong start with AHL Rochester after posting strong totals in his first full minor-league campaign last year. He’s notched two goals and four assists for six points and a -3 rating in eight games this season, including a multi-point effort against Laval last week.
Buffalo Sabres Zach Benson Out Week-To-Week With Injury
The Buffalo Sabres have announced that rookie forward Zach Benson is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Benson has played six games so far this season, recording two points and a -1.
Zach Benson has become a name to follow through the early season, wowing at training camp after going 14th overall in the most recent NHL Draft. His early jump to the NHL has surprised many, and Benson’s statistical profile may speak to the need for a little more time in the oven. He’s currently carrying a 43.44 CF% and 50.0 xGF% – modest numbers that certainly aren’t bad for an 18-year-old but are enough to make an NHL team look in another direction. The Sabres have three more free games of Benson before they’re faced with the decision of spending a contract year or not. If they decide he’s better off getting some more development time, he’ll be sent back to the Wenatchee Wild of the WHL, where teammate Matthew Savoie will play after his AHL conditioning stint.
The Sabres recalled undrafted forward Brandon Biro to the NHL in response to Benson’s injury. Biro will likely become the team’s extra forward, as Tyson Jost slots in to fill Benson’s role. Jost has played in six games so far this season, tallying two points, split evenly. Jost is in his first full season with the Sabres, after joining them partway through the 2022-23 campaign. He netted 22 points in 59 games with Buffalo last year.
The news of Benson’s injury is a tough blow for a Sabres lineup looking to elevate their young talent. It could also have negative implications on Benson’s case to stay in the NHL, as he’ll be fighting to both return to form after injury and keep an NHL roster spot when he returns to play.
Buffalo Sabres Zach Benson, Devon Levi Out Day-To-Day
Two crucial young Buffalo Sabres players are out with lower-body injuries: Zach Benson and Devon Levi. According to the team, both Benson and Levi are considered day-to-day at this stage.
While both injuries could very well be minor and cause only brief absences for each player, the immediate implications of the loss of these two players is significant for the Sabres. Head coach Don Granato’s forward lines have undergone major surgery. Dylan Cozens was moved from second-line center to first-line right winger, Jordan Greenway was also elevated to the first line, and among other changes veteran Victor Olofsson re-entered the regular lineup pitcture in Benson’s place.
The loss of Benson is somewhat minimized by the fact that the Sabres had Olofsson (who scored 28 goals last year) as a healthy scratch. Their surplus of quality forwards is not mirrored in net, though, where any loss of Levi would be more significant.
Although the team does have a surplus of goalies in terms of numbers, (they are carrying three netminders on their active roster) they do not appear to have a surplus in terms of quality.
Neither Eric Comrie or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen have performed exceptionally at the NHL level for the Sabres, and Levi has started all of the Sabres’ games so far this season. This is a season where Buffalo is looking to end the NHL’s longest playoff drought, and their slower-than-expected start has been something of a concern.
With an important rematch against the Islanders coming up tomorrow, the Sabres will have to hope that the lower-body injuries that kept Levi and Benson out of practice today won’t cost them much more than that.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Zach Benson To ELC
The Buffalo Sabres announced today that they’ve signed their 2023 first-round pick Zach Benson to an entry-level three-year contract. Benson was the Sabres’ top selection at 13th overall in last month’s NHL Entry Draft and was seen by some scouts as one of the top playmakers in the entire draft. Benson’s ELC will pay him an NHL salary of $855K to go along with a $95K signing bonus. He will carry an annual cap hit of $950K at the NHL level, and should he play in the minors, he would receive a salary of $82,500.
The 18-year-old forward dressed in 60 games this past season with the Winnipeg ICE of the WHL posting 36 goals and 62 assists while finishing the season +68. The native of Chilliwack, British Columbia, set career highs in every offensive category and finished third in scoring with 98 points. Benson had incredible chemistry with another Sabres prospect, Matt Savoie, who was drafted by Buffalo with the number nine pick just one year ago. Savoie and Benson led the ICE this past season, posting a combined 193 points while leading both the power-play and penalty-kill units.
Benson turned a lot of heads at the Sabres development camp just three weeks ago, and in an article from The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn, he wondered if Benson was already the Sabres’ top prospect. There were some scouts who were surprised to see him slip to the 13th pick, and Fairburn wondered if he is a star in the making for Buffalo.
While scouts were always impressed with Benson’s puck skills, there was always the underlying concern about his size. Benson stands just 5-foot-10 and weighs around 170 pounds, so it is possible that his puck skills might be impeded when he eventually plays against bigger and stronger players. However, Benson has plenty of time to fill out his frame and should be able to develop more strength on the puck over time.
Benson’s entry-level deal was always something that was going to happen, and now his attention will turn to cracking the Sabres NHL lineup. It’s something that could happen sooner than later if he continues to develop the way he has recently.