The Buffalo Sabres had high hopes for Lukas Rousek, but after floundering in the AHL, it appears he's abandoned the team to sign in Sweden.
The Buffalo Sabres are a young team with many intriguing prospects in their system, and the strength of their system continues to show in the Calder Cup Playoffs, as the Rochester Americans are still alive.
However, it appears they'll be down one player in the very near future, as former sixth-round pick Lukas Rousek has announced his intentions for the future, with the revelation that he will be signing in Sweden for next season and beyond.
The 26-year old got 17 games of NHL experience between 2022 and 2024, posting 1 goal and 4 points in that time, but since then, he's struggled to catch on, spending the entirety of the 2024/25 campaign in the AHL with the Americans.
During that season, he put up a solid 7 goals and 42 points in 72 games played, but unfortunately, it doesn't appear as though he's got a future in the NHL with Buffalo, and now, signing with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League, he'll look to reinvent himself.
At 26-years of age, he's still got plenty of time to bounce back and potentially push for a return to North America, and with the Sabres looking to continue their rebuild, it's highly unlikely that he'll return to this organization if he does push for a return to North America.
As a sixth-round pick, Rousek was fairly productive in his time spent with the Americans in the AHL, and with solid size at 5-foot-11 and 202 pounds, the hope was that he would develop into an NHLer for Buffalo, but now if he's to do that, he'll need to prove himself overseas before a potential return.
