The Rochester Americans’ season ended in Game 5 of the North Division Finals as the Laval Rocket took a 5-0 win Sunday evening at Place Bell in Laval. Despite the loss, Rochester advanced to the North Division Finals for the third time in four seasons.
The team exceeded the 40-win mark during the regular season for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign and did so under first-year head coach Michael Leone. The Amerks just couldn’t figure out Cayden Primeau in net, as he won each of Laval’s three playoff starts against the Amerks, while Jacob Fowler was in the net for both of the Amerks' wins.
The Amerks just had an unfortunate draw this season, as Laval was the only team that gave them problems throughout the year, and they had to play them in the playoffs. Laval was the regular-season champion of the AHL and will look to play in the Calder Cup final in the future.
Although the Amerks were knocked out, the future of the Sabres is in great hands with the talent they possess in Rochester. The Sabres still control a top-10 farm system in the NHL, with a pipeline of guys such as Jiri Kulich, Konsta Helenius, Isak Rosen, Tyson Kozak, and Noah Ostlund. This also includes Devon Levi, who was one of the AHL’s best goaltenders this year.
Few teams have as many NHL-caliber options in their stable ready to go as the Sabres did. As we saw with the Amerks this year, eight different players made their NHL or season debut with the Sabres.
With the Sabres needing to fill some holes on their third and fourth lines offensively, and some possible depth pieces defensively, any of these NHL-ready prospects can make an immediate impact on the Sabres.
With the NHL Draft fast approaching and the 25-26 season right around the corner, the Sabres should be excited about the prospects they have. If they use their prospects to their advantage like they did last year, the Sabres can easily build a playoff contender for next season.
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