Surging Sabres Prospect Named AHL Player Of The Week

The Buffalo Sabres will close out their 2024-25 regular season in less than three weeks, as the club is close to being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for a 14th season in a row. The organization will still be tracking the progress of some of its prospects in Europe, the CHL, and the American Hockey League, and the hottest of those prospects is 2022 first-round pick Noah Ostlund, who was named the AHL Player of the Week on Monday.

The 21-year-old center followed up last weekend’s four-goal output against Syracuse and Utica with six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in games against Bridgeport and Syracuse. The Amerks went 2-0-1 last weekend, solidifying their hold on second place in the AHL’s North Division.

Ostlund was the second first-round pick (16th overall) at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal. The Stockholm native chose not to come over and play for the Amerks last season, instead returning to Sweden to play for Vaxjo and play again for his country at the 2024 World Junior in Gothenburg. He posted 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in seven games and earning a silver medal and was a solid contributor in the SHL with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 38 games.

After joining Rochester at the end of the AHL season and playing in three playoff games last season, Ostlund missed nearly two months with a hand injury, but returned just before Christmas and went goalless in his first 10 games, has steadily produced since and ranks third behind Isak Rosen and Brett Murray with 18 goals.