Leone likes the talent he sees for the Prospect Challenge

Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres Prospects had their first practice on Wednesday getting ready for the Prospects Challenge this weekend. Rochester Americans new head coach Mike Leone and his staff put the players through their paces and he said the players know their objectives,

“We had an organizational meeting where Kevyn (Adams) and Lindy (Ruff) talked and it aligned with and it’s a short tournament, but it’s the first time for the guys to really establish how we want the Buffalo Sabres to play and the identity we want to have within the organization.

“We had a quick meeting today on how we want to play, the habits and details and standards that we want to have.”

Of all the players you’ll see in this tournament, Jiri Kulich is probably the one that would have the best chance to make the Sabres this season. Kulich said he worked on his strength all summer and Leone is getting to know the type of player he is,

“It’s the character of the individual and then especially on video he can really shoot it and just to be on the ice level it’s his compete and the way he can protect the pucks, he’s got a really quick release and with what he’s done in his first two years, he’s right there.”

After two years of playing in Sweden, Noah Ostlund is here and ready to start his North American professional career. Ostlund played two regular season games with the Amerks and three playoff games last year picking up a goal and an assist. Leone really likes what he’s seen from the 2022 first-round pick,

“He had the puck on his stick a lot, it’s his puck protection with a low center of gravity, I thought he had a really good day.

“The one thing I was probably most impressed with was going from the meeting about the habits and details and then watching him at practice, every loose puck he was on it.”

MONDAY’S LINES:

Wahlberg – Helenius – Ostlund

Tullio- Kulich – Rosen

Nadeau – Kozak – Kisakov

Cheveldayoff – Fiddler-Schultz – Neuchev (Miedema)

DEFENSE:

Johnson – Komarov (Bodin)

Panocha – Novikov (Laaouan)

GOALIES:

Ratzlaff

Leenders