Sabers sign Devon Levy to 3-year entry-level contract: What’s Buffalo’s plan for him?

The team announced Friday that the Buffalo Sabers have signed prospective goaltender Devon Levy to a three-year, entry-level contract less than a week after Northeastern’s college season ended. Here’s what you need to know:

• In July 2021, the Sabers traded forward Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a first-round pick who became Jerry Kulich and the rights to Levy. At the time of the trade, Levi, a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, had not yet played a college game for Northeastern.
• In 2021, Levy posted a record save percentage of 0.964 at the IIHF World Junior Championships while leading Canada to the silver medal.
• He missed his first collegiate season due to an injury. But when he took to the ice for the Huskies, he quickly became one of the best goaltenders in college hockey.

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In the 2021-22 season, Levy had 10 shutouts, a . 952 save percentage and a 1.54 goals against average as he led Northeastern to the NCAA Tournament.

He returned to school this season and had four shutouts, a 0.933 save percentage and a 2.24 goals against average. The Huskies were eliminated in the Hockey East quarterfinals when they lost to Providence last week.

What is Buffalo Levy’s plan?

Over the past two seasons, Levy has become the best goalkeeper in Buffalo. General Manager Kevin Adams explained how the organization has felt about him as recently as the trade deadline when he said Levy is “a really important piece to us.”

At the deadline, Buffalo traded the rights to potential goaltender Eric Portillo to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a third-round pick after Portillo made it clear he had no intention of signing with Buffalo. This placed more importance on the signature of Sevy Levy.

With the contract signed, a team source said the plan is for Levy to report to Buffalo. While goaltenders take longer to develop in the minor leagues, Levy has shown a special talent at the collegiate level. He’s one of three guards under contract with the Sabers next season, joining 24-year-old Oko-Pekka Lokonen and Eric Comrie.

This past summer, Levy got his first hands-on experience with the Sabers’ organization at development camp in Buffalo. It was then that he began to feel better about his future in the organization.

“It was unrealistic,” Levy said. the athlete In November. “It was the best week ever. It was so much fun. Everyone there was so nice, the players and the staff. It was great to meet potential teammates and fellow players who are already playing for Rochester and Buffalo. It was great to meet and compete with everyone. It felt like home at The rink, and meeting and hanging out with everyone, whether it was on or off the ice. It was just so homey. … I had a really great time and I’m excited for the future.”

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(Photo: Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)