Prospect Info: Devon Levi, G, Northeastern University (obtained in Reinhart deal) - Signed 3/17/23, Assigned 4/3/24

[Gabrielor]

He'll be in that Miller/Hasek class by the end of this.

 

[Beerz]

He'll be in that Miller/Hasek class by the end of this.

Maybe Miller. Not Dom

 

[Dirty Dog]

He'll be in that Miller/Hasek class by the end of this.

There is no miller/hasek class! There’s about three classes in between those two. But I can get aboard being in the miller class

 

[Gabrielor]

Maybe Miller. Not Dom

There is no miller/hasek class! There’s about three classes in between those two. But I can get aboard being in the miller class

Alright, what I meant was, 'great Sabre goalies who were one of the faces of a generation of the team'.

Not to start some unnecessary debate on Miller vs the greatest goalie ever. They both were key cogs to successful teams and have numbers retired. That's where I was going with this.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Alright, what I meant was, 'great Sabre goalies who were one of the faces of a generation of the team'.

Not to start some unnecessary debate on Miller vs the greatest goalie ever. They both were key cogs to successful teams and have numbers retired. That's where I was going with this.

How dare you leave out NHL record holder Markus Ketterer?!

 

[RoyalOverNavy]

The Sabres did quite a bit more wrong than right in 2023-24.

The decision to finally send DL27 to Rochester sits high on the "right" side. Highest = realizing UPL1 was their No.1.

Devon has gotten the equivalent of a full developmental year in less than 40 games. He has seen a ton of rubber, and just about every game since late February has had a playoff-type feel to it.

The future goalie situation in Buffalo is strong as I can remember. I do not believe what we saw from Luukkonen, and are seeing from Levi, can be considered a fluke. These two a very good now, and are eligible to get better.

Devon may have a train wreck in game five on Friday, but that won't shake my belief he will be an excellent 1B next season in Buffalo. And if he shines against the Crunch and the Amerks pick him up, another grinder of a series awaits. Good stuff.

 

[dire wolf]

The Sabres did quite a bit more wrong than right in 2023-24.

The decision to finally send DL27 to Rochester sits high on the "right" side. Highest = realizing UPL1 was their No.1.

Devon has gotten the equivalent of a full developmental year in less than 40 games. He has seen a ton of rubber, and just about every game since late February has had a playoff-type feel to it.

The future goalie situation in Buffalo is strong as I can remember. I do not believe what we saw from Luukkonen, and are seeing from Levi, can be considered a fluke. These two a very good now, and are eligible to get better.

Devon may have a train wreck in game five on Friday, but that won't shake my belief he will be an excellent 1B next season in Buffalo. And if he shines against the Crunch and the Amerks pick him up, another grinder of a series awaits. Good stuff.

Including BUF, ROC and playoffs, he's played 53 games so far and still going. They handled this a bit ass backwards, but it will turn out to be an excellent development year for Levi.

 

[Snippit]

He looked pretty good in his second stint in Buffalo too.

At this point I think if we find a back-up to UPL, the reality is he will probably be worse than Levi. We’d probably be calling up Levi to start the games where UPL sits.

 

[Dubi Doo]

There is no miller/hasek class! There’s about three classes in between those two. But I can get aboard being in the miller class

Im trying to remember back how Miller looked for the Amerks. Levi may end up between Miller and Hasek. Exciting stuff even if he is around Miller's level!

He looked pretty good in his second stint in Buffalo too.

At this point I think if we find a back-up to UPL, the reality is he will probably be worse than Levi. We’d probably be calling up Levi to start the games where UPL sits.

Give UPL 50-55 games and Levi the rest. Adjust the amount of games according to how they play. A true 1A/1B system. Levi is tearing it up in the AHL.

 

[dortt]

Im trying to remember back how Miller looked for the Amerks. Levi may end up between Miller and Hasek. Exciting stuff even if he is around Miller's level!


Give UPL 50-55 games and Levi the rest. Adjust the amount of games according to how they play. A true 1A/1B system. Levi is tearing it up in the AHL.

This is Lindy Ruff we are talking about. Plus UPL does not do well in a 1a/1b

It likely will be 60-65/12-22 the split between the two

 

[Puppa2Miller]

This is Lindy Ruff we are talking about. Plus UPL does not do well in a 1a/1b

It likely will be 60-65/12-22 the split between the two

Yeah, Lindy always seemed terrible at working in the backup goalie in his tenure here.

After wins, he would state "I wanted keep Miller in there and not disrupt things after a win"
After a loss, he would state "I wanted to put Miller back out there and get us back in the win column"

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Yeah, Lindy always seemed terrible at working in the backup goalie in his tenure here.

After wins, he would state "I wanted keep Miller in there and not disrupt things after a win"
After a loss, he would state "I wanted to put Miller back out there and get us back in the win column"

Yes, but most coaches were like that back then. The league has changed with regards to optimal goalie usage.

 

[Chainshot]

Yeah, Lindy always seemed terrible at working in the backup goalie in his tenure here.

After wins, he would state "I wanted keep Miller in there and not disrupt things after a win"
After a loss, he would state "I wanted to put Miller back out there and get us back in the win column"

Except in the 7 seasons he hasn't been the Buffalo HC, he only did that once. And it was his first season in Dallas.

 

[joshjull]

This is Lindy Ruff we are talking about. Plus UPL does not do well in a 1a/1b

It likely will be 60-65/12-22 the split between the two

What are you basing that on? He's never really been in that situation.

He's only played two seasons in the NHL. His best one of the two was this past season when he was part of a three headed monster in net. He started out as the #3 and emerged as the clear #1 and a workhorse by midseason.

 

[Zman5778]

What are you basing that on? He's never really been in that situation.

He's only played two seasons in the NHL. His best one of the two was this past season when he was part of a three headed monster in net. He started out as the #3 and emerged as the clear #1 and a workhorse by midseason.

I'm pretty sure that UPL has even come out himself and said that he seems to perform better when there's a 2nd goalie pushing him for playing time.

 

[dortt]

What are you basing that on? He's never really been in that situation.

He's only played two seasons in the NHL. His best one of the two was this past season when he was part of a three headed monster in net. He started out as the #3 and emerged as the clear #1 and a workhorse by midseason.

he was really good last year when Comrie was out and he was the unquestioned number 1. His play dropped off when he was splitting time when Comrie came back

This year, he was his best when he was playing nearly every night, and was more inconsistent when splitting time with Levi

 

[Beerz]

 

[Jim Bob]

Tape Your Stick like Devon Levi | InGoal Magazine

Sabres Goaltender Tapes New CCM XF PRO Stick for InGoal Readers

ingoalmag.com

 

[TheMistyStranger]

Weird list. I'd swap Wolf and Augustine and probably have Levi just behind Wolf, but that's a coin flip.

 

[elchud]

If one of our 23 can clear waivers at the start of the season (maybe Bryson is the best bet for that? Or Reimer?), I'd like to taxi Levi back and forth all season long, 20 or so in Buffalo, 30 or so in RaChaCha

 

[Beerz]

Doesn't Bryson have to go back to his Junior team because of his age and can't be sent to Rochester?

Bryson?

 

[Ehran]

Bryson?

Wow... My brain did a major hiccup with that comment. So I deleted it.

Benson... Bryson... they sort of sound the same, right?

 

[Jacob582]

If one of our 23 can clear waivers at the start of the season (maybe Bryson is the best bet for that? Or Reimer?), I'd like to taxi Levi back and forth all season long, 20 or so in Buffalo, 30 or so in RaChaCha

I didn't think they could get a decent backup to sign here because they would know that Levi was the priority.

 

[Dingo44]

Scott Wheeler's top 20 drafted NHL goalie prospects ranking, summer 2024 edition

Full scouting reports for Wheeler's top 20 goalie prospects in the league.

www.nytimes.com

In Wheeler's Top 20 goalie prospects Levi finished #5 -"Tier 2"

Levi’s numbers as a rookie in the NHL last season (.899) didn’t live up to the pedigree that preceded them, but they were about league average for these days and his play in the AHL did match his track record (.927). I’m still confident he’s going to leapfrog Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to become the Sabres’ goalies of the future in time. This is still a kid who had two seasons for the ages at Northeastern, winning the Mike Richter Award as college hockey’s top goalie in back-to-back years as a freshman and sophomore, and finishing his college career with a .942 save percentage (while mixing in three appearances at three different levels for Hockey Canada). His journey from the CCHL to the world juniors and then the Olympics, all during the pandemic, was one of the best stories in hockey for a little while there.

He still has pretty much exactly the skills smaller goalies (he’s listed at 6 feet and 192 pounds) need to be successful. Impressive control on his inside and outside edges (and the patience to hold them). Quick feet on his shuffles so that he can stick with dekes and go post-to-post or low-to-high to get to tough pucks. Good hands. Excellent reads on shooters. Excellent tracking through and under traffic. And a battler’s mentality in the net, which keeps him in plays even when he looks like he’s down and out. There aren’t a ton of 6-foot goalies in today’s NHL, at least not starting ones, but I still believe that Levi and Calgary’s Dustin Wolf each have the tools to become one (Wolf, too, hasn’t yet played to his standards in the NHL).

Portillo was #13 - "Tier 3"

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I hate NHLe...but...does anyone know what his NHLe comparables are after his first year in the AHL?

I know that there probably aren't many (any?) comparables for 30 games at 22 years old, but I'm curious what other goalies have put up a ~0.925 in their first 30 games in the AHL. I'm randomly googling stats of goalies I can think of and he stacks up pretty well.