BUFFALO, N.Y. — The last 24 hours have been chaotic for Devon Levi. The Buffalo Sabres’ top goalie prospect found out on Tuesday that he’d be going to the AHL for the first time in his young career. This wasn’t necessarily how he or the Sabres hoped his situation would play out this season. The 21-year-old had a strong seven-game run at the end of last season when he joined the Sabres at the conclusion of his college career. The team went into the summer with hopes that Levi could not just crack the NHL lineup but be the team’s starting goalie. He played the first four games of the season.
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But general manager Kevyn Adams realized the situation had changed, and the team needed to adjust. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been playing like a No. 1 NHL goalie, and the Sabres want to give him the net more often. Levi has also struggled, so he was No. 3 in the goalie rotation with everyone healthy. Three goalies limited not only his game reps but his practice reps, too. When Adams and coach Don Granato discussed the situation, they realized the Sabres’ busy game schedule for the next few weeks was going to further limit practice time. All of those factors made sending Levi to Rochester the appropriate move both for him and the team.
Adams, Granato and goalie coach Mike Bales sat down with Levi for half an hour to make sure they explained the decision and answered any questions Levi had. Almost 24 hours after the decision was made, Levi was wrapping up his first practice with the Amerks, and his smile hadn’t faded. His energetic, positive attitude was still evident when he spoke about getting sent down.
“Obviously it’s not easy information to take,” Levi said. “In retrospect, if you look at the big picture, it is a step down. But the conversation we had was not intentionally trying to take a step down, it was more using a resource to develop. With three goalies, I don’t think that we were getting the most out of everyone when we were up there. Being on my rookie contract, I don’t have to clear waivers and I’m able to play down here, so it just made sense.”
Levi is embracing a chance to get into a rhythm with the Amerks. He struggled to find a consistent groove in Buffalo. He started the first four games of the season but then got injured and missed two weeks. Since then, he has started only four games. The results have been uneven. There’s a reason so many young goalies spend time in the AHL.
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“What I wanted him to understand, this is perfectly normal,” Adams said.
What Levi was attempting to do — go from college hockey to the NHL — wasn’t normal. There’s a long list of successful NHL goaltenders who have bided their time in the AHL. Now Levi doesn’t have to deal with that added pressure. He’s already adjusting to pro hockey and was doing so for a team that expects to be a playoff contender.
A column on the Buffalo Sabres, Devon Levi and the reality of goalie development in light of the team’s decision to send him to Rochester @TheAthleticNHL https://t.co/naNIZE1xOZ
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) November 28, 2023
“I don’t think it was a weight on my shoulders,” Levi said. “I think it was more of something to prove, you know? And it was fun trying to prove that. It’s not an easy thing to do. And it was definitely a challenge, but I think I learned a lot from it. This is a great opportunity to find some flow, some rhythm in my game, consistency. I’ve played a lot in the past few years and I’ve never really been scratched before. That was a first and it was a little bit of a weird situation to deal with and try to find flow in my game. This gives me an opportunity to play and even get hungrier for my next opportunity when I’m up there.”
Levi said he’s trying to take the time to reflect on what went well while he was in Buffalo and what he can do to be better prepared when he goes back up. He got a long text from Craig Anderson, who finished his career in Buffalo and is now a player liaison with the Sabres. Anderson told Levi about how he got sent to the minors at 25 years old after he had played more than 50 NHL games. That time in the AHL, Anderson said, made him better prepared to play another 15 years in the NHL when he got back.
“He said, ‘Stay humble. Stay hungry. Stay patient,’” Levi said. “It’s a great message. That’s the best thing to do.”
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Adams didn’t want to put a number on how many games Levi should be playing in Rochester or how long it would be until he’s back. But there’s a comfort in sending Levi to Amerks coach Seth Appert, who has helped develop some of Buffalo’s top prospects. Appert said he’s loved Levi’s attitude since he got to Rochester and said he will play this weekend when the team travels to Belleville. He anticipates Levi getting a chunk of games for the Amerks going forward. But he also understands it’s not healthy for Levi or the organization to be constantly wondering when he’ll get back to Buffalo.
“Sometimes you put artificial timelines on things and then you force decisions that aren’t the right decisions,” Appert said.
The AHL schedule also provides a lot more practice time, and Levi is already eager to turn his attention to some of the details of his game. Appert called Levi a “rink rat” and noted that he was one of the last ones off the ice for his first AHL practice.
And in typical fashion, Levi is embracing the adversity that comes with this move. He’s often taken the patient path to his development. He spent a year in the CCHL instead of going to major junior. He then played an extra year in college when he could have turned pro. So it’s not taking him long to see the advantages of this latest step.
“This is something I’m looking forward to,” Levi said. “I think that it’s a little healthy adversity for sure. Nothing’s easy and it shouldn’t be easy. I think to expect to be in the NHL forever without going through setbacks is unrealistic. I don’t think that would be best for me honestly. I think this is a little kick in the butt that’s going to push me to become my best self. There’s so many great opportunities to get better, to learn and grow here.”
(Photo: Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images)
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