@boosbuzzsabres
The Sabres head into their 2019 Development Camp with 40 players set to hit the ice at Harborcenter for three days of workouts and skills sessions before bringing it to a close on Saturday with the annual French Connection 3-on-3 tournament.
An array of youngins from draft picks to free agents to camp invitees with the eldest being Andrew Oglevie with a February, 1995 birthdate and the youngest being 17 yr. old Ryan Johnson who was Buffalo's second pick in the first round this year. Jonas Johansson and Victor Olofsson are also 23 yrs. old and were drafted in 2014 while on the opposite end of the spectrum we have all six members of the 2019 Draft class. Some, like center Dylan Cozens, may hit the pros in a year or two, others we may see five years from now as a part of the Sabres stretching out their prospect pool, and still others may not make it at all.
Development camp is all about seeing individual progression amongst the youngins, seeing how they've developed physically, mentally and skills-wise along with how they stack up against their peers. Although the fun part of the four days comes with the 3-on-3 tournament, it's more about finding out what they need to be working on this summer and into the future.
In sharp contrast to his predecessor, general manager Jason Botterill has opted for quality (hopefully) over quantity in his three draft classes with only 18 picks over his three years while former Sabres GM Tim Murray was working with a wealth of assets he inherited resulting in 25 draft picks from 2014-16. However, regardless how many there are, where they come from or their status coming in, without proper development the organization goes no where.
That's why they're at Harborcenter beginning this afternoon at 1 p.m. with workouts open to the public.
Here's a breakdown of the players at the 2019 Sabres Development Camp:
2014 Draft Class
G, Jonas Johansson (61st-overall)
LW, Victor Olofsson (181st)
D, Brandon Hickey (65th, CGY)
2015
D, Will Borgen (92nd)
D, Devante Stevens (122nd)
2016
C, Rasmus Asplund (33rd)
D, Casey Fitzgerald (86th)
LW, Brett Murray (99th)
D, Philip Nyberg (129th)
RW, Tage Thompson (26th, STL)
2017
C, Marcus Davidsson (37th)
D, Oskari Laaksonen (89th)
D, Jacob Bryson (99th)
2018
D, Mattias Samuelsson (32nd)
C, Matej Pekar (94th)
D, Jacob Bryson (99th)
D, Linus Cronholm (117th)
D, Miska Kukkonen (125th)
D, William Worge-Kreu (187th)
2019
C, Dylan Cozens (7th)
D, Ryan Johnson (31st)
G, Erik Portillon (67th)
RW, Aaron Huglen (102nd)
LW, Filip Cederqvist (143rd)
LW, Lukas Rousek (160th)
Free agent signees
C, Andrew Oglevie (2018, Notre Dame)
D, Lawrence Pilut (2018, HV71, SHL)
C, Arttu Roustalainen (2019, Liiga, SHL)
Rochester Americans free agent signees
D, Tobie Bisson (2018, Cape Brenton, QMJHL)
Camp invites
LW, Dawson DiPietro, Western Michigan (National Collegiate Hockey Conference)
C, Stephen Harper, Acadia (Atlantic University Sport, Canada)
RW, Caleb Moretz, Flin Flon (Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League)
C, Kyle Olson, Tri City (WHL)
LW, Josh Passolt, Western Michigan, NCHC)
D, Justin Baudry, Bemidji State (Western Collegiate Hockey Association)
D, Bryan Yoon, Colorado College (NCHC)
G, Darion Hanson, Union College (Eastern College Athletic Conference)
G, Michael Lackey, Harvard (ECAC)
G, Adam Scheel, North Dakota (NCHC)
G, Matthew Welsh, Charlottetown (QMJHL)
Development Camp Schedule:
Wednesday, June 26
• First Session: 1 to 2 p.m.
• Second Session: 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 27
• First Session: 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.
• Second Session: 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Friday, June 28
• First Session: 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.
• Second Session: 12 to 1 p.m.
Saturday, June 29
• French Connection Tournament: 10:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
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