With the American Hockey League reaching its stretch drive toward the Calder Cup Playoffs, NHL prospects on teams pursuing a postseason berth will be tested in the next six weeks with high-pressure games and opportunities.
Here is a look at prospects from organizations across the Eastern Conference teams gearing up for a potential playoff run. A look at Western Conference prospects follows in two weeks.
Emil Andrae, Lehigh Valley (Philadelphia Flyers)
The 22-year-old defenseman has made a smooth transition to the North American game.
Selected by the Flyers in the second round (No. 54) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Andrea played four seasons in the Swedish Hockey League before coming to Lehigh Valley late last season. He is fifth among AHL rookie defensemen with 28 points (four goals, 24 assists) in 43 games, and played four NHL games earlier this season.
Last season, he had six points (two goals, four assists) in 10 games and had no points in three Calder Cup playoff games.
Jakub Dobes, Laval (Montreal Canadiens)
Laval will be leaning heavily on the 22-year-old to handle its goaltending during a busy month.
With veteran counterpart Kasimir Kaskisuo week to week with a lower-body injury, Dobes started three games in four nights for Laval on a road trip last week; there are 14 games on Laval's schedule in March.
Selected by the Canadiens in the fifth round (No. 136) of the 2020 draft, he turned pro after two NCAA seasons at Ohio State University. He has played 38 games, most among AHL rookie goalies this season and second overall, and is 16-13-6 with a 3.15 goals-against average, .899 save percentage and one shutout.
Devon Levi, Rochester (Buffalo Sabres)
The AHL has provided the 22-year-old goalie with all the playing time he can handle.
Levi, who was 9-7-2 with a 3.30 GAA and .891 save percentage in 20 games (19 starts) with the Sabres earlier this season, was assigned to Rochester on Jan. 27 and has taken on a No. 1 workload. In 15 AHL games, he's 7-5-3 with a 2.53 GAA and .926 save percentage. He has appeared in 11 of the past 13 games and three more games in three days loom this weekend with Rochester attempting to find a stronger foothold in the North Division standings.
Selected by the Florida Panthers in the seventh round (No. 212) of the 2020 draft, Buffalo acquired him from Florida along with a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft for forward Sam Reinhart on July 24, 2021.
Levi won the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA’s top goalie in each of his two seasons with Northeastern University. He also was a Hobey Baker Award finalist in each season. He won a silver medal with Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship and was named to the tournament all-star team as well as its top goalie. He represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and also was a part of the gold-medal Canadian team at the 2023 IIHF World Championship.
Zack Ostapchuk, Belleville (Ottawa Senators)
After the Senators selected Ostapchuk in the second round (No. 39) of the 2021 NHL Draft, the 20-year-old rookie forward has quickly become a key producer with Belleville.
He has 20 points (13 goals, seven assists) in 55 games with Belleville this season after he had 67 points (31 goals, 36 assists) in 55 games with Vancouver and Winnipeg of the Western Hockey League last season. He added 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 18 WHL playoff games.
Isaac Poulter, Utica (New Jersey Devils)
The past month has been a memorable one for the undrafted 22-year-old goalie.
Poulter is in his second pro season following four seasons with Swift Current of the WHL. He signed an AHL contract with Utica on June 24, 2022 and another on April 25, 2023. After establishing himself full-time with Utica and taking the bulk of the workload, the Devils signed him to a two-year, two-way entry-level contract Feb. 15.
He's 15-8-1 in 26 games with a 2.56 GAA (sixth among rookies), and his .912 save percentage is sixth among AHL rookies. In his last start, he made 27 saves in a 1-0 win at AHL-leader Hershey (Washington Capitals) on Saturday.
Utica enters a crucial weekend with three games in three days as it attempts to overcome a difficult first half.
Ryan Tverberg, Toronto (Toronto Maple Leafs)
The 22-year-old forward has been a revelation in his first full pro season.
The Maple Leafs selected Tverberg, a Toronto native, in the seventh round (No. 213) of the 2020 draft. He played three NCAA seasons at the University of Connecticut before signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs on March 15, 2003. In 2021-22, as a sophomore, he had 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 36 games and was chosen as a Hobey Baker Award nominee.
This season he has 28 points (eight goals, 20 assists) in 37 games, including five points (four goals, one assist) in an 8-0 win against Belleville on Jan. 12.
