Camp Countdown | Which Amerks could debut and contribute in Buffalo?

In the days leading into training camp, Sabres.com will be addressing major questions surrounding the 2025-26 Buffalo Sabres. Up next: Which AHL-level prospects could make their NHL debuts and contribute in Buffalo this season?

• Camp Countdown | How did Sabres improve this offseason?

At points in each season, the Buffalo Sabres tap into their prospect pipeline and summon young talent from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.

In 2024-25, forwards Tyson Kozak and Noah Ostlund both got the call, made their NHL debuts and capably filled the fourth-line center role – Kozak for 21 games, Ostlund for eight.

These four Amerks, each of whom should have their opportunities during the upcoming training camp and NHL preseason, could be the organization’s next AHLers to make the jump to Buffalo.

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Konsta Helenius – F

Drafted 14th overall in 2024, Helenius began his 2024-25 campaign as an 18-year-old rookie and ended it as one of three forwards named to the AHL Top Prospects Team.

The Finnish forward finished the regular season with 35 points (14+21) in 65 games, including five goals in the last five. He admitted it took time to adjust during his first year in North America, and his growth throughout the season backed that up.

Helenius leveled up in his first Calder Cup Playoffs, collecting six points (3+3) in eight games as Rochester reached Game 5 of the North Division Finals versus Laval. Beyond scoring, he made an all-around impact in the playoffs as a reliable defender – something Sabres coach Lindy Ruff demands of his centermen – and a post-whistle agitator.

• From May: ‘Best version’ of Helenius fueling Amerks’ playoff run

“He was incredible,” Amerks head coach Michael Leone said. “I thought he rose to the occasion; the bigger the moment, the better he played. I thought he played with a level of physicality. Ultimately, when you get to this time of the year, you find out who you are as a player. You work so hard to get to that end of the year, and you have to play a certain way to be successful. That’s what wins, and I thought Hele played a lot of winning hockey for us.”

It's easy to envision the Sabres, whether dealing with injuries or looking for a spark, plugging the now-19-year-old Helenius into the bottom six later in 2025-26 and seeing what they’ve got.

Anton Wahlberg – F

Compared to Helenius (5-foot-11), the 6-foot-4 Wahlberg has brought a more imposing physical presence to Rochester’s lineup.

The 39th-overall pick from 2023 debuted with the Amerks in 2023-24, but last season marked his first full year of North American hockey. Wahlberg compiled 30 points (11+19) in 63 games and also represented his native Sweden in a second straight IIHF World Junior Championship; there, he impressed with eight points (4+4) in seven games and carried that momentum back to Rochester.

After the season, Wahlberg stated his desire to become more consistent – including the playoffs, he had two 13-game goal droughts – and Leone suggested more potential for net-front scoring. Still, the 20-year-old’s build, tools and track record suggest a not-too-distant NHL future.

“I thought he took huge strides in his game,” Leone said. “He has a lot of tools that are transferrable to the NHL, when you look at the size, the skating ability, his ability to protect pucks.

“… Wahly, especially when we moved him to the middle during that stretch we were really thin and everyone was called up, I thought he did an incredible job. His details away from the puck are really good. He’s really good in his own zone.”

The Sabres, intent on improving their overall defensive play this season, figure to only call on prospects they can trust in that end of the ice. Wahlberg, like Helenius, could earn an opportunity with that in mind.

Vsevolod Komarov – RHD

The Sabres bolstered the right side of their defense this offseason, trading for established NHLers Michael Kesselring and Conor Timmins. Beyond those two, though – and the left-shot Rasmus Dahlin who often plays on the right – opportunity exists at the position. A lack of depth forced Ruff to play lefties like Bowen Byram and Jacob Bryson on the right side last season, but the Sabres coach has preached the benefits of keeping non-Dahlin defensemen on their strong side.

So, if the 2025-26 Sabres ever need a right-shot defenseman to fill in, Komarov could be the guy.

Following four productive seasons in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, the 2022 fifth-round pick joined the Amerks as a rookie in 2024-25. He appeared in 69 of Rochester’s 72 games, recording 18 points (2+16) and a plus-seven rating.

“The way he played down the stretch, his level of physicality, he’s got some fight in him,” Leone said.

At 6-foot-4, the 21-year-old Russian certainly fits the physical mold Buffalo’s been targeting with recent blue-line additions. The Sabres are unlikely to rush the prospect to the NHL, but in a pinch, Komarov could make his NHL debut this season.

Nikita Novikov – LHD

Novikov, 22, has risen from 2021 sixth-round pick to one of the Amerks’ top defensemen. Last season, he finished with 20 points (6+14) and a team-leading plus-28 rating in 68 regular season games.

Like Komarov, he’s a 6-foot-4 Russian. Unlike Komarov, however, Novikov is a left shot, which complicates his path to the NHL roster – this season, at least. Buffalo’s left-shot depth includes Jacob Bryson, Ryan Johnson and Zac Jones, three blueliners with NHL experience and, presumably, priority over Novikov for a potential opening in the Sabres’ lineup.

That said, continued growth during his third AHL campaign could get Novikov on Buffalo’s radar as the year progresses.