‘He’s just getting started’ | The making of Noah Ostlund

Sitting alone on the couch of an apartment in Växjö, Sweden, four hours from his parents and sister in his hometown of Nykvarn, a 19-year-old Noah Ostlund eats a heated-up meal box prepared by his mom. He’ll clean it up, head to bed, then wake up the next morning for practice, all routine for his second year in the Swedish Hockey League.

Flash forward three years, and Ostlund’s challenging Josh Doan to ping pong in Doan’s Buffalo home.

“I’m working him pretty good,” the Swede said. “I’m better right now, but at first, I had no chance. Now I’m beating him.”

Doan, who’s been housing the 22-year-old since the end of the summer, doesn’t agree.

“‘You’re only as good as your last game’ is a motto I live by, and I did beat him last game,” Doan said. “So, therefore, I’m currently the champion.”

Ostlund’s game – hockey, not ping pong – has always spoken for itself. The former first rounder put up 49 points in 75 games in the ultra-defensive Swedish pro ranks before making the transatlantic journey to Western New York, where he’s seemingly adapted to North American ice without skipping a beat.

Coach Lindy Ruff called him a “coach’s dream.” Captain Rasmus Dahlin said he’s got “the whole package.” Ostlund’s playstyle – particularly the defensive side of his game – is lauded for being mature beyond his years.

At the heart of it all, Ostlund’s still a kid – he’ll poke fun at Josh Norris’ self-proclaimed Swedish skills from a few locker stalls down. His head perks up when a teammate mentions his name to reporters, sporting a wide grin.

“We joke around that if you're ever having a tough day, you can go get a cheery laugh from Osty, because he'll laugh about anything you say,” Doan said.

Ostlund, who had 27 points (11+16) in 60 games as a rookie and is signed the longest of any Sabre, hasn’t necessarily always had that playful release. After all, it wasn’t all that long ago that Ostlund was a teen playing amongst men in Sweden, or that he was debuting in Rochester with one point in his first 12 AHL games in 2024-25, or that he was battling for a role in Buffalo’s lineup.

But now, while it might mean sitting between Doan and Norris in the locker room, Ostlund’s found his place in Buffalo – for the next nine years, too.

“It takes time to get comfortable, especially with a new country, new language, everything,” Dahlin said.  “And (Ostlund)’s always been playing unbelievable, but now he's really taking it to the next level. I think that's just being comfortable and (having) more confidence. That guy is going to be an incredible hockey player. He's so smart. He’s just starting.”

‘No one has a better time at the rink than Osty’

Dahlin doesn’t mince words when he looks back at his time playing in Sweden.

“I thought I was mature. I thought I knew it all,” he said. “I was a dumb, young 16-year-old.”

Dahlin played a full SHL season at 16, but Ostlund got his first taste of it – 11 games – at 17. That league, they’ll tell you, humbles you quick, acclaimed for how it develops players away from the puck.

“You play against men when you’re younger,” Dahlin said. “It’s a great school to become a professional for sure. It’s not as many games, but you have to make sure you come prepared for every game, and it’s hard training.

“But it’s the same thing (here), so (Ostlund)’s used to it. He’s been used to it for a lot of years.”

Michael Leone was a first-year head coach for the Amerks when he first met Ostlund back at training camp in 2024. A smaller, quiet fixture of the team, Ostlund made an impression on Leone that he couldn’t have predicted.

“Some guys, when they’re coming from junior hockey, you have to almost guide them (through) the day-to-day life,” Leone said.

Ostlund didn’t – he’d been playing against men in Sweden for two years, living by himself for one of those. Ostlund’s growth in Sweden, Leone said, made his jump to the AHL less of a colossal leap and more of a simple step.

Of course, there were some struggles for the young Ostlund as he adjusted as a Swede in Rochester. There was the difficulty of the language barrier, which Dahlin noted was frustrating, at times: “You don’t really know the language, so you can’t really express what you think, what you want to say.”

But an ocean and a six-hour time difference between him and his family, the real challenge for Ostlund was how he had to fend for himself.

“All the nights – (there) was really not anyone to talk to,” Ostlund said of his first months with the Amerks, which he’d started cooped up in a hotel.

He also, for one, didn’t have the luxury of his mom’s pre-prepped meals.

“I bought an air fryer,” Ostlund said. “And that helped a lot. Me and (Anton) Wahlberg hung out a lot and cooked together.”

At the rink, all those bumps in the road – learning English or working an air fryer – were quickly smoothed out. Ostlund attributes his breakthrough – feeling comfortable on NHL ice, in an NHL locker room – to the start of last season, where he later earned himself a full-time spot in Buffalo.

“Right from the start (of the season), it felt different,” Ostlund said. “I knew what was coming and knew what to expect.”

 That certainly doesn’t sound like the mindset of your average NHL rookie.

“He’s a confident kid,” Doan said, a knowing smile blooming on his face. “He’s a little bit quieter and very well spoken, but he just he sits back and laughs and he has a good time. No one has a better time at the rink than Osty.”

‘You’ve always got to be ready when he’s on the ice’

There were things for Ostlund to work through when it came to winning his spot in the big leagues. All of that can be dealt with, though, when you have an innate ability to make plays that no one can even put into words.

“It feels like he hasn’t done a mistake since he came into the league,” Dahlin said.

Added Ruff: “It just seems like he can get the puck to the right place.”

“It feels like he always knows where everyone is,” said Jack Quinn.

What it’s like to play with Ostlund was best – and simply – articulated by Zach Benson: “You’ve always got to be ready when he’s on the ice.”

The ambiguity about what Ostlund’s able to do with the puck – it ‘feels’ like, it ‘seems’ – boils down to hockey IQ, which his teammates sing their praises to.

“Super high IQ,” affirmed Doan. “He makes the next play so easily. He gives you time with the puck – at the NHL level, the best thing you can do is give NHL players time with the puck, and he gives you that extra separation when you first get open rather than when (the opposing players) are closing in on you.”

Look no further than Round 1, Game 3 against Boston in April: Playing in his first career NHL playoff game, Ostlund completed a zone entry and created separation with the puck before threading a pass from a near impossible angle – beneath the red line – to set up a one-timer that secured Ostlund his first NHL playoff point.

‘You’ve always got to be ready when he’s on the ice’

There were things for Ostlund to work through when it came to winning his spot in the big leagues. All of that can be dealt with, though, when you have an innate ability to make plays that no one can even put into words.

“It feels like he hasn’t done a mistake since he came into the league,” Dahlin said.

Added Ruff: “It just seems like he can get the puck to the right place.”

“It feels like he always knows where everyone is,” said Jack Quinn.

What it’s like to play with Ostlund was best – and simply – articulated by Zach Benson: “You’ve always got to be ready when he’s on the ice.”

The ambiguity about what Ostlund’s able to do with the puck – it ‘feels’ like, it ‘seems’ – boils down to hockey IQ, which his teammates sing their praises to.

“Super high IQ,” affirmed Doan. “He makes the next play so easily. He gives you time with the puck – at the NHL level, the best thing you can do is give NHL players time with the puck, and he gives you that extra separation when you first get open rather than when (the opposing players) are closing in on you.”

Look no further than Round 1, Game 3 against Boston in April: Playing in his first career NHL playoff game, Ostlund completed a zone entry and created separation with the puck before threading a pass from a near impossible angle – beneath the red line – to set up a one-timer that secured Ostlund his first NHL playoff point.

Ostlund’s development is far from over, and he’ll have to continue to improve certain areas of his game – faceoffs, namely – to become the star that the Sabres invested in him to be. But improvement in this league can be as much mental as it does physical – take it from Ostlund’s teammates, who see it happening firsthand.

“As a player, he's coming into his own,” Doan said. “It takes a little bit of time, obviously, and part of that is just feeling like you are an NHL player. More than anything, when you're up and down and hurt a little bit – like he was last year – you ride the wave of: ‘I have to prove it.’

“It's in the back of your head all the time. You don't make the play that you always want to make just because you're a little bit worried that if you do and mess up, then you're going to get in trouble. So, I think you're starting to see him get through that process and start to grow.”

That’s what Ostlund wanted, he said – not to worry about what plays he needed to make, or what he needed to do, to stay afloat in this league: “(I) don’t really have to think about anything this year, just go out there play my game every night.”

“He’s not the biggest guy, he’s not the best, but he's so smart. He's willing,” Leone said. “There's one thing where players are shy (and) are hesitant at that size to get in battles, but he's willing. Does he always come up with pucks? No, no player does, but he's willing, and he's scratching the surface of the player that he can be.”

‘I’m going to be here for a long time’

If Ostlund, sitting alone in his apartment in Sweden in 2023, had been told then that in three years he’d be sitting in his locker stall in Buffalo, signed through the next nine seasons and making millions per year – he wouldn’t have believed it.

“That’s nothing I expected or anything,” Ostlund said. “I’m just super happy to be here, and I’m going to be here for a long time, and I feel grateful.”

And it is probably safe to assume that Ostlund, three years ago, wasn’t expecting to compete in competitive ping pong, or become best friends with Doan’s dog, Hank – much to Doan’s dismay.

“(Ostlund) thinks it's hilarious to let him in the pool and then make me take care of a wet dog,” said a disgruntled Doan.

Doan might not have to deal with Ostlund’s and Hank’s shenanigans for much longer – Ostlund’s found his new place, and could move out as soon as Sunday, after the Sabres’ Saturday night home-opener.

“But I don’t think there’s any rush,” Ostlund said. “Not for me at least.”

There’s no rush, either, for Ostlund to become Buffalo’s top-line center, but everyone around the Swede – Leone, Ruff, Jarmo Kekäläinen – noticed the summer he had. The 10 pounds of muscle Ostlund packed on have him feeling stronger and faster than ever.

Yet for Ostlund, success in year two – whether spent at his own place or on Doan’s couch – won’t come from changing his approach to the game, but with confidence and comfort, which Ostlund is oozing with ahead of his sophomore season.

Dahlin, who’ll slip pucks on the power play and dish breakout passes to Ostlund for years to come, has a front row seat to it all.

“He takes care of both ends. He’s responsible. … And now you see he puts up points and contributes offensively,” he said. “Like I said, he’s just getting started. It’s going to be fun to watch.”