Prospects notebook | New-look Amerks on display in Buffalo

Ahead of the two-game Prospects Showcase, Buffalo Sabres prospects took the ice for practice on Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter.

Although many of the organization’s top young players are in college and absent this weekend, a group headlined by defenseman Radim Mrtka – the ninth-overall pick in 2025 – is in town to face Boston Bruins prospects on Sunday and Monday.

• Prospects Showcase: Roster, schedule and how to watch
• Mrtka and other first-year Amerks to watch in training camp

Here are some notes and storylines from Saturday’s session.

Amerks’ opening in net

Last year’s Rochester Americans had Devon Levi in net for 52 of 72 games in the regular season. Now that Levi’s in Edmonton, there’s an opportunity for younger guys like Topias Leinonen and Scott Ratzlaff, who alternated between backing up Levi and playing for Jacksonville (ECHL) last season.

Leinonen, 22, is unavailable this weekend due to a lower-body injury. The 2022 second-round pick entered 2025-26 with some professional experience in Finland and Sweden, and in eight games for the Amerks, he had an .855 save percentage and 3.48 goals-against average. He was Levi’s initial backup before a midseason injury opened the door for Ratzlaff.

Ratzlaff, 21 years old and a fifth-round pick from 2023, had four wins, an .878 save percentage and 3.44 goals-against average in 13 AHL games. And Rochester presented some challenges for the first-year pro, he admits.

“The American League will humble you in quicker ways than you know,” Ratzlaff said. “I got a shutout one game, and then I think I got a few too many by me the next. It’s keeping that humbleness and consistent, levelheaded mindset. I think that’s the most important part, instead of getting too high or low when games go in and out of your favor.”

The organization also signed 27-year-old AHL veteran Matt Villalta this summer. With him, Leinonen and Ratzlaff, the Amerks should have an intriguing battle to fill the Levi void when the season gets underway.

“Dev was a great role model and a great person to be behind and see how he took about the game,” said Ratzlaff, who figures to get a game against the Bruins this weekend. “But there’s a big opportunity there, and I’m just gonna keep my head down, keep working and see what unfolds.”

Coaching turnover in Rochester

After losing Vinny Prospal and Nathan Paetsch to other jobs this summer, Amerks coach Michael Leone and general manager Stacy Roest reloaded their staff with three new hires.

• Assistant coach Scott Moser, 37, joins after five seasons at the University of Vermont. The Buffalo-area native both played and coached at Canisius.
• Assistant coach Philip Samuelsson, 35, was briefly an NHL defenseman in the mid-2010s and just wrapped up his pro playing career last season in Italy. This marks his first official coaching experience.
• Goaltending coach Neil Conway, 38, previously worked with goalies for the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms.

Moser addressed the media Saturday and discussed his new gig.

On returning to Western New York: “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t special to me. Western New York’s always been home. ... Flew the coop hoping to eventually make my way back here on the coaching journey, and to be here close to my family. I’ve got young boys that are back around grandparents. ... And obviously wearing this (Sabres) logo is just a little bit different for me.”

On coaching college vs. pro hockey: “It’s 72 regular-season games versus 34. Other than that, I like to think coaching is coaching. I did coach in a handful of World Juniors with the Slovak national program and worked with some first-round picks, and those are the moments you realize they still just want to be coached. Whether it’s a fourth liner in college or an elite prospect, they all want to know that you’re there for them.”

On Rochester’s roster battles this camp: “Competition for these spots makes everyone better. I just think it’s going to lead to a lot of fun practices and a lot of guys chomping at the bit to earn minutes.”

On his fellow Amerks coaches: “People say we’re young, so I guess I’ll say we’re young and hungry. The four of the us – with me, Leo, Philip and Neil – we’re in a similar area of our lives right now, which I think is really neat, so we have a lot to relate to each other. I’ve been on staffs in the past where we were best friends. … That vibe and that aura kind of wears off on the players.”

McCarthy and Richard: Rivals turned roommates

When forward Jake Richard and defenseman Gavin McCarthy took the ice for practice this week, it was far from the first – or last – time. 

The pair of Sabres draft picks have donned the same colors early on in their careers, namely for the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL for 2021-22 and part of 2022-23. But Richard and McCarthy have a more recent history of being rivals, competing against one another in the NCAA’s Hockey East conference, Richard for the University of Connecticut and McCarthy for Boston University.

Richard – whose Huskies eliminated McCarthy’s Terriers in the Hockey East Tournament back in March – has been on the better end of that rivalry, and he’s quick to keep McCarthy in check. After all, there’s lots of time for jabs and quips, especially now that the two are sharing the same roof. 

“Yeah, I definitely had to let him know,” Richard said with a grin, adding, “two years in a row.” 

Richard and McCarthy will get to turn the page on the next chapter of their hockey journey together, as the McCarthy family has been hosting Richard at their home in Buffalo for the last two months and continues to do so while the two prepare for training camp and their professional careers.  

“I think that it adds a level of comfort, having a friend along your side going through the exact same thing,” Richard said. “I owe his family a huge ‘thank you’ letting me stay at their house for the last two months. I’d say that it's definitely a cool experience, especially to share that with him.” 

Richard, 22, spent the summer bouncing back and forth between Western New York and Toronto, where he trained with NHL alum and renowned strength and conditioning coach Gary Roberts. The strides he’s made have impressed Moser – who saw Richard many times when UConn battled UVM. 

“I saw him out there, I said, ‘I feel like you grew this summer. I'm not sure if that's possible at your age,’” Moser said. “But he looks big. He's always had an excellent shot, and there were games against UConn – especially in their building – where the puck would find him and it'd be off his stick in a real hurry, so I'm excited to see him at the pro level.” 

That level of compete between Richard and McCarthy certainly won’t stop now, as the two will be vying for wide-open roles in Rochester this season – particularly Richard, who could be called upon to fill a rather vacant hole in the Amerks' offense. 

“We’re both super competitive, so I think we push each other really well,” McCarthy said. “And, obviously, that little rivalry we had in college helps too, throwing shots back and forth. So, it's been fun.”

Practice sound