Prospects Notebook | Stronger and hungry for a job, Rosen returns for 4th rookie camp

The Buffalo Sabres’ rookie camp got underway Wednesday at LECOM Harborcenter, with a collection of the organization’s young talent preparing for this weekend’s Prospects Challenge.

• Prospects Challenge: Sabres roster and streaming info

For some, this marks the second chance – along with July’s development camp – to make an impression on the AHL and NHL coaching staffs. But for many on this year’s rookie camp roster, which includes 10 players who played in Rochester last season, it’s more of a reintroduction to Amerks head coach Michael Leone and his staff.

“It was really good to see the guys we had last year,” Leone said. “Summers are big, especially for the younger players, to put on size and strength. I know it was just one practice, but it looks like everybody had a really good summer. All the guys that our staff was able to coach last year I thought looked really good today.”

One prospect, who in May discussed the need for a productive offseason, appears to have had just that. Forward Isak Rosen, after leading the 2024-25 Amerks with 28 goals and 55 points, felt he needed to get stronger to continue developing as an NHL-caliber winger.

So, the 22-year-old found a new strength coach, adopting a higher-intensity workout program he believes will make him a more explosive athlete. Growth in that department, plus the 2021 first-round pick’s proven offensive talent, should make him a force as he competes in his fourth Prospects Challenge.

“As a player coming in with a fourth year, you want to see him kind of blow the doors off of this tournament, similar to what Jiri (Kulich) did last year, and set [himself] up for being on the Sabres for most of the season,” Leone said.

“You never want to tell a player to dominate the tournament, but he should have the puck a lot.”

Does Rosen agree he should be one of the top players skating this weekend?

“Yeah, of course,” he said. “I think I was last year, so should be this year, as well.”

That confidence, which Leone wants to see more of, will be essential for Rosen to carve out a role on the 2025-26 Sabres. He’s managed just one assist in 15 career NHL games – eight last season – and hasn’t played with the same offensive flair he’s shown in Rochester. Now, he has another chance to display his offseason growth and push for an NHL roster spot.

“It’s my fourth year, so it’s time to show that I want a jersey in Buffalo,” Rosen said. “And I’ve just got to take every opportunity I get here.”

Here’s more from Day 1 of rookie camp.

1. This rookie camp also includes each of Buffalo’s eight 2025 draft picks, led by ninth-overall selection Radim Mrtka, and Leone’s approach with them differs from the established AHLers.

“I think the biggest thing is not overcoaching them at this event and micromanaging their game and the systems,” Leone said. “They’ve just got to go out there and play and be free – they were drafted for a reason – and just to play their game.”

2. Last year’s first-round pick, forward Konsta Helenius, is coming off an AHL rookie season with 35 points (14+21) in 65 games and a spot on the 2024-25 AHL Top Prospects Team. He was especially impactful – offensively, defensively, after the whistle – during Rochester’s two-series playoff run.

Helenius spent the offseason training with fellow Finnish forward Roope Hintz, who’s averaged 70 points across the last four NHL seasons, and he feels he picked up some good goal-scoring tips from the Dallas Stars’ star.

After his strong rookie campaign, could the 19-year-old Helenius find his way onto the NHL roster at some point this season?

• Camp Countdown | Which Amerks could debut and contribute?

3. Leone offered his thoughts on Rochester’s pair of 6-foot-4 Russian defensemen, the left-shot Nikita Novikov and right-shot Vsevolod Komarov, and their 2024-25 seasons.

On Novikov: “Novi did a really good job gapping more against speed; I think he struggled with that in the past,” Leone said. “Killing more plays in the D zone, which you’re going to want to see out of a defenseman with that size. Being good in front of the net, boxing out. And I thought he took huge strides from the year before.”

On Komarov: “Komy, I thought, made huge strides towards the end of the year. Coming from the Quebec Major Junior League, that’s a huge jump to the American Hockey League.

“… He has a really competitive spirit to him – I use the term ‘gamer.’ He’s physical, he’s everything that you want in a 6-foot-4 defenseman. He has skill, but he also has the ability to defend. I think for him, making the step into this year is using his stick more, being more stick-detailed in the corner to kill plays, not going into the glass with two hands on your stick – the things that separate guys to get to the next level. Being really detailed away from the puck is going to be really important for him.”

Up next

Another rookie camp practice will take place Thursday, followed by the first of three Prospects Challenge games. The puck drops at 7 p.m. on Friday versus New Jersey, and the game will be streaming right here on Sabres.com.

Tickets are available here.