While the Stanley Cup Playoffs are still a month away, postseason hockey is right around the corner for several Buffalo Sabres prospects. Ryan Johnson, Aaron Huglen, Devon Levi, and Matteo Costantini are all preparing for their respective conference tournaments with an eye on a trip to the Frozen Four. 

The regular season has completed across the country and conference tournaments are in full swing. 

The 16-team NCAA field will be announced March 19 (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU), with the regionals scheduled for March 23-26 and the Frozen Four set for April 6 and 8 in Tampa, Florida.

The winners of the six conference tournaments - Atlantic, Big Ten, CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and NCHC - and 10 at-large teams will make up the 16-team field. 

Here's a breakdown of the Sabres prospects competing this weekend and how to watch their games.

This edition of Sabres.com's Prospects Pipeline checks in on Devon Levi, as well as Matt Savoie, Noah Ostlund, and Oliver Nadeau.

Devon Levi is picking up right where he left off of last season.

Still a foundational pillar for his team, the Northeastern University goaltender is once again protecting the net at a high level, posting a .920 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-against average through 21 games. He's also racked up three shutouts. 

For a young hockey player, the honor of representing one's country on the international stage is a useful development tool, both professionally and personally. 

The unique experience is also a physical and emotional grind, as a trio of Sabres draft picks recently learned as they battled through seven games in a span of 11 days at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. It was a grind that saw one come away with a coveted medal, one left wanting more, and another eager for redemption when the 2024 event convenes on home soil.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

With the gifts exchanged and the holiday meals consumed, hockey fans can settle in front of the television today when the puck drops on the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. 

Among the under-20 participants looking to add a gold medal to their trophy case will be a trio of Sabres forward prospects in first-year Rochester Americans forwards Jiri Kulich (2022, first round) and Isak Rosen (2021, first round), and nifty playmaker Noah Ostlund (2022, first round), who is currently developing with Djurgarden IF in Sweden's second professional division, HockeyAllsvenskan, have been tabbed to represent their countries.

The Buffalo Sabres have reassigned Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund to their respective national junior teams, the Sabres announced Monday morning. 

The 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship begins Monday, December 26 in Halifax and Moncton.

This post, originally published on December 7, 2022 will be updated as additional countries announce their World Junior Championship camp and preliminary rosters. 

Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund have been named to Sweden's preliminary roster for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held from December 26, 2022 through January 5, 2023 in Halifax and Moncton.  

This edition of the Prospects Pipeline checks in on Matt Savoie, as well as Noah Ostlund, Josh Bloom, Mats Lindgren, and Devon Levi.

Matt Savoie is off to a hot start, already tallying 11 points in eight WHL games with the Winnipeg ICE this season. 

Savoie started his WHL campaign with a seven-game point streak, including four multi-point performances.

The Buffalo Sabres have returned forward Josh Bloom and defensemen Mats Lindgren, Vsevolod Komarov and Spencer Sova to their respective junior teams. 

The talented prospects for the blue and gold were on full display on Monday afternoon when the Buffalo Sabres took home a 6-3 win in the Prospects Challenge finale against the Ottawa Senators.

Matt Savoie and Tyson Kozak each scored two goals while Aleksandr Kisakov tallied three assists. Linus Weissbach and Lukas Rousek also scored goals for Buffalo. 

The Sabres finished the Prospects Challenge with wins in all three games. 

"We are proud of the mentality they had," Rochester Americans coach Seth Appert said. "They're still young hockey players. They're not men yet, they're not certainly - most of them - aren't pros yet. They're embarking on being pros. But the only way to have three games like that is to come with the right mentality, because we challenged them to play different than they did in junior hockey."

Here are three takeaways from the game. 

Seth Appert and his coaching staff had designs on combining Lukas Rousek, Jiri Kulich, and Isak Rosen as linemates before the Prospects Challenge began. 

Rousek's playmaking, they calculated, would blend well with the scoring prowess of Kulich and Rosen. Rousek would also serve as a veteran anchor for the two first-round picks entering their first seasons in North America, with Rousek having spent last season with the Amerks. 

Those plans changed when an injury sidelined Kulich for the opening game of the tournament, but the vision came to fruition against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Rousek tallied a pair of assists while Rosen and Kulich both scored goals in a 7-4 win for the Sabres prospects at LECOM Harborcenter.

"They were really good," Appert said. 

Matt Savoie also scored his first goal of the tournament for the Sabres, as did Ethan Ritchie, Filip Cederqvist, Aleksandr Kisakov, and Spencer Sova. Oskari Laaksonen and Linus Weissbach were each credited with two assists. 

Let's get into takeaways from the game, beginning with the productive night from the Kulich line.