Prospects Update | Levi, Portillo return to action this weekend

Look no further than the Buffalo Sabres' goaltending pipeline for evidence that there is more than one way to stop a puck.
The Sabres boast two goaltending prospects at the NCAA level. Erik Portillo is 6-foot-6, 225-pounds, similar in stature to fellow netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Devon Levi is 6-foot-0, making up for what he lacks in size with speed and intelligence.
Both players have shown promise as they enter the back half of their seasons. Levi and Northeastern return from a month-long break tonight against Long Island. Portillo and sixth-ranked Michigan host 10th-ranked UMass on Saturday and Sunday.

"It's nice to have two prospects that in the future have an opportunity to become Buffalo Sabres," Sabres development coach Seamus Kotyk said.
Portillo and Levi are both sophomores, though both are in their first seasons as starters in college hockey. Portillo played seven games last season while backing up outgoing senior Strauss Mann. Levi did not dress at all for Northeastern due to a fractured rib.
Both are excelling as starters. Portillo, a third-round pick by the Sabres in 2019, has a .917 save percentage in 21 games. He backstops a team with national title aspirations that - while loaded with future NHL talent, including fellow Sabres prospect Owen Power - plays a high-event style.
Kotyk said the Sabres' challenge to Portillo for the rest of the season is to make the high-leverage stops as the stakes continue to raise.
"They play a run-and-gun style at Michigan," Kotyk said. "Don't worry about what the score is but be there when your team needs that save. A lot of the push for him and guidance for Erik is to be that, because it's a real challenging place as a goalie to play because your team scores a lot of goals but sometimes, they give up a lot of opportunities at the same time. I think he's been fantastic."

Levi, acquired in the deal that sent Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers during the summer, has excelled statistically at every level despite being a seventh-round draft pick in 2020. He was MVP of the CCHL in his draft year, when he posted a .941 save percentage with Carleton Place. He burst onto the national scene last year when - playing with a fractured rib - he posted a .964 save percentage in seven games while backstopping Canada to World Juniors silver.
This season has been no different. Levi is 13-4-1 with an NCAA-best .955 save percentage in 18 games for Northeastern. His six shutouts are tied for second in the country. He has been named Rookie of the Week by Hockey East four times.
"He's playing in games where he's the difference," Kotyk said. "He's just playing a lot of games, he's having success, but none of it's going to him. He's a focused, mature kid and it's just exciting. We make that trade for him and it's just great to see him be as excited about us as we are about him."