Sabres prospect Savoie healthy, aims to impress at training camp

BUFFALO -- Fully recovered from a shoulder injury, Matt Savoie hopes the Prospects Challenge was the first step toward an extended stay with the Buffalo Sabres this season.

"I think my goal is to take the experience for what it is," he said. "I came in really excited and I'm just going to continue with that excitement. I'll put my best foot forward and try to stay as long as I can this year."
The rookie tournament provided Savoie the opportunity to show why the Sabres selected him with the No. 9 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The forward wasn't able to participate in the on-ice sessions at development camp in July because he was recovering from his injury.
He centered Buffalo's top line in all three games during the Prospects Challenge and his confidence grew as the camp progressed, giving him a boost as he prepares for his first NHL training camp.
"It was huge," Savoie said. "Definitely never played against this high level, this type of competition. Just kind of getting my feet wet in the first five, six days here in rookie camp was really good for me, it was a great experience."
It didn't take long for him to impress. In his first practice, he wowed Seth Appert, who ran practices and the bench during the tournament. Appert is coach for Rochester of the American Hockey League.
"Just electric," Appert said. "His pace of play is so high, with and without the puck. A lot of times guys of his age and his caliber offensively might not have the work level and the hunt of the puck he does. I just was incredibly impressed with how competitive he is on the puck, how smart he is. … He sees things that other players don't see. I was incredibly impressed with him."
Against the New Jersey Devils, with towering defenseman Kevin Bahl (6-foot-6, 230 pounds) on his back, Savoie (5-9, 179) sent a no-look backhand pass from the corner to forward Aleksandr Kisakov in the slot for a prime scoring opportunity and later in the game was left alone in front to score.

He scored twice in the finale against the Ottawa Senators, first on a one-timer and then bar down from the slot, and had several other scoring opportunities, including when he took a cross-ice pass behind his back and brought it in front of him for a chance from the left circle. Late in the game amid a scramble off a face-off, Savoie pushed the puck between the legs of Senators center
Dalyn Wakely
and quickly stepped by him to get alone in front of goalie
Jakob Robillard
, nearly beating him five-hole on the backhand.
"Just little creative plays I like doing," Savoie said. "Trying to mix things up, trying to keep the defensemen on their toes."
Savoie kept opponents on their toes last season in the Western Hockey League, when he had 90 points (35 goals, 55 assists) in 65 games for Winnipeg.
"He has a real presence about him for a young man," Appert said. "When you talk to him, when you give him instruction, anything, he doesn't come across as an 18-year-old kid. Carries himself very mature, real good presence, is energized on the ice but didn't seem like a kid in a candy store, like it's Christmas morning. Felt like he's ready to be here, ready for the moment, and ready to go out and show what he is."
And Savoie intends on doing just that.
"I think my biggest goal is to definitely play some NHL games this year," he said. "It's not easy to crack the roster at the start of the season, so I think just put my best foot forward. Always working hard, making sure I have attention to detail and just sticking with it this year."
Savoie sais he knows the challenge he faces in trying to earn his way onto a roster with a forward group that's essentially set and includes prospects Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka knocking at the door to the NHL.
It's expected the Sabres will eventually send him back to the Winnipeg to continue his development. But Savoie plans on making the most of his time in Buffalo.
"I think that's all really a player can do," he said. "Make the decision to send you home tough and make them not want to send you home. I want to play good enough to be able to stick around as long as I can and that's really my focus coming up here."
Photos: Buffalo Sabres / Sara Schmidle