Matt Savoie was back on the ice with the Buffalo Sabres on Friday for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury last month.
The 19-year-old forward took part in the morning skate wearing a regular practice jersey in preparation for the Sabres' preseason finale, a 7-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. He did not play.
Savoie was injured in the first minute of Buffalo's Prospect Challenge finale against the Penguins on Sept. 18.
Savoie said Friday he enjoyed rejoining his teammates, and that he feels he still has a way to go before he's ready for game action.
"It was great," he said following the skate. "It’s been tough not being on the ice with them every day and just watching from afar it’s been a bit of a grind, but it felt good to get out there again today.
"I think I wasn’t doing too much contact today. Just trying to ease back into it a little bit, not risk a reinjure or anything like that, so taking it cautious on that front, but I felt good out there. My legs feel good. I’ve been doing rehab skates four or five times a week, so I feel like my conditioning and cardio level is really good right now and looking forward to being back 100 percent."
Sabres coach Don Granato concurred.
"Still recovering from the injury, but he'll be able to practice with us to better gauge where he's at," Granato said Thursday. "Obviously he has got to get back to pace and conditioning because he's been out as long as he has."
The No. 9 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Savoie has yet to make his NHL debut. He had 95 points (38 goals, 57 assists) in 62 games with Winnipeg of the Western Hockey League last season.
At the time of the injury, Sabres general manger Kevyn Adams said they would be cautious with his recovery.
"I think there's a chance (he skates in training camp)," Adams told the Sabres website Sept. 21. "I don't think this week is likely and then we'll kind of reevaluate. I know he's begging, but we'll have to kind of take it week by week here."
Savoie had 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 19 WHL playoff games last season and played two Calder Cup Playoff games with Rochester of the American Hockey League.
If he doesn't make the Sabres roster, he would be assigned to the WHL because of the NHL and Canadian Hockey League's transfer agreement.
"From a playing standpoint, I loved the way he was skating, competing," Adams said. "Really impactful shift to shift through the rookie tournament."
Savoie said he has been trying to make the most of his training camp experience despite not being able to fully participate.
"Just trying to learn every day," he said. "Talking to guys, asking questions, hung out with a couple guys away from the rink and they’ve all been really great to me. This is such a good group they have here with the veterans they’ve got and all the young guys. I think it’s such a tight-knit team for an NHL locker room, so it’s pretty easy to get acclimated right away and just getting comfortable day by day, building relationships, I think that goes a long way, just spending time at the rink.
"I think when you’re injured it’s easy to kind of shy away and be on a little bit of an island, but I think I’ve done a good job and the other guys have done a good job with including me in everything. Me being in team meetings, learning lots about the system, what Donny expects guys to play like and just taking it all in."
Buffalo opens the regular season at home against the New York Rangers on Oct. 12 (MSG, MSG-B, SN360).
NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report
