Takeaways from the 2022 French Connection Tournament

Kevyn Adams spoke earlier this month about his excitement for the Sabres' first development camp in three years, citing the five-day event as a chance for the players who comprise the future of the organization to begin forming a brotherhood.
It also, for many of the players, served as an introduction to Buffalo. Fans filled LECOM Harborcenter for three days of practice sessions. The prospects toured the Buffalo Bills facilities in Orchard Park. Kyle Okposo addressed the group about what it means to play in a hockey-obsessed market.

It all led to Saturday, when - on 716 Day, fittingly - the prospects split into four teams for the return of the annual 3-on-3 French Connection Tournament, played in front of a building packed with Sabres season-ticket members.
Adams addressed the crowd after the tournament.
"For us, the goal of this camp was for [the players] to get to know each other, to get to learn about the organization and who everybody is from Sabres right through Rochester," Adams said. "And, ultimately, it's to help them understand what a great city Buffalo is.
"… I talk all the time about, we need players that want to be here. We need players who want to be Buffalo Sabres. And these guys are special and they're going to make you proud."
Here are more takeaways from the final day of development camp.

Team Perreault takes the trophy

The French Connection Tournament featured four teams of nine players. They played a round-robin stage consisting of six 10-minute games, followed by a single-elimination playoff.
Jack Quinn (Team Perreault) and Owen Power (Team Martin) led the tournament with two goals apiece, setting up a showdown in the championship match. Team Perreault won, 4-2.
Team Perreault consisted of forwards Quinn, William von Barnekow, Jakub Konecny, Jake Richard, and Lukas Rousek; defensemen Albert Lyckasen, Mats Lindgren, and Spencer Sova; and goaltender Erik Portillo.
Replay the live stream of the tournament below.

Goalies steal the show

The tournament opened with a matchup between Portillo and fellow goaltender Devon Levi (Team Hasek), neither of whom allowed a goal in the 10-minute game.
Levi got the better of that meeting in the shootout, delivering the play of the tournament with a second-effort stop on Quinn to seal a 1-0 victory. Watch the save below.

Portillo and Levi posted shutouts once again when they met a second time in the semifinal round. This time, Portillo came out on top after Quinn scored the shootout winner.
"They're workers," Sabres coach Don Granato said of Levi and Portillo. "You probably won't ever catch me recorded saying I enjoyed two 0-0 games. But they played two 0-0 games there, and it was fun to watch."
Read more about Levi and his approach to development here.

Cozens makes the trip

Granato was texting with Dylan Cozens last week during the NHL Draft, when the Sabres added a trio of first-round forwards in Matt Savoie, Noah Ostlund, and Jiri Kulich.
"I said to Dylan in the text, 'These are the guys you're going to be mentoring,'" Granato recalled Saturday. "His reply right away was, 'I'd be honored.'"
A few days later, the 21-year-old Cozens took it upon himself to make the drive from his training site in Ontario to attend development camp practice sessions at LECOM Harborcenter. He watched alongside Granato, met with the prospects, and signed autographs before departing.

"We all know in this organization that Dylan is a leader and can be a leader," Granato said. "Now he's got more NHL experience and he wanted to lend a little bit of that to these guys."