2 Buffalo Sabres Prospects Who Could Get Called Up This Season

As the season gets underway, players will begin to suffer injuries as they sacrifice their bodies for the sake of their team, not to mention the ever-present concern of a positive Covid diagnosis. Eventually, there will be players who will need to miss games, and others will need to be called in to replace them in the lineup. Here are two such prospects who could see some playing time on the Buffalo Sabres this season.

Jack Quinn

This one is a no-doubter. Drafted 8th overall in 2020, Jack Quinn blossomed into a future star in his draft year playing with the Ottawa 67's of the OHL, where he put up 52 goals and 89 points in 62 games as a 17-year old. Those numbers bumped him up in the draft to 8th overall where the Sabres simply couldn't pass him up. He made his way over to Buffalo's AHL affiliate Rochester Americans the next season and scored 2 goals and 9 points in 15 games. Not bad, but nothing spectacular. If Sabres' fans were looking for "spectacular" they needed to wait another year. This season, Quinn has vaulted to 3rd in AHL scoring as of this writing, scoring 9 goals and 18 points in 14 games, which brings him to 27 points in 29 career AHL games. He looks right at home playing pro hockey and is already producing at a rate that suggests he won't be in the AHL for long. He scored an absolutely ridiculous goal in the shootout just the other day, but on top of his obvious skill as a goal scorer, Quinn plays with the kind of intensity that will ultimately result in steady production at the NHL level. He's smart defensively, unafraid to drive right to the net, and can dictate the flow of play with his puck skill. He's currently playing top minutes in Rochester, so it will take an opening in the top 6 in Buffalo to get him called up. Once it happens though, he won't be going back.

JJ Peterka

Selected 26 places after Quinn in the 2020 Draft, John-Jacob Peterka is a native of Germany who was drafted early in the 2nd round for his heavy-forechecking style of play. A relentless puck-hound, Peterka is fearless in board battles and unrelenting in his pursuit of winning puck possession. He's a pest, the kind of guy who makes playing hockey against his team a frustrating experience. The reason he's such an exciting prospect is that, on top of his style of play, he can also contribute on the scoresheet. Currently playing in his first season of North American pro hockey, Peterka has 4 goals and 15 points in 14 games. That's good for 12th in AHL scoring, which is pretty solid for his first 14 games in the league. He's beginning to look like a lock for Germany's Olympic team as well, which will give him the opportunity to play alongside a superstar like Leon Draisaitl and further progress his development. All this combines to suggest that he'll be an important member of Buffalo's core players as their rebuild comes to fruition. He needs to improve on the defensive side of the puck in order for his call-up to be a sure thing, but unlike Quinn, Peterka is the kind of player who can make valuable contributions playing on the 3rd line just as often as he can in the top 6. The Sabres will inevitably lose some players at the trade deadline as they try to add draft picks for the offseason, and that may free up a spot in Buffalo that Peterka could fill to close out the year.

We haven't stopped watching JJ Peterka's goal 🔥

Play of the Game | @RachelsGrill pic.twitter.com/BLsBOzTQgB
— Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) November 7, 2021