BUFFALO – For Sabres prospect Scott Ratzlaff, playing against NHL players he had only seen on television like Sean Monahan feels surreal.
In a normal training camp, the goalie would’ve been sent back to the Seattle Thunderbirds after about a week. But the Sabres’ season-opening trip to Europe has created unique opportunities for players left in camp.
Ratzlaff, 19, has seized his chance, looking impressive during his first NHL preseason outings.
In Tuesday’s 3-2 road win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, he replaced Michael Houser for the third period and stopped all 10 shots to secure the victory. In Saturday’s 6-3 road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, he started and stopped all 20 shots in the first 30 minutes, 52 seconds before Felix Sandstrom replaced him.
In his limited action, Ratzlaff has compiled perfect numbers – a 0.00 goals-against average and a 1.000 save percentage – and developed a belief he can play in the big leagues.
Columbus fielded an NHL lineup, meaning in addition to Monahan, defenseman Zach Werenski and forwards Adam Fantilli, Boone Jenner and Kent Johnson also dressed.
Ratzlaff, who refuses to be in awe of his opponents, said facing such talented players instills he has “an amazing opportunity.”
“It’s cool and all (to face NHL players), but it’s like, I’m meant to be here knowing that you kind of have to have that little swagger, little confidence going into it like, ‘I’m meant to be here and I can make a difference,’” he told the Times Herald.
Ratzlaff, who could play in tonight’s preseason finale against the Detroit Red Wings at KeyBank Center, has left a positive impression before the Sabres send him to the junior Western Hockey League.
“He’s a gamer,” said Rochester Americans coach Mike Leone, who’s running Buffalo’s bench. “… To go into a game, give up zero goals as a 19-year-old kid in an NHL game with a heavy NHL lineup, I mean, that says a lot about his growth and now gives him a lot of confidence going forward.”
Right now, Ratzlaff, a fifth-round pick in 2023, 141st overall, is brimming with confidence.
“Just being able to stay a little longer with these guys and play against higher-end talent has been an unbelievable experience,” he said.
That should buoy him during what will likely be his final junior season. After winning a WHL championship and having a splendid rookie season in 2022-23 – he posted a 2.18 goals-against average and a .918 percentage – Seattle missed the playoffs last year.
Not surprisingly, his numbers ballooned. In a career-high 52 games, he posted a 3.33 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.
Throughout the season, he said he learned how “to bounce back.”
“You get around 40, 50 shots a game, and some days that means (you allow) two goals and you play really good, or that means seven goals and you’re out within 15 minutes,” he said. “So it’s like, ‘How can I can go from seven … to now getting back to what I know and trying to make a difference in that game?’”
But Ratzlaff, a native of tiny Irma, Alberta, enjoyed some memorable experiences throughout the campaign. Early in the winter, he served as the third goalie for Team Canada’s loaded squad for the World Junior Championship in Sweden.
“Coming from a small town of 500 people, you never even think you’re going to leave the Province, let alone the continent, right?” he said.
At the end of the season, the 6-foot-1, 177-pound Ratzlaff joined Rochester for three weeks on an amateur tryout. As a teenager who plays for a Canadian Hockey League team, he can’t be on an AHL roster until his junior season ends.
While he did not play, he backed up one game in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the NBA’s Cavaliers.
“That’s a pretty sweet rink,” Ratzlaff said. “Even this past week, we go to Pittsburgh (and) Ottawa (and) Columbus. Those rinks are cool and they have their own signature things like the cannon (in Columbus), things like that. Like, it’s cool to see different fan bases and how they support the team.”
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The Red Wings have two games tonight– Saturday’s postponed contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins is being made up in Detroit – so they will utilize a split-squad lineup against the Sabres.
The Penguins couldn’t reach Detroit because of the weather-related delays.
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Leone said Sabres defenseman Ryan Johnson, who was removed from Saturday’s roster, is day to day with a lower-body injury. Johnson skated Saturday.
I have been enjoying the “preseason Sabres” and the Buffalo Sabres play preseason and exhibition games and am looking forward to tonight’s final preseason contest and have been impressed with what I have seen.
The young goaltender did not look out of place versus Pittsburgh, and the “preseason Sabres” were looking good at Columbus, not false hope but highlights our “stocked cupboard”, imho.
Interesting to read the young goaltender’s perspective and confident thoughts, time will tell if he makes it here along the Lake permanently.