BRIGHTON – These days, Devon Levi possesses a narrow focus. Naturally, the Buffalo Sabres prospect thinks about his future. But by embracing what the present offers him, he believes he can achieve his ultimate goal of becoming an elite NHL goalie.
Almost three years after nearly backstopping the Sabres to an unlikely playoff berth just weeks out of college, Levi, 24, has spent all season with the Rochester Americans.
“I know that over time I’ll end up where I want to be,” Levi told the Times Herald following a recent practice at Tim Hortons Iceplex. “And, obviously, being here in Rochester is amazing, and it is where I want to be. And I love it here.
“But I don’t feel rushed anymore. I think I did.”
Ah, yes, rushed. Following Levi’s splendid seven-game run to close the 2022-23 season, the Sabres labeled the neophyte an NHL-ready talent.
Goalies, of course, rarely jump from the NCAA into the big leagues and stay put. The position demands significant development time – perhaps a few years – in the minors.
Still, Levi earned the Sabres’ opening-night start months after his first taste of the NHL. By late that November, they had sent him to Rochester. Last season, he cracked the opening-night roster before they assigned him to the AHL around the same time as his rookie campaign.
This year, the Sabres did an about face, deciding Levi would start the season in Rochester and remain there.
When goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen suffered an injury shortly before training camp, the Sabres signed veteran Alexandar Georgiev. When Georgiev struggled in the preseason, they claimed rookie Colten Ellis off waivers.
For four months, the Sabres have carried three goalies – Ellis, Luukkonen and veteran Alex Lyon – as Levi, a youngster often labeled as their goalie of the future, handles the load in Rochester.
He hasn’t played an NHL game since Jan. 20, 2025.
“Dev’s been really good,” Amerks coach Mike Leone said of the netminder’s attitude. “There’s been no talks of anything that would be a distraction. He’s just focused on … becoming a better goalie.”
Unless two goalies get hurt – right now, Luukkonen has a lower-body injury that forced him out of the Olympics – the chances of the Sabres recalling Levi seem slim.
So the 6-foot, 192-pound Levi will gladly use the consistent action with the Amerks as an opportunity to mature. Having played 32 games this season, he’s on pace for a career-high 51 appearances.
“I’m comfortable with taking the time … here that I need to just be able to become not necessarily the goalie to be able to play in the NHL, but the person, the character to maintain a full-season load, and do it with grace and do it at an elite level,” he said.
A grueling AHL season offers the cerebral Levi, who seems to focus on the mental side of hockey at least as much as the physical aspect, chances to examine his game.
Over the past year or two, he said his biggest lessons “have been coming mentally and emotionally.”
“I know that I have the physical and goaltending ability to play in the NHL,” he said. “I think the past year or two has been more of the mental side, being able to understand how to carry a full-season load in pro, manage the ups and down, stay even-keeled throughout.”
Levi often finds positives in what most would perceive as negatives. While allowing a goal is thought of as a bad thing, he believes that as he gains more experience and more pucks get past him, “the less each goal has an impact on you.”
“It’s kind of like one step closer to becoming internally how I need to be an elite NHL goalie,” he said.
Levi said each goal he allows can teach him two lessons.
“There’s a technical lesson on the ice, how could you have stopped that?” he said. “But then also there’s the (lesson of) what does it do to your internal world, and how can you mitigate the effect of a goal against on your internal system, so to speak.”
Levi said when some veteran goalies allow a goal, they display so much poise you would never know.
“I definitely am feeling my trajectory toward that, just internally,” he said. “… It’s been a great process for me. Great year so far, just internally, being able to be a little bit more in control of my mind and emotions.
Levi’s numbers have dipped a bit this season as the Amerks, who play a road game tonight against the Utica Comets, have lost many of their top players to recalls.
He has compiled a 16-10-6 record with a 2.57 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and three shutouts. Last season, he registered a 25-13-4 mark with a 2.20 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and a league-high seven shutouts in 42 outings.
“I know people look at the numbers, and maybe they’re down a bit, but he’s given us a chance every game he’s played,” Leone said.
Levi’s future in the organization appears to be uncertain. Former Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams, who was fired Dec. 15 and replaced by Jarmo Kekalainen, acquired Levi in 2021 in a trade with the Florida Panthers and was his biggest supporter.
Levi, Ellis, Luukkonen and Lyon are all under contract next season.
“Kevyn was awesome, believed in me out of college, gave me my first stint in the NHL,” Levi said. “The support that I got from him was amazing. He’s an awesome dude, and part of me wanted to play well for him and prolong his time with the organization.
“I’ve heard a lot of great things about Jarmo, and I’m very excited to play for him and see what he can turn this organization into. … But I also am trying to stay out of that stuff and … keep my vision narrow.”