ROCHESTER – Don’t let Isak Rosen’s numbers fool you. The four goals and team-leading 13 points the Buffalo Sabres prospect has scored in 14 games illustrate just part of his performance this season.
Rosen, who on Monday was recalled by the Sabres, has been an offensive driver for the Americans in the opening weeks of his third AHL season.
Still, other aspects of the winger’s game need work.
“I actually think he has not been playing well,” Amerks assistant coach Vinny Prospal told the Times Herald on Nov. 8 in Blue Cross Arena. “He’s producing, but I think there’s a hell of a lot more in his play than what he’s shown.”
Rosen, 21, is cognizant his high point production doesn’t mean he’s enjoying a terrific season. Prospal, who wants the youngster to be harder on pucks along wall, especially in the defensive zone, has gotten through to him.
“You look at production-wise, I’ve been there almost every game, but I think I got more,” Rosen said Nov. 8. “I need to play better, too. I think some games I’m not the player I want to be.
“I think I need to be more consistent with that. Even though maybe I’m on the score sheet, I think to win even more puck battles and get to the hard areas.”
That night, Rosen scored one goal and three points in the Amerks’ 6-3 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack. He hasn’t, however, registered a point in their last four games.
It’s no coincidence the Amerks have scored just four goals in that stretch while compiling a 0-2-2 mark.
“What I do, I’m just trying to do it just more consistent,” said Rosen, whose turnover in overtime Sunday led to the Toronto Marlies’ winning goal. “I think win battles and go to the net hard, and I think that would allow me to score more points.”
Amerks coach Mike Leone said Rosen, the 14th overall pick in 2021, possesses “the inner drive you want to have as a player.”
“I think he holds himself to a certain standard and he felt he probably wasn’t playing to that standard even though he’s been good,” he said earlier this month.
Despite his brief offensive slump, Rosen has impressed the Sabres enough they summoned him when winger Jordan Greenway suffered a mid-body injury. The Sabres begin a three-game California road trip tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.
The 6-foot, 180-pound Rosen played his first seven NHL games around this time last season, registering zero points.
When he’s playing at his best, it’s easy to understand what makes Rosen such an intriguing prospect. Leone said he has “a unique skill set that in the way he can skate, the way he can shoot the puck and make plays in tight spaces.”
“When he’s playing good, it’s more the things he can control like winning puck battles, being tenacious,” he said following Tuesday’s practice. “I’m not talking about running guys through (the wall). His version of compete, where he’s staying on pucks and being relentless, and I think when he’s playing that game, he’s a really exceptional player.”
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Leone said goalie Devon Levi, who on Monday was assigned to Rochester for playing time, will start Wednesday’s road game against the Laval Rocket.
He said goalie Michael Houser missed Tuesday practice because of a stomach bug, so Felix Sandstrom will be backing up Levi.
Levi practiced Tuesday.
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Amerks forward Tyson Kozak recently returned to the lineup after suffering a lower-body injury. Kozak’s five goals are tied for the team lead with rookie center Konsta Helenius.