BUFFALO – It was one year ago – Oct. 6, 2025 – when the Sabres claimed a little-known goalie named Colten Ellis with no NHL experience off waivers.
These days, Ellis, who’s expected to make his first start this season Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild at KeyBank Center, is a big piece of the Sabres, having established himself as a strong option throughout a surprising rookie campaign.
“Looking back a year ago today, it’s pretty crazy,” Ellis said following Monday’s practice. “So all that’s happened in the past year, (I’m) super grateful for the opportunity.”
A year ago, Ellis’ time here figured to be fleeting.
He arrived days after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen suffered another injury. Perhaps he would briefly provide some insurance until the Finn recovered.
The Sabres already also had goalies Alex Lyon and Alexandar Georgiev in the NHL and prospect Devon Levi in the minors.
If Ellis, who spent most of his four years in the minors toiling in the ECHL, stuck around for a few weeks and played a game it would’ve been significant for him.
Instead, he spent all season with the Sabres, playing 16 games.
The Sabres waived Georgiev a day after claiming Ellis, who dazzled in his first start later in the month following backup duty behind Lyon.
“We needed help, and when we got him here, (we) didn’t know a lot,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “Watched a few American League games that he played, and we thought highly of him. And then he stepped in goal and he played a lot of good games for us.”
If the Sabres waived Ellis, the St. Louis Blues possibly would’ve reclaimed him.
When Luukkonen returned, they kept Ellis and rolled with three goalies. Levi, a strong prospect, stayed in the minors all season before the Sabres traded him to the Edmonton Oilers in June.
Overall last year, Ellis compiled and 8-4-2 record with a 2.90 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage and one shutout, becoming one of the Sabres’ biggest surprises.
With only 23 roster spots, carrying three netminders is a luxury most teams can’t afford. But the Sabres and the goalies made it work. Throughout last season, Ellis, Luukkonen and Lyon all said they got along and understood their roles.
So the Sabres plan to use all three again this season. Right now, Lyon is recovering from an upper-body injury, so Luukkonen played the first two games.
Ruff said on Saturday he wants the 6-foot-1, 194-pound Ellis, who practiced Monday in the net usually reserved for the next day’s starter, to play soon.
The welcoming environment Ellis, who on Monday turned 26, entered last season gave him instant comfort, and clearly buoyed his development.
“It was massive, I think,” he said. “Right from Day One when I got here, everybody was great – staff, players. Everybody has been awesome. Feels like home. I mean, everybody here was super, just welcoming with open arms, and makes it easier to kind of do your job.”
Sabres winger Josh Doan said Ellis, whose work ethic is often lauded by Ruff and his teammates, has “earned his right to be an NHL goalie every day.”
“He’s someone that no matter what, he works as hard as he can every day, and he’s out there until the end of the practice,” he said.
Based on seniority and past performance, Ellis ranks third on the depth chart when all three goalies are healthy.
Last season, as Luukkonen and Lyon regularly alternated starts, he often went long stretches without playing. After starting Feb. 2, he did not see the crease again until a relief appearance April 4.
Ruff, however, kept Ellis active by dressing him as the backup and giving Luukkonen or Lyon a full night off when they weren’t playing.
“You want to play a lot, but for me, it was just showing up every day with the same attitude and ready to work,” Ellis said. “There’s always something you can get better at. So it was just always kind of having that purpose when you’re coming to the rink and working intentionally.”
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Ruff on Monday made one change to the Sabres’ struggling power play, moving left-hand shot Noah Ostlund up to the top unit and shifting the right-handed Doan to the second unit.
Putting Ostlund up front alongside winger Zach Benson gives the Sabres a unique advantage.
“When you put two lefties (together), the hands operate a little better because if we can operate off of the left-hand side, we’ve got two guys on their forehand, and now you’re passing to two guys that are righties with (Jack) Quinn and (Tage) Thompson,” he said. “So the hands line up, the one-timers line up a little bit better. Ideally, if you can operate off the left side, you’d like right-handed point man.”