2019-20 Season Preview: Rochester Americans

ROCHESTER, New York -- The classic saying third time's the charm should be the tag line used for the Rochester Americans in the 2019-2020 season. The Amerks have won 83 hockey games over the last two seasons but have also been swept in the first round the last two seasons. They'll make a third attempt this April.

When Jason Botterill took over General Manager duties of the Buffalo Sabres one of the first things that he did was mention the importance of development through winning in the American League. Since then Rochester has become one of the top teams in the North Division and regained respect around the league as a team to be taken seriously.

There's a total of 16 players on the current roster that were also on the 2019 playoff roster. Eight of those players are returning for a third season in Rochester which feels almost unheard of these days in the American League. The leadership group, foundation, and expectations have been established in Rochester.

Victor Olofsson is the only forward from last season that has graduated to the Buffalo Sabres roster. Olofsson was the Amerks leading scorer with 63 points (30G+33A) in his first season of North American hockey.

The Roster

Goalies

Andrew Hammond, Jonas Johansson, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Goaltending should be a strong area this season in Rochester.

Hammond is the veteran goalie expected to carry the bulk of the load and be a mentor for the younger goalies. The Hamburglar signed with Rochester after leading the Iowa Wild last season.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was the OHL Goaltender of the Year last season with the Sudbury Wolves and is one of the top prospects everyone will be watching once he's heatlhy. Luukkonen (often referred to as UPL) is recovering from hip surgery during the off season and is expected to be ready to play by mid to late November.

Jonas Johansson is entering his third pro season and final year of his entry-level contract.

Defensemen

Zach Redmond (veteran), Nathan Paetsch (veteran), Andrew MacWilliam (veteran), Will Borgen, Casey Nelson, Lawrence Pilut, Brandon Hickey, Casey Fitzgerald (rookie), Jacob Bryson (rookie)

Stacked is the way to describe the blue line.

Buffalo is starting the season with three defensemen on injured reserve which means, knock on wood, if the blue line up there stays healthy and players return it'll push someone else down. One of those players could be Jason Gilmour who was signed as a free agent in the off season. Gilmour was the second leading scorer among defensemen in the AHL last season.

Zach Redmond was third overall in scoring among all AHL defensemen last season and returns for his third season in Rochester. Redmond would've had a good chance to lead the league if it wasn't for an injury that limited him to 58 games. Redmond is considered one of the best defensemen in the league and is one of the veteran leaders.

Defensively the team was strong last season as well. Nathan Paetsch, yes that Nathan Paetsch, is on the roster and he isn't expected to play too many games, but is an invaluable player to have as a leader and available when needed.

MacWilliam and Borgen are the two defensive defensemen on the roster with everyone else classified as puck movers.

Forwards

Kevin Porter (veteran), Jean-Sebastien Dea (veteran), Curtis Lazar (exempt), Scott Wilson (exempt), Taylor Leier (exempt -out until mid season - shoulder surgery), Dalton Smith (exempt), Tyler Randell (exempt), CJ Smith, Tage Thompson, Remi Elie, Rasmus Asplund, Sean Malone, Eric Cornel, Andrew Oglevie, Jarrett Burton, Brett Murray.

The Amerks lost 71 goals from last season with the promotion of Victor Olofsson to Buffalo and departures of Danny O'Regan and Wayne Simpson. Can Curtis Lazar, Jean-Sebastien Dea, and Tage Thompson replace that scoring this season? Can Rasmus Asplund turn into a 20+ goal scorer? Is Andrew Oglevie a player ready to have a break through season after dealing with multiple injuries in his rookie year? When Taylor Leier returns from injury will he immediately step into a scoring role?

There's a lot of questions going into the season on the offensive side but on paper they should be able to accomplish what is needed.

Curtis Lazar scored 20 goals in 58 games last season. Tage Thompson scored six goals in eight games with the Amerks at the end of last season. They'll need assistance and as long as there isn't an unplanned promotion to the NHL they should both dominate games.

One type of player missing from the forward group is a high end rookie. Brett Murray is a 4th round draft pick of Sabres but they let his rights expire and he just signed an AHL with Rochester. That indicates management believes they've built an experienced offense but also points out a weak spot in the Buffalo Sabres development pool.

Season-Opening Storylines

Prospects to Watch

Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukonen is the number one prospect to watch on this team. Almost every organization has a goalie of the future and that's where Luukonen is at after leading the OHL last season.

Will Borgen and Casey Fitzgerald will be two defensive prospects to watch on the blue line. Borgen is in his second season and will be joined by Fitzgerald in his rookie year. The blue line in Buffalo is deep but an organization can never have too many defensemen. They'll be competing with John Gilmour who was 2nd in the American League last season in scoring among all defensemen and is starting the season in Buffalo.

The Veteran Limit

With the season just about to start the current roster has 10 players that fall under the veteran category of 260 games or more. There are five players over 320 games. This shouldn't be too much of an issue to start the season but if everyone remains healthy and on the roster there'll be decisions to be made.

Five players over 320 games are Kevin Porter, Zach Redmond, Nathan Paetsch, Jean-Sebastien Dea, and Andrew MacWilliam.

Five players between 260 and 320 are Curtis Lazar, Taylor Leier, Scott Wilson, Dalton Smith, and Tyler Randell.

Taylor Leier is out until mid season after off season shoulder surgery. Nathan Paetsch is a spare part defensemen not expected to play many games. That leaves the tough guys Dalton Smith and Tyler Randell looking to maximize ice time and provide an impact when they do play.

Kevin Porter, Zach Redmond, Curtis Lazar, and Scott Wilson will play any night they're on the roster.

Last Minute Coaching Change

There was a quick shuffle behind the bench when the Buffalo Sabres called up Chris Taylor to serve as assistant coach. Don Granato was hospitalized with pneumonia and is out while returning to health.

Gord Dineen has slid into the head coach role in Rochester and current Sabres Development Coach Adam Mair has stepped in as an assistant.

The team has talked that it was a little different without Taylor but everyone is on the same page with the plan, the systems, and the goals so the transition has been seamless.

Looking ahead to the season the team in Rochester has an incredible foundation with returning players, added players, and a rock solid coaching staff. They've softened the rhetoric from last season talking about being an elite American League team to taking everything day by day with a long season ahead.