We take a look at the players remaining in camp and where things appear to be headed as the preseason comes to an end.

To get ready for the upcoming Buffalo Sabres season, I’ll be previewing most of those involved in the eventual successes and failures by going through the alphabet using a different word each time – a revolutionary theme if there ever was one.

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Every freakin’ guy here (for now)

We’re getting down to it now. The Sabres have one more preseason game to play Friday night and by the time we reach Sunday, we should pretty well know how the remaining battles will play out…right?

That’s the hope at least, but there are a few players making things difficult and solving those equations is going to be really difficult.

After they cut down the roster last weekend and got the first rounds of players through waivers without anyone being claimed, coach Don Granato has rolled his lines and defensive pairs in each of the past few days at practice:

Forwards

Jeff Skinner—Tage Thompson—Zach Benson

Jordan Greenway—Casey Mittelstadt—Alex Tuch

JJ Peterka—Dylan Cozens—Victor Olofsson

Zemgus Girgensons—Peyton Krebs—Kyle Okposo

Brandon Biro—Tyson Jost—Lukas Rousek

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin—Connor Clifton

Owen Power—Henri Jokiharju

Mattias Samuelsson—Erik Johnson

Ryan Johnson—Jacob Bryson

Riley Stillman—Kale Clague

Goalies

Devon Levi

Eric Comrie

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

I’ve written these in a particular order because this is what it feels the depth chart looks like right now. We’ve got some thoughts on all of the players after watching them throughout the preseason during games and practices.

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Let’s start at the top and work our way down.

Skinner-Thompson-Benson

It’s honestly impressive that the majority of discussion here belongs to 18-year-old Zach Benson.

Skinner and Thompson are expected to lead the Sabres attack and the preseason is all about just getting them up to regular season game speed. Whether they’re scoring or not makes no difference right now and as long as they’re healthy and ready to go for Game 1 of the season, that’s perfect.

Benson, however, is making it very difficult on management to just send him back to Wenatchee. He’s got four points in four preseason games, and he’s not looked out of place whatsoever.

The ideal play for him is to start him with the big club and make use of the nine-game window to decide if you want to burn the first year of the ELC or not and see if he can handle the actual speed and rigors of the NHL. For all that preseason games do, they’re not played with the kind of intensity the regular season games have, particularly early on in the year when everyone is the same record and legs are freshest.

Benson has earned that much to this point and his ability and skill level are high. It’s worth it to see if he’s NHL-ready right now and having the ability to send him back to the WHL if he’s not, is perfect. He’s young so another year in junior hockey is fine and if/when he dominates the league, they’ll know they’ll have reinforcements on the way at the end of the season.

The situation in Wenatchee may not be rosy right now, but they fired embattled (and questionably hired in the first place) Kevin Constantine. That James Patrick was not the guy the new ownership in Wenatchee wanted there and picked Constantine instead makes the entire situation worthy of scorn. At worst, the Sabres could act as a backroom motivator and try to urge Benson to be moved to another team with a better situation, although that kind of politicking is better left to agents. Hey, it worked for Shane Wright last season.

The zillion dollar question for Benson is whether he can handle a full NHL season or not, and fortunately, that’s not one they have to answer right now. But when he gets five-to-eight games into his NHL career to start this season (if he makes the team out of camp), it’s one Kevyn Adams and Don Granato will need to have a much clearer vision on.

Benson should get a few games to start the year, but Thursday’s practice was one of the first times we saw Benson cycled out of the power play unit he was getting work with. He was working in the bumper spot on their 1-3-1 setup (bumper is the middle of the zone in the “3″) with Tuch in front of the net, Skinner to his right, Thompson to his left and Dahlin at the top of zone. When he stepped out, Skinner moved to the bumper and Victor Olofsson went to the right flank while Tuch, Thompson, and Dahlin held their spots. It’s worthy of note, especially with Matt Savoie returning to practice on Friday.

Greenway-Mittelstadt-Tuch

I’m sure this trio might confuse some fans seeing these three together, but something to keep in mind when looking at all of these lines is how Granato is a big fan of “duos.” For instance, Skinner and Thompson are always together and that’s something Granato talked about during camp last year. Some pairs just go great together and a good part of the season is spent finding a third player who can complement or add to what they do.

In this case, Mittelstadt and Tuch have found that kind of chemistry. The absolute tear Mittelstadt was on late last season with Tuch on the wing was beyond impressive. He had 19 points in the final 15 games of the season (five goals, 14 assists) and that sort of production is the kind you want to recreate with anyone, especially a guy who they were trying to figure out how best to use him, whether it was at center or wing.

Tuch has always been one of their most consistent players and that he’s found a bond with Mittelstadt is a huge development and reason enough to keep them together. With a healthy Jordan Greenway on the wing, it gives them a player they’re eager to see how he can mix things up with the attack. While Tuch is a big, physical forward, his skill is what sets him apart. Greenway is the muscle with some touch to his game. We saw him make some plays with the puck late in the season when he returned to the lineup and he’s aware that his kind of style is something that sets him apart within the lineup.

Greenway-Mittelstadt-Tuch

This trio has gotten attention but not for Greenway holding down the left side. Tuch not playing on a line with Thompson and Skinner is of note because that’s been one of the best lines in the NHL the last two seasons. But as Granato has pointed out more than a few times, it’s “easy” to go back to them because they know it works. What’s most important about Tuch staying with Mittelstadt is that also works very well.

When Tuch teamed up with Mittelstadt late last season, it resulted in Mittelstadt becoming a playmaking force with 19 points in the final 15 games. That kind of development is the exact thing multiple Sabres administrations were waiting to see happen with Mittelstadt and it finally came together last season while Mittelstadt became a multi-tool player that performed great at center, wing, on the power play, and was an effective penalty killer. Essentially, keeping Tuch with Mittelstadt is a great, “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” decision. They play great together and there’s no reason to mess with that.

Sliding Greenway onto the wing with those two offers him a big opportunity to be a sort of shift disturber/net-crasher that can turn rebounds and loose pucks around the net into goals. Greenway is healthy after a shoulder injury caused him problems last season, and even kept him out of some games with Buffalo. Being a big, physical player with a nagging shoulder problem takes a lot of what makes him good away. We saw flashes of what Greenway can do offensively with the ability to keep plays alive winning puck battles along the wall and making some really great passes to set up scoring chances. More of that along with effective forechecking and solid defensive play will keep him on that line.

Peterka-Cozens-Olofsson

If we were going to use wrestling terms to describe how the fans feel about Olofsson we’d say “he gets X-Pac heat.” Fans can’t stand him, and some have taken it to mean that since he’s on a line with Cozens and Peterka that it means those guys are playing poorly. And folks…that’s just not the truth.

Cozens had a great season last year all while he was helping play big brother to Peterka and Jack Quinn. If anything, Cozens is the guy you least worry about in this entire lineup, never mind on this line. He digs in, he makes plays happen, he forechecks like mad, and now he scores goals in bunches. He’s the kind of guy you want centering a line in which you’re looking to get guys playing better around him.

That’s how Olofsson winds up on that line. Aside from the fact he was the player that made most sense to slide into Quinn’s place on that line in his absence, but Olofsson has a thousand reasons to improve his play. He wants to stay in the lineup and playing with those two will open up opportunity for him. He’s an impending free agent this summer and he’s a new dad. A contract year with new dad strength should mean he scores 40, but if he isn’t helping keep plays alive and turns into a guy who passes go to and the puck never returns, that’s a problem.

Peterka is coming off a huge performance at World Championships in which he was voted the best forward of the tournament for Germany. Last season, we saw Cozens have a monster year after finding confidence in his shot at Worlds. It’s not unreasonable to think the same can happen for Peterka this season. His speed and skill are top-notch and as long as he’s mindful of his defensive play, he can do some really exciting things. His speed with his forechecking can make turnovers happen and odd-man rushes or breakaways can follow.

But all the attention is going to fall on Olofsson because if old habits resurface consistently, it’s going to make that line’s life a lot harder and will force Granato to look for better solutions. Olofsson will be a player to watch all season for both his performance and if/when the team moves him elsewhere.

Girgensons-Krebs-Okposo

This was probably the easiest decision for Granato to make to keep these three together. They do outstanding work forechecking, their all puck hounds, and they click well defensively. Most of all, they’re outstanding at puck possession. If they produced more goals together, they’d get a lot more attention, but they’re not asked to create tons of offense. They have three other lines that are tasked with doing that so they create energy and make opponents miserable with how they play.

There is a debate over whether that’s fair to Krebs or not because we know Krebs has some outstanding offensive skill, particularly his passing and play-making ability. But he relishes the role he plays as a harassing forward and very much enjoys getting under the skin of opponents. If Krebs was a better player on the wing, would he be on this line? Perhaps not, but we saw enough of him on the wing last season to know he’s meant to be a center and that his game is best at the pivot.

Like Peterka, Krebs played great at World Championships and helped lead Canada to a gold medal. This could be a sneaky breakout season for him offensively, but understand, he takes his role on this line very seriously and won’t do anything to jeopardize that by pushing offense in spite of the defensive role.

It feels like there’s not more to say about Girgensons and Okposo that isn’t already well known at this point. They’re great at what they do and if Okposo can get lucky with the puck more often, the goals can come back. It might not hurt to get him some looks on the power play again as well, but his value is with this trio and what they do to turn the tide of games with how they play. We get it, but also Okposo scoring gets the team pumped up like crazy, too.

Biro-Jost-Rousek

These are the guys fighting hardest for the 13th forward spot. They were competing against Brett Murray, Jiri Kulich, and Isak Rosén before but those three made their way to Rochester this week with Murray passing through waivers (very fortunately).

Biro has grabbed a lot of attention with his scoring ability in a handful of preseason games. He’s showed a lot of the skill that made him one of Rochester’s best players last season and he doesn’t lack in the defensive end of the game either. He’s a strong forechecker and his backhand is absolutely wicked in shootouts (and during practices – he’s beaten every goalie with his quick hands). He should’ve played NHL games last season, but injuries ruined his season and kept him out of the Calder Cup Playoffs as well. It would be well-earned if he broke camp with the Sabres.

What may work against Biro is the fact Jost is utility man capable of playing center and wing. That versatility as well as how he’s effective on the forecheck and plays with speed make him an NHL player. If his scoring touch were a little better, there’d be no question about him. As it is, there’s not a ton of debate, but Biro’s play has been good enough to warrant a discussion.

The feeling early on was that Rousek was the leader headed into camp for the 13th forward spot but his play in preseason has been tight and a bit inconsistent. Perhaps the most damning thing is he hasn’t been noticeable on either end of the ice. The competition to be next man up out of Rochester will be severe (which is great for the Americans) but it’s worth watching to see if any of the players who have gone down/will go down next sag to start because of disappointment at reassignment.

Savoie

After Savoie skated on Friday, it was necessary to discuss where he sits in the competition. He won’t have any preseason games on his record to show where he’s at and the Prospects Challenge games aren’t against the competition he would’ve seen in the preseason and, in all honesty, while he played great those aren’t the kinds of performances coaches will use to judge whether a guy sticks with the big club out of training camp.

Upside for him right now: He can continue to practice with the team as long as he’s still working his way back. That’s good. It’ll be worth noting what they’ll do with him when he’s game-ready because it’s Wenatchee or Buffalo (still) for him.

Savoie skated continuously while he was out with the shoulder injury so his conditioning is up to snuff. What he doesn’t have is NHL-level game speed at the moment and the only way he’ll get that is to stick around on the roster and play. What may happen is he eventually gets a conditioning assignment to Rochester which should have the added bonus of also allowing Benson time to see how he adjusts to actual NHL games. Considering Savoie is one day too young to be able to go directly to the AHL, there should be enough leeway there to take a lot of time to decide things anyway. Losing a birthday lottery like this is quite frustrating for everyone involved.

The “easy” move would be to just send Savoie back to juniors and let him get back up to speed there amongst his peers, but the question of how good that is for his development (or isn’t) is one that isn’t answered easily on or off the ice.

Dahlin-Clifton

We haven’t seen a ton of these two together in the preseason so how they work out together is TBD, but the theories behind why you put them together and how well they work in practice all check out. If there’s something to keep in check with them it’s that they don’t need to go for the highlight reel on every possession. That’s an easy distraction to have in preseason, but regular season competition is enough to knock it out of their system.

There are zero reasons at all to worry or wonder about Dahlin. He’s arrived, he’s elite, he’s going to be in the Norris discussion all season long. The main question with the pairing is how well Clifton plays with him and if his style of play allows Dahlin the comfort to do the kinds of things he did last season and more.

Clifton is going to be the source of many scrums and dustups when he’s on the ice. His physical presence provides an X-factor of sorts for a team that didn’t have a human Molotov cocktail to start a fire. As physical as Samuelsson was last season, he wasn’t a guy that caught guys the way Clifton has throughout his career. Samuelsson is the kind of hitter you need to know what you’re getting into when you go into the corner with him. Clifton is a head-on-a-swivel hitter that pisses players off the moment he lays someone out.

Power-Jokiharju

These two were partners for almost the entire season last year and they’ve stayed together in camp. Could things change at some point without injury being the reason? Sure, they could…but it’s not likely.

Throughout the preseason, Jokiharju has showed a dedication to being the last man back and fighting his instincts/desires to be the offensive player by jumping in and going after the puck all over the ice. It’s almost like they asked him to watch how Samuelsson played with Dahlin and to mimic that as best as he can in regards to his positioning. That’s a good thing, particularly if it unlocks Power’s offensive game to a greater degree.

Power will be fascinating to watch all season because this should be an evolution season for him. He’s a year smarter about the league and he knows the coaching staff trusts him implicitly to make the right reads and choices. What the coaches want to see from him is perhaps a bit more confidence in shooting the puck and having a little more selfishness to create scoring opportunities with it.

Power is a tremendous passer and he reads the game and the flow of play so well that making the next pass is almost second nature to him, but there’s more offense on the way from him in the coming years and he’ll play more than 20 minutes a night the way Dahlin does and there’s no reason he can’t help boost the offense even more while he’s on the ice.

Johnson-Bryson

Stillman-Clague

I’m grouping these two pairs together in the discussion because the clear choices for seventh and eighth defensemen are Bryson and Stillman and they’ve been on separate pairs all camp long.

Bryson, by my eyes, has played well enough to earn a spot on the team. However, there is question whether or not that’s because Ryan Johnson has played so well, he’s helping make the both of them look very good.

After four years at Minnesota, Johnson has looked outstanding with his defensive game and his reads and passes. If he wasn’t so fresh out of college, you could make the argument he’s unseated one of the incumbents with his play. But he needs pro games and he’ll get those in Rochester. Make no mistake though, he’s vaulted himself up the depth chart to where he will factor strongly into the call-up discussion if/when injuries hit the blue line.

Bryson’s $1.85 million cap hit ($1.9 million salary) is juicy enough that having him play in Rochester at that cost is prohibitive enough for the franchise to make sure he stays in Buffalo. This also applies to Stillman and his $1.35 million cap hit/salary as well. The Sabres don’t want to have a lot of money playing big minutes in Rochester particularly when those minutes are earmarked for Johnson and Clague with the Americans.

Keeping eight defensemen is the expectation although the goalie conundrum is making any and all roster discussion extremely difficult.

Levi

Comrie

Luukkonen

First things first: Levi is the No. 1 guy. Stunner, I know, but he is.

Based on preseason play, Comrie is the No. 2 and Luukkonen is No. 3.

Comrie has played admirably well and handled his fair share of frantic chances in his two starts. His performance should make Sabres coaches happy to see he’s come back this season focused and ready to prove the backup job is his.

Luukkonen is another player who’s getting X-Pac heat and for every situation where goals against haven’t been his fault either because or bad breaks or poor team play in front of him, there are a couple goals against where you’d really like to have a save on them instead.

The 40 minutes Luukkonen played in the Kraft Hockeyville game against Toronto was a perfect replication of many of his games last season. He stood on his head for most of the game, allowed three goals, and a couple of them are the “he’d like a do-over” kind. A shorthanded 2-on-1 against in which a Leafs player deked Owen Power to create the chance and a breakaway out of the box by Max Domi when his penalty happened are tough chances against. A goal against which a shot from distance took a funny bounce off his blocker and floated behind him is a deflator.

You want your young players to show improvement and in Luukkonen’s case, every bit of improvement winds up nullified by various gaffes which makes the story look exactly the same. That’s hard and Luukkonen plays tighter when the freaky shots and plays wind up in the back of the net which compounds the situation.

They’re not going to waive Luukkonen to try and get him to Rochester because he’d likely get claimed immediately by any number of teams in search of help in goal (Colorado and Tampa come to mind immediately) and they’re not in the spot to risk waiving Comrie to do the same to better fit the roster. They’ve got three NHL-caliber goalies, and it sure seems like they’re going to keep all three of them into the regular season. It’s not ideal but they’re not going to risk losing Luukkonen for nothing and they can’t run the risk of losing Comrie for nothing right now and throw everything onto Levi’s shoulders to carry the team (even though that’s what the sentiment overall basically is).

Comrie’s salary ($1.8 million) could be prohibitive enough to prevent him from being picked up on waivers by another team but then the Sabres are paying that much to have him play in Rochester where they’ve already got two veteran goalies in Dustin Tokarski and Devin Cooley (albeit Tokarski is currently injured).

Of course, the Sabres could come out of the blue and make an unexpected move at the position and blow all of these takes out of the water and I’ll have to eat crow for it. I could live with that if it means bringing clarity to the picture in net and to the roster in general.