13 hours Ago
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Devon Levi has come to enjoy the drive down the Thruway from Buffalo to Rochester.
After starting the season in the NHL, Levi still has his home in Buffalo and spends the weeks in a hotel in Rochester. The Sabres first sent their top goalie prospect to the AHL in mid-November. He got recalled for one game against Toronto in mid-December and another in Seattle in January, but he has otherwise been in the AHL.
He goes back to Buffalo on off days to catch up on housework and unwind. Then he’s back in the car early in the morning for the first practice of the week. Advertisement “It’s super meditative,” Levi said after an Amerks practice earlier this week.
“It’s an hour and 15 minutes and I get to kind of just be alone. There’s no electronic device I’m looking at. You’re hitting the road and it’s an opportunity to be with your thoughts, clear your mind, see what’s going on inside, check in and also an opportunity to put a little podcast on or something.
” Often, Levi’s podcast of choice is The Huberman Lab from Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neuroscientist and tenured professor who hosts a popular podcast that explores science-based tools to improve mental and physical health. Levi likes to learn about his body and his mind. He meditates and journals.
He talks to a sports psychologist. He asks ChatGPT questions. He’s learned the importance of “getting s— out” instead of letting his thoughts and feelings fester.
He also reads a lot about the mind-body connection. He’s currently reading Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now.” That’s an appropriate book for Levi’s current situation.
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have,” Tolle writes in the book. “Make the now the primary focus of your life.” Levi has done that this season in Rochester.
And it’s something he’s had to learn since he signed out of college two years ago. In the spring of 2023, Levi signed with the Sabres after a stellar college career at Northeastern. He immediately jumped into the NHL and went 5-2 in seven starts with a 2.
94 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. That was enough to convince Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams that Levi should be the team’s starting goalie to begin the next season.
But Levi struggled to repeat what he’d done the previous spring. He got injured. Eventually, the Sabres sent him down to the AHL for the first time.
Back then, Levi hadn’t let the AHL enter his thought process. He was ready to develop at the highest level possible. He knew goalies traditionally spent time in the minor leagues, but he embraced the challenge of trying to buck the trend.
He hoped his stint in the AHL would be brief. Advertisement “I think regardless of what type of situation you’re in as a human being, there will always be those ifs and buts that are going through your head,” Levi said. “That doesn’t mean you have to go chasing them down and thinking about them all day.
The ball bounces how it wants to and you have to roll with the punches. The more time you spend thinking about different realities that aren’t right in front of you, the more loss you can feel emotionally and mentally. For me, it’s about being in the moment that I’m in and enjoying and loving it.
Regardless of what happened or how I got here, I’m just appreciating the moment that I’m in. I love every moment when I’m at the rink in Rochester. I’m grateful that I got brought here in my development, my career, even my life outside the game.
I enjoy being here. I feel like I’m learning a lot as a person, as a goalie. This is where I need to be right now.
” Levi ended up playing 23 NHL games and 26 AHL games last season. He finished his AHL season with a .927 save percentage and 2.
42 goals-against average. He found his confidence again. And when Levi got three NHL games in March 2024, he had a 1.
78 goals-against average and .947 save percentage. But when the Sabres waived James Reimer this fall to keep Levi on the NHL roster, he was unable to find a rhythm.
He played three games in October with a .872 save percentage and then had an .867 save percentage in four appearances in November before getting sent back down to the AHL shortly after the Sabres reclaimed Reimer.
This season, Levi has 37 AHL games and just nine NHL games. He’s spent this season trying to lock in his on- and off-ice routines so that he can feel the same every game. He noticed that in the NHL, feeling the same way consistently was a challenge.
He feels locked in on that part of playing the position. He leads the AHL with six shutouts. The Amerks are in second place in the North Division and have already clinched a playoff spot.
“Since I first met Dev when he first came down here, he’s all in about winning,” Amerks coach Mike Leone said. “It’s all that matters to him is winning.” Advertisement Leone firmly believes that development happens fastest for players when they are winning.
His emphasis in Rochester since he was hired has been on winning as much as possible so that young players learn what that feels like. That may be the biggest benefit to Levi spending the bulk of his season with this Amerks team. The last two seasons have been a slog for the Sabres.
They underachieved last season, and this season has been even worse . Levi has been there for parts of it, but he’s spent most of the season winning. “When you’re getting rewarded for the hard work that you’re doing, it builds confidence and character,” Levi said.
“It helps you figure out what your path is to like, ‘How can I help a team win?’ There’s a difference between playing well as an individual and playing winning hockey.” Leone is also in tune with the development patterns for goalies. He points out that Dustin Wolf, who could get Calder votes for his standout rookie season with the Flames, played 155 games in the AHL before taking the reins as Calgary’s starter this season.
Playing — and winning — a lot matters for young players, especially goalies. Leone loves the way Levi competes during the Amerks’ up-tempo practices that aren’t easy on goalies. “You can make a run with a goalie like that,” he said.
That’s Levi’s sole focus right now. He’s not worried about when he’ll get back to the NHL or what will happen next year. He’s spent the last two seasons building close relationships with his teammates in Rochester.
That makes him want to win that much more. He sees a team that is willing to sacrifice for each other and do whatever it takes to win. “I’m excited for that test,” Levi said of the upcoming AHL playoffs.
“I can’t wait. I’m chomping at the bit to get to a playoff game and compete in the highest stakes. I know the rest of the team is too.
” Advertisement Whenever that run comes to an end, Levi’s mind will turn to next season. And the Sabres’ goalie situation isn’t as clear as it looked this time last season. After a breakout season, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has taken a step back during the first year of his five-year contract that pays him $4.
75 million per year. Lately, Reimer has been getting the bulk of the starts and playing well. But he’s 37 and is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The Sabres haven’t ruled out Levi returning to the AHL next season, but that could depend on what else happens at the position this summer. The Sabres could bring back Reimer or try to find another capable veteran to pair with Luukkonen. They could also roll the dice with a young tandem of Luukkonen and Levi, but even that plan would require a fallback option.
And none of it will matter if the team doesn’t play more consistently defensively. Because he hasn’t played in 60 NHL games, Levi could go to the AHL without waivers. Then there’s the organizational depth chart at the position.
Topias Leinonen and Scott Ratzlaff both have entry-level contracts and will need a place to play next season. They could split developmental minutes between the AHL and ECHL, or the Sabres could loan Leinonen to a team in Europe if they find the right situation. If Levi is back in Rochester, he’ll get the bulk of the development minutes in the AHL.
These are all problems for the future, though. Maybe Levi’s mind wanders there occasionally while he’s staring out his windshield on the hour-and-15-minute drive from Buffalo to Rochester. But he doesn’t like to let his mind be caught between two places.
“As a competitor, I want to compete in the best league in the world,” Levi said. “But the reason why I play hockey is I love playing and I love competing. I get to do that here.
I get to get better and have fun while I do it. That’s all I could ask for. So I just take care of the moments I have here, make the most of them, enjoy them, and see where that takes me.
” (Photo: Kyle Ross / Imagn Images).
