Our 2022 Buffalo Sabres player report cards continue today with a look at forward Mark Jankowski.
Total Season Stats (Sabres): 19 GP | 2 G | 3 A | 5 PTS
Age: 27
Contract Status: UFA (earned $750,000 this past season)
Jankowski was signed by the Sabres in late November to an NHL deal. He wound up skating in 19 games with the NHL team, mostly on the fourth line alongside guys like John Hayden, Anders Bjork & Cody Eakin.
Jankowski scored his first goal as a Sabre on January 13, but perhaps the highlight of the NHL season for him was this wild one against the Senators a few days later. While nearly every other player on the ice was involved in a scrum, Jankowski got ahold of the puck and scored on a breakaway:
The @BuffaloSabres GWG by Jankowski was a WILD one #LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/CkcxnyFS8o
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) January 19, 2022
He missed some time in early January as a result of COVID-19 protocols, then ended up being a healthy scratch for parts of the season. He was eventually placed on waivers & sent down to the AHL’s Rochester Americans, and it’s there his presence has been felt the most.
In 32 regular-season games with Rochester, Jankowski had 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points. (This included 12 points in 13 games prior to his being called up to the NHL.) He made an immediate impact, and it’s carried over into the postseason as well. Heading into Thursday night’s game against Utica, Jankowski had contributed one goal and three assists for four points in six games.
While he’s been a significant piece in the AHL squad this season, if I’m basing this player report card solely off his time in the NHL, it was just sort of ‘meh.’
Season Grade: C
Grade Mark Jankowski on his 2021-22 season.
| A – excelled above expectation | 7 |
| B – did better than expectation | 57 |
| C – met expectation | 237 |
| D – did worse than expectation | 37 |
| F – did much worse than expectation | 4 |