The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Die By The Blade community. It was a combination of staff writers and over 200 readers that ranked Buffalo Sabres players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2023. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production to rank each player. Staff votes counted equally with reader votes.
Lukas Rousek
Drafted: 2019, 6th round, 160th overall
Position: right wing
Born: Apr. 20, 1999
2022-2023 stats: Buffalo Sabres NHL – 2 GP – 1-1-2, +2, Rochester Americans AHL – 70 GP – 16-40-56, -1, 24 PIM
2022 T25U25 Ranking: No. 23
Lukas Rousek donned a Sabres jersey for two games during the 2022-23 season, enjoying a decent one goal, one assist and two points during his dual on-ice appearances in Buffalo. The Czech right winger spent most of last season in Rochester, where his stats were a good 16-40-56. In the postseason, Rousek had 5 goals, 7 assists and 12 points in 14 playoff matchups.
No. 13 scored his first and to date, only goal as a Sabre on Mar. 27, 2023. With Buffalo trailing 1-0 at the start of the first period, Owen Power passed the puck to Tyson Jost, who made a shot that failed to find the back of the net. Rousek quickly picked up the rebound and beat Montreal goalie Jake Allen at close range to tie the score at 1.
The Sabres must to decide if Rousek comes back to KeyBank Center or spends more time in the AHL. When forward Jack Quinn injured his achilles in July, it created an offensive hole GM Kevyn Adams will be forced to plug for the upcoming season’s first few months.
Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News picked Rousek as a #3 choice, behind Matt Savoie and fellow Amerks forward Jiri Kulich. Lysowkski feels Lukas Rousek could make a possible bottom six-forward, if the Blue and Gold need one.
Rousek’s passing ability and mature defensive game might make him the best option to fill Quinn’s shoes. According to Lysowski, the Sabres want Rousek to become a permanent addition to their roster, if not this year than possibly the next. Sion Fawkes of Sabre Noise is optimistic about Rousek’s chance to be on Buffalo’s season-opening lineup.
The Sabres’ training camp starts on Sept. 21. Rousek is one of three players, along with Peyton Krebs and J.J. Peterka, who are exempt from waivers. As Fawkes pointed out, neither Krebs nor Peterka will go down to Rochester unless they experience a disastrous training camp. Rousek will need to prove himself against other forwards who also want to take Quinn’s place.
GM Adams inked a two-year, $1,550,000 contract with Lukas Rousek on June 20. If Rousek has an impressive performance during training camp, he could beat out other competitors for Jack Quinn’s spot and might possibly play more games in 2024-25.
2023 Buffalo Sabres Top 25 Under 25 –
#19 – Anton Wahlberg