Rasmus Dahlin delivers big hit in development camp.
By Jourdon LaBarber / Sabres.com
It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, the towering goaltender selected by the Sabres in the second round of last year’s NHL Draft. Luukkonen signed his entry-level contract with Buffalo on June 14, and on Thursday he was selected by Sudbury with the third pick in the CHL Import Draft.
Needless to say, Luukkonen has options for next season. He could return to Finland, where he played professionally last season. Or he could head to Sudbury and kick-start his adjustment to the North American game.
Where he plays will be a decision made in conjunction with members of the Sabres front office, including assistant general manager Steve Greeley and goaltending development coach Seamus Kotyk. But if his short-term future is up in the air, his long-term goal isn’t.
“It’s a big goal for me to have my future here and play here,” Luukkonen said Friday, following the third day of on-ice activities at development camp.
Luukkonen got a taste of what playing for the Sabres might be like this past winter, when he took the ice at KeyBank Center for Finland at the World Junior Championship. He also got his first taste of professional hockey playing for Leki of Finland’s second division.
In 24 games with Leki, Luukkonen posted a 2.92 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.
“It was a little bit different, my first time in the men’s league,” he said. “There was a lot of new stuff going on and a lot of new games, different games than what I’m used to. It was a lot of learning included there but I think it went pretty well.”
Listed at 6-feet-4-inches tall and 198 pounds, Luukkonen’s size should be a harrowing sight for shooters. The next step in his development, he said, has to do with learning to control that large frame.
“I have to be a lot quicker and get some power to my body and some more control to my play,” he said.
Luukkonen is rooming with Miska Kukkonen, a fellow Finn who was selected by the Sabres in the fifth round of this year’s draft. Seeing the excitement shown by the first-year defenseman reminded Luukkonen of himself at last year’s camp, a testament to how his comfort has grown in the one year since.
“There’s a lot of the excitement of getting drafted,” he said. “Drafted guys are so nervous here. You learn so much in the first camp. You’re not here to show off. You’re here to learn. [I am] a lot calmer this year in camp.”
Skills day
In what’s become a development camp tradition, the Sabres brought in skills coach Angelo Ricci to lead practice on Friday. Ricci led a skills-based session, which concluded with a three-on-three mini-game.
It was during that last drill that Rasmus Dahlin made the loudest hit of camp thus far, sending fourth-round pick Matej Pekar to the ice.
We’ll see more of Dahlin in that setting at the 3-on-3 French Connection Tournament on Saturday, which will be live streamed on Sabres.com. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:45.