BUFFALO, N.Y. — With expectations around his development and hopes to join the Sabres full-time last season, another year in the AHL better prepared Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for his current role — Buffalo's busiest goaltender.

What You Need To Know

  • Luukkonen has gone 6-2-1 in the month of January and has a .900 save percentage through 20 games with the Sabres this season
  • Luukkonen was drafted by the Sabres in 2017 (second round, 54th overall pick)
  • After wowing Sabres personnel with his ability to fill in for the injured Eric Comrie, GM Kevyn Adams put F Vinnie Hinostroza on waivers to make room to keep Luukkonen on the roster

"I feel like now being in the NHL, you're so excited to be here and you're kind of just excited about every game, you don't even think about it," Luukkonen said of his workload, which isn't necessarily increased compared to his time with the Amerks, but the NHL schedule is less structured than the AHL's calendar.

"I'm just happy to be in the net every chance I get, so you really don't even — it doesn't matter how tired you are. You're still so excited, you're still so prepared for every game. Right now, you don't think about it too much. Let's say we play a lot in the AHL, and the schedule is a little different, maybe the pace is a little different, but still there is a lot of hockey to be played there, too. So it's not something I'm uncomfortable with."

With age on his side, Luukkonen has grown up quite a bit with the responsibility of maintaining himself through seven starts in 16 days.

"I'm trying to take as good care of my body as I can, realizing that the most important part for me is to stay healthy right now," Luukkonen said. "I get as many games as I can so keeping your body healthy is the key for that. And, you know, [Henri Jokiharju] has a new sauna. We use that a lot. Fins, we love the sauna, so that's been a huge help. Also, just kind of toning it down for off days and not doing much."

When opportunity came knocking on Luukkonen's door as Eric Comrie was sidelined with a lower-body injury, he answered confidently in the face of pressure.

"Of course, I was excited. I had a good camp this year and kind of going back to [Rochester,] I had the same mindset — I need to get better as a goalie, be ready when the opportunity comes," he said. "When I got called up, you're excited and you're ready to go and you're not necessarily nervous, but it's a big moment and you want to make [the] most out of it. Maybe I still didn't get the start I wanted. I like how the coaching staff still gave me the chance to play a lot of games and prove myself. I'm really happy that I got the thing rolling and after that. And even though the stats are not perfect or anything like that, we've been getting wins and we've been playing well as a team, too. I feel like it has helped me a lot confidence-wise that I feel like the team trusts me and I've been getting the chance to play a lot of games."

The combination of a fully healthy offseason plus locker room support has propelled Luukkonen to new on-ice heights as he soars alongside some of his best friends and former Amerks teammates. JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn have tallied 19 and 20 points each respectively in their first season making the Sabres opening night roster. After signing a seven-year, $30 million extension, Mattias Samuelsson is the core of Buffalo's blue line, paired up top with Rasmus Dahlin. All four of these Amerks imports are under the 2022-23 Sabres median age of 24 years old.

"It's unbelievable. Last year, [Seth Appert] talked about how special a group we had in Rochester, and I think you could see it last year there, too. I think those guys were a big part of that. You know, JJ, Quinner, Sammy, all unbelievable guys so having them here, and we're all here now, and everyone's kind of playing well and making it, proving their point in the NHL, it's really cool. Cool to see. That's what we always talk about, how cool it is to have a group like this. We may be on the road or, now when the All-Star break comes, we have so many guys who are kind of in same position of their lives. It helps off the ice. It helps when you come to the rink and guys here are your age, or you're being through stuff with them."

For now, the 23-year-old thinks it's cool to be a goalie party of three, learning daily from Comrie, 27, and Craig Anderson, 41.  

"Maybe different personalities, but it's really good," Luukkonen said of the trio. "Coms and Andy are both really good guys and really good goalies, so there's always something you can learn from them. Coms might be the most energetic guy I ever met, so it's like — sometimes you might be a little bit tired when you come to the rink or something, but Coms is never like that, so he always has something to say or tell you. It's been really fun, really good to be a part of. I think we all push each other forward. It's been real helpful."