Next up in our 2023 Fantasy Hockey Breakouts series is the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are an excellent team for this series. They are a young club on the rise with several key young players with high potential. Because of this, they have many breakout candidates heading into the 2023-24 years. Let’s discuss three specific Sabres who should break out in 2023-24 and who you should consider picking up for your fantasy hockey team.
Buffalo Sabres Fantasy Hockey Breakouts for 2023-24
Owen Power
Owen Power is the biggest Sabres breakout candidate for 2023-24 fantasy hockey. The 2021 first-overall pick had a strong rookie year last season, posting six goals, 35 points, and a plus-10 rating in 79 games. The Sabres could not have expected much more from the 6-foot-6 defenseman. However, now that he is entering his second season, we should see his all-around game improve.
It naturally takes young defensemen some time to adjust to the NHL. Although Power was excellent as a rookie, he should be even better from here. The 20-year-old is expected to have a top-four role heading into the new season. He will also see plenty of time on both the Sabres’ power play and penalty kill. Thus, his role with the Sabres is increasing noticeably, and we should see him have a massive year because of it. Due to this, he is a clear breakout candidate worth selecting in your fantasy draft.
Devon Levi
All eyes will be on Sabres goaltender Devon Levi this season. After an outstanding collegiate career with Northeastern University, Levi left a strong first impression with Buffalo last season. In seven appearances with the Sabres, he sported a 5-2-0 record, a 2.94 GAA, and a .905 SV%. The 21-year-old handled himself well in the sport’s most competitive league, but he should be even better for the Sabres in 2023-24.
When looking at Levi’s 2022-23 stats with Northeastern, one can see how high his potential is. In 34 appearances for the school, he had a 17-12-5 record, a 2.24 GAA, and a .933 SV%. He will now aim to translate this kind of elite goaltending to the NHL. If he has a hot start to the year, he should officially be the Sabres’ starting goalie. This, in turn, could lead him to have a year to remember. Due to all of this, Levi is another breakout candidate fantasy managers should look at this year.
Jack Quinn
Jack Quinn is another high-potential Sabres player who is a prime breakout candidate. Unfortunately, the 2020 eighth-overall pick has a ruptured Achilles, so he will miss the first few months of the year. Yet, when he is healthy, he is a player to consider adding to your fantasy roster as a waiver wire pickup.
Quinn showed great promise with the Sabres in 2022-23, posting 14 goals and 37 points in 75 games. He displayed that he is ready to be a full-time NHL player, and now he will try to build off it. Quinn has all the tools to be a top-six winger, and he will get a lot of playing time with the Sabres because of it. Therefore, we should see his offensive totals increase this year noticeably.
Alas, the Sabres have some notable breakout candidates to watch and consider adding in fantasy hockey. If Power, Levi, and Quinn all have big years, it could be the push that the Sabres need to break their NHL-record playoff drought.