BUFFALO | Landed in Buffalo last week, a few days after eliminating the Northeastern Huskies, Devon Levi spins the perfect fortune with the Sabers.
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“Every morning when I wake up, I feel an excitement. It’s so much fun,” said the Dollard-des-Ormeaux goalkeeper.
It would have been even more fun for him to have made the first start of his career against the Canadiens. However, with the Sabers desperate to stay in the playoff race, we can understand Don Granato wanting to hold it back for a while longer.
“When it’s my turn, they’ll wave at me. Until then, I’ll go one day at a time. I want to improve every day to be ready when the time comes,” said the 21-year-old.
The pursuit of perfection
While the Sabers are a little behind, they have what it takes in their lineup to support Levi’s progression. Tage Thompson, with 44 goals, Alex Tuch (32) and Jeff Skinner (31) have the seeds of underdogs.
“In practice, the NHL is not that different from the NCAA. It’s the same game and I’m still a goalkeeper,” Levi said. But the guys are much smarter. They know where to put the puck. Your shots are perfect. So you have to be perfect to stop them.”
With three other goalies at his disposal (Eric Comrie, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and the venerable Craig Anderson), the Sabers head coach has plenty of time to deal with his rookie.
Despite this, he has already established that his work habits are above average.
“He is a boy who learns very quickly. Since arriving, he’s studied all the shooters on our team, Granato noted. So when he went out on the ice for practice, he had an idea of what the guys had in store for him.”
Stops in nothing
This statement by Granato didn’t surprise Jordan Harris in the slightest. Levi’s teammate at Northeastern University got the chance to see him in action for a season.
“Sometimes he wore a virtual reality headset and did goalkeeper practice in the dressing room. We saw him make stop moves in a vacuum with no one around,” said the Canadian’s defender, amused by the situation.
Levi was a distant 7th-round pick for the Sabers. A late selection probably due to its height of “only” 6 feet. Faith, Harris, this won’t stop him.
“His work and preparation will overcome his greatness,” he assured. He’s an incredible goalkeeper. His stats speak for themselves. He has a long career ahead of him.”
For the second time in as many seasons, Levi is a finalist for the Hobey-Baker Trophy, awarded to the NCAA Most Valuable Player. He is also one of the nominees for the Mike Richter Trophy, given to the best goalkeeper. A prize he won last year.