BUFFALO - Louis Crevier arrived in Buffalo with a lot more than size.
The Sabres’ new defenseman came in with a story shaped by patience, work, and a mental reset that changed the way he plays. In his early days with the Chicago Blackhawks, Crevier said he was too tight on the ice, worried about every mistake and playing with nerves instead of confidence.
“It was just mental,” the 6-foot-8, 236-pound defenseman said following Friday’s session of training camp in LECOM Harborcenter.
Crevier said he worked closely with Chicago’s mental coach to get past that block. The result was a calmer approach and a lighter load in his head.
“carrying less in a good way,” he said. “I just went out there and played,” said Crevier, who made his Sabres preseason debut Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets in KeyBank Center.
That shift mattered. Crevier, 25, said it helped him believe in himself, and that belief turned into production. Last season, his first full NHL campaign, he posted career highs with seven goals and 25 points in 78 games.
For Buffalo, Crevier was part of the June 23 trade that sent defenseman Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks. The deal also brought the fourth overall pick back to the Sabres, and Buffalo used that selection to draft defenseman Daxon Rudolph. That haul drew most of the attention, but Crevier was no throw-in.
“He’s one of those guys that has earned his way, played pretty well for Chicago, and is such a big man (and) covers,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “He gets in the way a lot.
I mean, I’ve watched a lot of film on him, watched the way he moves the puck. He can cover a lot of space in a very short period of time.
So I think he can be a very valuable piece for us.”
Crevier underwent offseason shoulder surgery, but he has been on the ice during camp and has spent time skating with Conor Timmins. Ruff said he expects to shuffle the right-handed defensemen around and pair them with some of Buffalo’s lefties instead of leaning on the Crevier-Timmins combination for long stretches.
“I’m not going to particularly look at playing them together a lot,” Ruff said. “They may see some shifts together.”
Crevier’s game is built on straightforward hockey, and he says that suits him just fine.
“My game is simple,” he said.
That simplicity could fit well alongside more aggressive Sabres defensemen, including captain Rasmus Dahlin. Crevier said he wants teammates to know what they’re getting from him.
“Hopefully, the guys when I’m there, they know where the puck’s going to go,” Crevier said. “They know what I’m going to do simple plays, hard plays. I think my defensive game is my main attribute, and, yeah, I think I have a pretty good shot as well.
“So I kind of found this last year, and I want to keep on shooting on net whenever I have the chance.”
Ruff likes the shot, too.
“He’s got a bomb for a shot,” he said. “He’s got some offense in him,” he said. “I think getting puck to the net is a quality he has that can help our team.”
Crevier’s path to this point has been unusual. Drafted in the seventh round in 2020, 188th overall, he has already played 128 NHL games. The rest of the players chosen in that final round that year have combined for 102 big league appearances.
“It’s, for sure, something I’m proud of to have been drafted in the seventh round and make it here,” Crevier said. “ It’s something I’ve worked a lot on.
I think I had great opportunities in Chicago that were offered to me, and I just took them and made the best out of it. …
“Maybe I was a little bit later than others, but I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be right now.”
The Sabres’ preseason lineup Tuesday looked a lot like the group they could use for their Oct. 1 season opener in Columbus, with backup goalie Colten Ellis the lone exception. Ruff said the club used that game against the Blue Jackets’ B team because Buffalo has only four preseason games left and veterans with 100 NHL games are limited to two exhibition appearances.
Among Buffalo’s 18 skaters, only Jiri Kulich had also played Monday in the 4-1 road loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Kulich, who had not played since Nov. 1 while recovering from a blood clot, is expected to appear in every preseason game. Ruff said the extra action should help him get comfortable again.
“That’ll be a test, for sure,” Ruff said. “I think a year off of hockey - highly competitive hockey - puts him in a situation to start to get comfortable on ice.”
Kulich logged 19 minutes, 39 seconds against Pittsburgh, the most of any Sabres forward. Conor Sheary’s injury, after he lost a tooth when he was elbowed in the face, pushed Kulich into both wing and center duties.
“It was a fake one anyways,” Ruff joked of Sheary’s tooth. “It’s not a real loss.”
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Sabres First Preseason Game Already Raised A Few Roster Questions
Buffalos first preseason look came with the expected reminder that these games are more about sorting through depth than worrying about the scoreboard, and the Sabres 4-1 loss in Pittsburgh fit that script. The roster was mostly an AHL-level group, while the Penguins mixed in NHL and AHL players, giving Buffalo a chance to see which young pieces could handle a tougher pace and which ones might need more seasoning before anything real starts.
Jiri Kulich stood out among the forwards by logging the most ice time and taking the most shots, while Jake Richard added the Sabres lone goal on the power play. There were also rougher nights for Radim Mrtka and Alex Lyon, the kind of early preseason results that can quickly turn a routine tune-up into a few roster questions for the staff to sort through. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Already Face A Tough Byram Question In Chicago
Bowen Byram did not take long to make his new team feel good about the trade. In Chicagos first preseason game, the defenseman looked right at home after the Sabres dealt him and Jordan Greenway to the Blackhawks for a package built around draft capital and players, a move Buffalo made with an eye on reshaping the roster rather than leaning on one blue-line anchor.
For the Sabres, the immediate challenge is less about the return and more about life without Byram in the lineup. Buffalo is trying to replace his minutes and impact with a committee approach that includes Olen Zellweger, Louis Crevier and Conor Timmins, but performances like the one Byram just delivered only sharpen the question of whether the Sabres can cover that loss cleanly over a full season. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Scoring Search Could Hinge On A Blue Jackets Cap Crunch
The Sabres are still looking for answers up front after losing key pieces, and their search may be influenced by a cap squeeze in Columbus. The Blue Jackets are expected to manage their payroll after signing restricted free agent center Adam Fantilli, and Buffalo general manager Jarmo Kekalainen is paying close attention to how that situation unfolds as he weighs ways to help the offense.
For now, though, there is no concrete trade or signing on the table. The sense around the league is that any real movement would come later, with Buffalo keeping tabs on whether Columbus eventually has to make room and whether that opens a door for the Sabres to act when the season is deeper into the schedule. [Read more 🡒]