The Buffalo Sabres have reassigned three players to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans: forwards Konsta Helenius and Isak Rosen, as well as defenseman Zach Metsa. The moves are part of the Sabres’ preparations for the Olympic break now that their slate of NHL games before the Olympics has concluded.
It’s no major surprise that Buffalo would want to see this trio of players become available for the Americans over the break. Getting each one back onto the AHL roster will give Rochester a significant, immediate boost in its odds of winning games, starting tonight when they take on the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Helenius and Rosen are two of Rochester’s best forwards. Helenius, 19, was Buffalo’s 2024 first-round pick and the No. 14 overall pick of his draft class. Helenius was selected after a strong 36-point rookie campaign playing against men in Finland’s Liiga, meaning his quick transition to the AHL game isn’t hugely surprising.
He scored 14 goals and 36 points last season as an AHL rookie, and has nine goals and 30 points across 34 AHL games this season. Despite spending some time on the Sabres NHL roster, Helenius remains ranked No. 2 in scoring among forwards on the Americans roster in 2025-26.
The Americans’ leading forward scorer is Rosen, one of the club’s 2021 first-round picks. It’s a big year for the pending RFA, as he’s looking to finally seize a more permanent role on the Sabres’ NHL roster. That will have to wait until after the break, but during the break, he is expected to be one of Rochester’s key forwards. He scored 28 goals and 55 points in the AHL last season, and has 20 goals and 32 points in 30 games this year.
Unlike both forwards that were reassigned, Metsa is not a first-round pick and top prospect. Instead, the blueliner is a 27-year-old undrafted player who has carved out a real NHL role for himself after putting together a steep, positive development trajectory in Rochester. The right-shot blueliner scored 24 points in 54 games as an AHL rookie in 2023-24 before jumping up to 46 points in 69 games last season.
This year, Metsa has spent more time in the NHL than the AHL. He has 13 points in 14 AHL games, and has played in 26 NHL games, scoring two points. He’s largely been a sheltered third-pairing blueliner in the NHL, averaging just 9:42 time on ice per game.
While he’s yet to fully earn the trust of head coach Lindy Ruff, the fact that he’s been able to play in so many NHL games over other depth blueliners indicates just how much his standing has grown in the Sabres organization over the last year.
He’ll be one of the Americans’ top defensemen during the break and could very well land back with the team if the Sabres elect to add defensive reinforcements from outside the organization via a trade at some point after the roster freeze, but before the trade deadline.