KENT, Wash. – Standing outside the Seattle Thunderbirds’ practice rink on a recent, unseasonably warm afternoon, Scott Ratzlaff formed a fist with his right hand and began to explain in hilarious detail one of the many times this season that he learned something new as a starting goalie.
Ratzlaff was cramping so badly during a game against the Prince George Cougars in early January that the middle and ring fingers on his right hand were locked in place from gripping his stick.
He had returned from Sweden one day earlier after spending the previous three weeks as Team Canada’s third goalie at the IIHF World Junior Championship, yet the Buffalo Sabres’ prospect still managed to make 33 saves in a 2-1 loss to one of the best teams in the Western Hockey League on Jan. 5.
“There was a lot of cramping that first game back,” Ratzlaff told The Buffalo News, laughing as he recalled that unusual night. “I barely made it past the second period without cramping, then I could barely move my middle two fingers.”
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Injuries and inexperience derailed the Thunderbirds’ season. They won seven of their first eight games and finished 8-4-1 in their last 13, but missed the WHL playoffs with a 27-38-3 record. The defending league champions had almost 300 man-games lost, a scenario they weren’t prepared to handle because they lost several high-end players in the summer to the NHL and American Hockey League.
Buffalo Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukonen didn't transform into an established NHL goalie in just one summer.
As a result, Ratzlaff saw more shots and higher quality scoring chances during his first year as a full-time starter for Seattle. He experienced some remarkable triumphs, such as his 52-save performance to lead the Thunderbirds to an overtime win over Portland at the Kraken’s Climate Pledge Arena on March 17, and more challenging nights than the previous season when he was so impressive in 34 games that Buffalo drafted him in the fifth round.
But each high and low made Ratzlaff, 19, a better goalie, as he showed the past few weeks with his success in Seattle’s crease. He had a .941 save percentage in five starts to finish the season, a stretch that strengthened his status as one of the best in the WHL.
“He’s given us a chance to win every single night,” Thunderbirds coach Matt O’Dette said. “Arguably, our most valuable player this season. With a younger team, he’s seeing more shots than he normally would, more higher quality chances against, and he’s been up to the task each and every night. He’s done what we’ve asked of him, and you can just see him and his entire game take a take a big step this year.”
Experience is one pillar of goalie development. Each game, good or bad, introduces a prospect to different scenarios. As exceptional as Ratzlaff was as the Thunderbirds’ No. 2 last season, carrying the pressure and expectations of a starting role in junior hockey was a new challenge.
Recovery between games had to become a priority for Ratzlaff. He had to be smart about how many shots he faced during practices. Getting on the ice early, or staying late, wasn’t always the best idea. He proved that he had the talent to excel in the WHL last season, producing a .918 save percentage, a 2.15 goals-against average, five shutouts and a 25-8 record in the months leading up to the Sabres drafting him with the 141st pick in June.
The Sabres have won five of their last six at home to even their record downtown at 17-17-1. With six games left, they have equaled last year's win total, when a 17-20-4 mark contributed mightily to them finishing one point shy of the playoffs. This current 5-1 stretch has shown some real swagger against good opponents, too.
Most of those appearances were bundled while Thomas Milic was away for the IIHF World Junior Championship, though, and Seattle’s roster was dotted with NHL prospects. The shots Ratzlaff faced were more predictable, and he didn’t have to face as many odd-man rushes.
The workload didn’t hinder Ratzlaff this season, though. He played 52 games, the fourth-highest total among WHL goalies, and he finished with a .905 save percentage. The Thunderbirds gave him the crease in 32 of 36 games after he returned from world juniors in January.
Student of the position
At 6-foot-1, Ratzlaff enjoys studying goalies with similar physical traits and skill sets, specifically fellow Sabres prospect Devon Levi and Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames. He watched both closely this season when they were in the AHL with the Rochester Amerks and Calgary Wranglers, respectively. Ratzlaff doesn’t take time to watch their games to see highlight-reel saves. He’s looking for the types of goals that both allow, so he’ll be better prepared once he graduates to pro hockey.
And, remarkably, Ratzlaff has formed a healthy approach to diagnosing issues with his own performance.
“I think it’s just not having any emotional attachment to it,” Ratzlaff said. “Everyone gets scored on. If no one got scored on, it wouldn’t be a very interesting game. You live through the moment and you take what you can from it, and then move on. If I’m watching a certain game that maybe didn’t go as well, it’s just looking at it more from technical side, specific plays, and then taking what you can from it. It’s never something to get down on yourself on or lose confidence. And it’s just about knowing how I can change to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Through video study and on-ice experience, Ratzlaff learned to have more confidence in his ability to track the puck. He explained that he began to trust himself more often this season. Playing deeper in the crease didn’t create angst or anxiety. There was more poise in his approach. He wasn’t overpursuing each pass in anticipation of a one-timer or a backdoor tap-in. With each game, Ratzlaff saw that he could make the initial save and accurate read. The key was to not overthink and slide out of position.
This season also brought disappointment, though. Ratzlaff worked tirelessly for years to make Hockey Canada’s roster for the IIHF World Junior Championship. He emerged as one of their bright, young goalies in the summer of 2022 with his showing at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, positioning himself to compete for the starting job at the top Under-20 tournament this winter.
Once Canada’s pre-tournament camp concluded in December, it opted to start Mathis Rousseau, an undrafted 19-year-old. For three-plus weeks, Ratzlaff’s development was limited to practice, albeit against the top Under-20 players in Canada. He had to watch as the team fell short of winning a medal.
“It’s about putting your ego aside and knowing that you’re not too good for anything,” Ratzlaff said. “And then just staying hungry. If you get that opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it. You never know what can happen, so you have to take advantage of every experience that you have in that situation.”
Sabres goalie development coach Seamus Kotyk was in Seattle when Ratzlaff made 38 saves between the second and third periods to lead the Thunderbirds to a win over the Portland Winterhawks. Then, Ratzlaff attended the Sabres’ 6-2 win over the Kraken the following day, which gave him a closer look at Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has a .925 save percentage and four shutouts in 28 games with Buffalo since Jan. 1.
Goaltending has become an organizational strength for the Sabres in recent years with Luukkonen, Levi, Ratzlaff and 2022 second-round draft pick Topias Leinonen. The club won’t rush Ratzlaff to pro hockey after his first full season as a starter in the WHL, but the plan is to give him an introduction to life in Rochester.
The Amerks signed Ratzlaff to an amateur tryout Wednesday, which will allow him to practice and train around coach Seth Appert’s team as it pushes to qualify for the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs. Even though Ratzlaff has yet to sign an entry-level contract, he has shown since draft day that he is an exceptional prospect embracing the long, challenging road a young goalie must travel to achieve their NHL dream.
“He’s a goalie that has all the attributes he needs,” O’Dette said. “He’s technically sound, he’s athletic, and when he gets swagger to go with that and he’s feeling confident, he’s very hard to beat. He’s very, very hard to beat. He thrives off that momentum and when he’s locked in, you can just feel it and that was the case in that (game against Portland).
“Comparing him to other goalies, some goalies are more cerebral and just kind of not showing much emotion and trying to stay more even keel. Scott’s a guy that lets that momentum fuel him and that confidence kind of build for himself. I think that that leads to some pretty locked-in hockey when he’s on his game.”
Quinn missed the first 32 games of the season because of a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered during an off-ice workout in June. He returned in December, and had collected five goals and 12 points in the 17 games he played before the latest injury.
Injury update
Winger Jack Quinn returned to the Sabres’ lineup Wednesday after missing 23 games following ankle surgery and was slated to return to his spot on a line with Dylan Cozens and JJ Peterka.
Winger Lukas Rousek, who took a stick to the face and left practice on Tuesday, is still receiving treatment and his status is uncertain.
“It will be a couple of days for that to resolve,” head coach Don Granato said of Rousek, who was scheduled to be a scratch in Wednesday’s game.
Goalie plan
Granato said the Sabres are gauging their goaltending for the weekend, when their home back-to-back against New Jersey and Toronto will be their last games on consecutive days this season.
Luukkonen started Wednesday, but it may be too much of a stretch to play him in both of the weekend games and thus make three starts in four days. Levi rejoined the team from Rochester and made 31 saves while spelling Luukkonen on the last back-to-back, taking a 3-2 loss March 19 in Vancouver.
“When you look at a back-to-back, the question is how do we feel about playing (Luukkonen) in that back-to-back based on the workload the first night?” Granato said. “If not, in all probability, Devon would slide in there.”
The Sabres could play Luukkonen against the Devils, as Granato said, or simply give Levi that start and allow Luukkonen to prepare for the Leafs on adequate rest.
News sports columnist Mike Harrington contributed to this story.