By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
If a player’s value was measured solely by goals and assists, then Noah Ostlund wouldn’t have been making much of an impression with the Rochester Americans.
Through his first 15 games this season, the rookie center had produced just one goal and three assists. That doesn’t exactly scream first-round draft pick, even when factoring in the two months he missed with a hand injury.
But there’s a whole lot more to Ostlund’s game that allow him to make contributions – namely, smart two-way play and attention to detail.
“I don’t think he really cares if he scores,” Amerks coach Michael Leone said. “Sure, he has to score, but it’s all about winning.”
Now that he is healthy, and fully adjusted to the North American game, the 20-year-old from Sweden is showing what he can do with the puck.
Ostlund scored two more goals on Wednesday – giving him six in the past 12 games – and goalie Devon Levi stopped 26 shots as the Amerks blanked the Cleveland Monsters 4-0 at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
The shutout was Levi’s fourth, though he wasn’t required to do much for the first two periods.
“They had like three or four shots in the second period,” Levi said. “The boys did a great job of locking it down.”
Still, the in-charge aura Levi displayed from start to finish was the perfect bounce-back statement after his struggles on Sunday, when he allowed four goals on 11 shots and was pulled late in the second period of a 5-2 loss to Laval.
“I’m pretty confident in our ability to bounce back from a bad game, and personally it’s a little bit of extra motivation to come out and try to help win the game for the boys,” Levi said.
While Levi was making every necessary saves, Ostlund was continuing to show the advancement of his game. He scored the third and fourth goals on Wednesday as the Amerks (31-14-3-1) regained first place in the AHL’s North Division by a point over Laval. 66-65.
After a scoreless period, the Amerks soared to a 3-0 lead in the first 13 minutes of the second period on goals by Zach Metsa at 3:18, Brett Murray at 7:45 and Ostlund at 12:39.
Metsa scored his fourth goal after a faceoff win by Josh Dunne, zipping a wrist shot from the center point past screened goalie Jet Greaves.
Murray scored his 22nd with what is becoming a rather common-place ode to former linemate Michael Mersch, dropping to his right knee at the right edge of the crease to steer home a goalmouth feed from the left circle by Ryan Johnson.
Ostlund and Nikita Novikov then worked a slick give-and-go off a fast break for the 3-0 lead with 7:21 left in the period. Instead of shooting from between the hash marks, Ostlund passed to Novikov in the left circle, then continued to the deep slot, where he took a return pass and had an open net for his sixth goal, and fifth in 12 games.
“I saw the D coming into the shooting lane so I passed to Novi and he made a great pass back,” said Ostlund, Buffalo’s first-round pick (16th overall) in 2022.
The play was the perfect example of how he has adjusted to the North American game. There was no panicked shot or pass, just poise.
“I think the game has slowed down a little bit,” Ostlund said. “I feel like I have more time to make plays like I did in Sweden.”
His second goal was scored into an empty net with 4:06 remaining while the Amerks were killing a penalty. He calmly avoided Rocco Grimaldi in the neutral zone before lofting an 85-foot shot into the empty net.
“He’s a special player,” Leone said. “There’s games where – and it’s a lot to ask a young player – but he drives us.”
Notes: Winger Viktor Neuchev left the game with an undisclosed injury. Leone said he didn’t have an update afterward … Forward Tyson Kozak is out at least two weeks with a lower body injury while defenseman Kale Clague sat out due to illness. … The Amerks are 6-1 against the Monsters with one game remaining in the season series. Throw in a 9-1 record against Utica and the Amerks have earned 30 of their 66 points against two teams. They are 16-12-3-1 against the rest of their schedule.
That was the kind of win that we love to see. Pretty much total domination for the entire contest. Levi was very sharp in the 3rd period and earned the shutout. With Sandstrom away, he will really need to play strong.
Ostlund is starting to really impress. Hope it continues. Not looking past Belleville tonite, but the game with Toronto is very important. First because we haven’t beaten them yet this year and our only other games with them are the final two of the season. And second because they are very much in the running for 1st place. We have beat up the Comets and Monsters and are playing ‘decently’ against the Crunch, but Toronto is still a problem.
Hope Clague is back and also hoping that we get Sandstrom back soon.