A HOMECOMING FOR LEVI AS SERIES SHIFTS TO LAVAL
Sabres prospect playing playoff games down the road from his hometown
May 20, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The city of Dollard-Des Ormeaux probably doesn’t land on the average traveler’s radar when visiting the island of Montreal, Quebec. A suburb within Canada’s second-largest city, its population of just around 48,000 would equate it to your typical small city in the United States. Common people working common jobs for a common living.
There is one amongst the 48,000 denizens, however, who doesn’t fit the mold. Devon Levi is far from common.
The 23-year-old is an AHL All-Star, a league leader in shutouts, a record-setting goaltender for the Rochester Americans, and a native of Dollard-Des Ormeaux, Quebec.
As the North Division Finals series against the Laval Rocket shifts to Place Bell, they may look like road games on the Amerks’ schedule, but for Levi, it couldn’t come closer to home, with the Buffalo prospect’s hometown sitting less than a half-hour drive southwest from Laval.
“I love playing there,” said Levi after learning the Amerks would play Laval in the North Division finals. “I’ve got some family and friends in town there. They’ll be there at the games. It’s exciting.”
The second-year pro will experience a sold-out Place Bell crowd in the playoffs for the first time ever, but Levi can lean on his success in the regular season against them. In five career outings at Place Bell, Levi owns a 3-2-0 record. It should be noted that his two losses – both coming on consecutive nights this past March – were nights where he played in front of a lineup depleted by call-ups and a sick bug that was going through the locker room. Even with those blemishes, the Amerks’ goaltender owns a .939 save percentage to go with his 1.81 goals-against average when playing in his home Province.
“He’s been really good in this building,” said Amerks head coach Michael Leone. “You need your goalie to be really good this time of year and we expect him to continue that. It’s a tough building to play in and it’s kind of like playing in Montreal to be honest. It’s Devon and our players and our staff against 15,000 people. We like our chances.”
Collectively, Levi has made seven career regular-season starts against Laval, earning a win in three appearances. In his first three contests versus the Rocket, Levi allowed just three combined goals and went 3-0-0. The Amerks had won just two games during the regular season against Laval, but both of those wins came north of the border.
The AHL experience isn’t the lone hometown performance for Levi. Growing up, he played three years of AAA hockey for the Lac St-Louis Lions, another team residing in another Montreal suburb sitting close to Dollard-Des Ormeaux. He was an Academic Player of the Year award winner and finished his 2017-18 campaign with the league’s best save percentage (.927).
“Devon makes the saves that he needs to make,” said Leone. “He’s come a long way in his game. I’d say earlier in the season he would have a tendency to leave some pucks out in the slot for secondary opportunities. Now he’s doing a good job of getting pucks into the corners to where those second and third opportunities get neutralized.”
He has been great in the playoffs and great against the Rocket. If Levi can be great enough twice in front of friends and family, the Amerks’ 2024-25 story will continue.
