AMERKS OCTOBER 2025 REPORT CARD
Rochester goes 7-2-0-0 in October to enter November tied for first in North Division
Nov 4, 2025By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
The Rochester Americans (7-3-0-0) raised the curtain on the team’s historic 70th-anniversary season and came out ready to play.
After splitting the first two weekends of the 2025-26 campaign, the Amerks went on a run to end October, winning their last five games of the slate to enter the first full week of November tied for first in the AHL’s North Division.
It was an all-hands-on-deck effort from the red, white, and blue, with several contributing players getting recognized at the next level.
DEVELOPMENT: A+
Win or lose, the primary goal of the American Hockey League is to serve as a breeding ground for prospects to blossom into professionals ready for the bright lights of the National Hockey League. For Rochester, the Amerks have yet to ice a full lineup this season. That is in large part due to six different players getting call-ups to the Buffalo Sabres.
In just one month, forwards Josh Dunne, Noah Östlund, and Isak Rosén all earned call-ups and playing time with the Sabres, with Dunne and Rosén each scoring their first NHL goals on home ice at KeyBank Center.
On the blueline, though he did not appear in a game, defenseman Zac Jones was briefly brought up to the big club, as was Amerks captain Zach Metsa, who made his NHL debut Oct. 20 when the Sabres played at Montreal. Ryan Johnson began this season in Buffalo, appearing in three games for the blue and gold.
The development ladder has several rungs. As Amerks became Sabres, an opportunity rose for players with ECHL-Jacksonville colors to make noise in the AHL. Through four games since getting called up, third-generation pro Red Savage has posted a goal and an assist with Rochester, following in the footsteps of his great uncle Larry Hillman, who played for the Amerks over six decades prior.
NEW FACES: A
Every AHL offseason sees new faces in new places. For Rochester, a secondary home has been made for the likes of forwards Jake Leschyshyn and Trevor Kuntar, along with Jones manning the blueline. Leschyshyn and Kuntar have each found time on the power-play at different points through the first 10 games of the season, helping produce a man-advantage that is first in the AHL’s Eastern Conference.
To end October, Kuntar put the Amerks ahead late with his 2-1 go-ahead goal scored with less than four minutes remaining in regulation in Laval. Leschyshyn is one of four Amerks with three or more goals to start the season, with two coming on the power-play.
Speaking of the man-advantage, Jones has been a quarterback producing assists left and right. The veteran defenseman is tied for the team lead in points with 12 (all assists), with 10 coming on the power-play, putting him in the AHL lead in that category.
GOALTENDING: A+
After an All-Star season, Devon Levi is back in Rochester and somehow, some way, continuing to improve. The 23-year-old is 5-0-0 to begin the new campaign, posting his best start to a professional season and best in general since playing juniors in the CCHL during the 2019-20 season.
Joining Levi is rookie goaltender Topias Leinonen, who is playing in North America for the first time in his career. After falling short in his Amerks debut, Leinonen roared back Oct. 25 in Cleveland, dazzling with 25 saves, many of which being high quality scoring chances, to help the Amerks drop the Monsters in overtime to secure his first win in the Sabres’ pipeline.
For a throwback, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made a brief one-game conditioning stint, playing in his first game as an Amerk in over 1,000 days to help Rochester drop Syracuse, handing the Crunch its first loss of their season on Oct. 22.
While not getting tabbed for a win yet, Rochester has also benefitted from the services of veteran Alexandar Georgiev, who made a solid return to the AHL with 31 saves against Syracuse on Oct. 18.
The Amerks had four different goaltenders take the crease as starters through the first five games of the regular season, marking the first time that had happened in the franchise’s 70-year history.
NOVEMBER SYLLABUS
November and January will be the busiest months of the 2025-26 season, with the Amerks facing 12 teams each month. November offers the most unique schedule, with Rochester facing Atlantic Division opponents for half of the month, including home contests against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Bridgeport, while hitting the road to take on the Islanders, along with Hershey, Hartford, and Lehigh Valley.
The Amerks double up playing the Crunch and Islanders twice in November. This will be the only month Rochester faces Bridgeport.