BUFFALO, N.Y. — Before the start of the preseason, the Buffalo Sabres held their annual prospect challenge at the HarborCenter, and in the final game of the tournament, center Matthew Savoie suffered a shoulder injury in the first minute of the game that would keep him off the ice the past three weeks.
However, on Friday morning at the team's morning skate, Savoie was seen back out on the ice with his teammates for the first time this preseason.
"It's been tough not being on the ice with them everyday and just watching from afar," Savoie said.
Savoie, who the Sabres selected with the ninth pick of the 2022 draft, had a pretty solid opportunity in training camp this season to potentially earn a spot on the Sabres roster.
"It was definitely pretty devastating to not even get a chance to play in any preseason games or get to show myself in the games before the season," Savoie said. "I thought I came into camp in really good shape. I thought I had a big summer and got really strong and a lot faster, so yeah, it was definitely tough to not be able to showcase that."
However, Savoie's injury was not a long-term scenario and his presence on the ice Friday morning was certainly a sign in the right direction.
"I wasn't doing too much contact today, just trying to ease back into it a little bit, not risk or re-injure anything like that," Savoie said. "I feel good out there. My legs feel good. I've been doing rehab skates 4-5 times a week so I feel like my conditioning, my cardio level is really good right now and I'm looking forward to being back 100%."
Therefore, Savoie's return to game action is still a work in progress. However, Savoie's former Winnipeg ICE teammate and 2023 first-round pick, Zach Benson is set to be on the Sabres' roster for Buffalo's final preseason game when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night with puck drop scheduled at 7 pm.
RELATED VIDEO: