• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Buffalo Sabres

Joel Armia: On the Path to the NHL

By Chad DeDominicis December 8th, 2014

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Sabres top prospect Joel Armia is having his best season in his North American career.  The Finish born winger has stepped up in a big way this season and is starting to dominate at the AHL level.  Armia is following a similar path of current Sabres player and former first round pick.

Tough Beginning

Armia was selected by the Sabres 16th overall in the 2011 draft.  Coming out of Finland, Armia was an intriguing prospect with his 6’3 size and excellent hands.  The 21 year old forward was great goal scorer playing in the top Finish professional league.  At such a young age, many scouts were impressed with how dominate he was.

Armia begun his North American professional career last season, playing for the Sabres AHL affiliate, Rochester Americans.  The young winger struggled in his first professional season.  Armia had only 7 goals and 27 points in 57 games last season.  He would find himself as a healthy scratch during stretches of last year and would be a non-factor for long periods of games.  It’s not a shock that Armia needed to adjust to the North American game.  It’s part of the growing pains that go along with a young prospect.  Armia also had to dismiss reports that he was unhappy in the Sabres system, after a disappointing first season.

The concerning part for the Sabres, came during training camp this season.  Armia didn’t have a great camp and was a big disappointment as he was sent back to Rochester.  It wasn’t expected that Armia would back the roster out of camp, but the Sabres expected him to make some noise.

Following a Similar Path

Once the puck dropped on the 2014-15 regular season, Armia turned the corner and started to produce at a high level.  He would look like the best player on the ice some nights and become a dominant force on the wing.  Before going out with an injury, the 6’3 forward had six goals and 15 points in 19 games.  Armia’s presence

Zemgus Girgensons Sabres

 (Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports)

in the lineup has been missed by Rochester while he’s been on the sideline.  It’s easy to see how the Finish forward is becoming more comfortable as he’s starting to play the way he did in Finland.  He’s using his size to maintain the puck and unleashing his great shot, along with his great puck skills.  If it were notfor his injury, Armia would have likely earned a call up to the Sabres.

When you look at the road Armia has taken to this point, it reminds you of a similar path taken by a current Sabres star, Zemgus Girgensons.  Girgensons struggled early on in his first professional season in the AHL.  The 2013 first round pick only registered six goals and 17 points in 61 games.  Like Armia, Girgensons would struggle to be comfortable at the professional level.  As the season went on, Girgensons started to take over games.  He was the best player on the ice night in and night out during the Amerks playoff push and short playoff run in the 2012-13 season.

In his first AHL season Girgensons had .27 points per game, as Armia put up .5 points per game in his first season.  Most of the points Girgensons produced in his first season came at the end of the season as he became more comfortable.  As Armia has become more comfortable in his role, he is putting up .78 points per game.  It took Girgensons roughly 50 games to begin to step up as a productive player and the same seems to be happening for Armia around the 50 game mark.

The Latvian center started the next season in the NHL after one year in the AHL and has never looked back.  After this season, I believe Armia will be ready to make the same jump, to a full time NHL player.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Armia get a look at the NHL level this season.  Sabres fans have a lot to be excited about with the growth of Joel Armia.

http://youtu.be/1kEeQ9sntCY

 

  • Tags
  • Joel Armia
  • Zemgus Girgensons
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 21st 5:55 PM
Edmonton Oilers

McDavid Has the Maple Leafs’ Number and Needs to Keep it That Way

Jan 21st 5:08 PM
Archives

NHLers by Country: On Top of Their Game and the World

Jan 21st 4:50 PM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers Missing Klefbom and Neal on Power Play

Jan 21st 4:40 PM
Minnesota Wild

Wild’s Soucy & Sturm Look Comfortable Filling Roster Gaps

Jan 21st 4:30 PM
Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche With Career Milestones in Sight in 2020-21 Season

Jan 21st 3:45 PM
Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning & Pat Maroon Are a Really Good Fit…For Now

Jan 21st 3:35 PM
Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights’ Depth Separates Them From the Rest

Jan 21st 3:15 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets

Blue Jackets’ Alexandre Texier, New Faces Shine to Begin Season

Jan 21st 2:45 PM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers News & Rumors: Neal, Yamamoto, Tippett, More

Jan 21st 2:15 PM
Column

Senators News & Rumours: Stützle, Norris, Galchenyuk and More

Editor’s Picks
NHL TV Blackouts & Why They Happen?

NHL TV Blackouts & Why They Happen?

The 1979 NHL – WHA Merger

The 1979 NHL – WHA Merger

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information