The Buffalo Sabres have rewarded one of their better AHL forwards with an NHL contract. According to a team announcement, the Sabres have signed forward Trevor Kuntar to a one-year, two-way deal for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
Kuntar, 24, is a native of Buffalo, NY, and spent his collegiate days with the Boston College Eagles. After a somewhat difficult freshman campaign when he scored six goals and 10 points in 23 games, Kuntar responded much better throughout his sophomore and junior seasons, scoring a combined 22 goals and 49 points in 70 contests.
Being selected with the 89th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins, Kuntar made the jump to the professional circuit with the AHL’s Providence Bruins for the 2023-24 campaign. He finished 13th on the team in scoring, 2nd among rookies, with 10 goals and 20 points in 70 games. Additionally, he added one assist in four postseason contests.
Unfortunately, due to elbow surgery, Kuntar was limited to just 54 games last year and never gained any significant momentum. He tied for 19th on the AHL Bruins in scoring with three goals and 12 points with a -7 rating.
As he watched his entry-level contract with Boston expire, Kuntar headed to the free agent market this past offseason. He had to wait a couple of weeks, but the AHL’s Rochester Americans eventually signed him to an AHL contract partway through July.
He’s responded well to the new opportunity. At the time of writing, Kuntar is fifth in scoring on the eighth-place Americans, registering nine goals and 13 points in 24 games. Considering that the Sabres were relatively quick to upgrade his contract, there’s a chance Kuntar could debut with the team this season should they run into injury trouble or move some pieces off of their roster.