(Quebec) The stereotype of the hockey player who lets his body go to waste during the off-season and takes advantage of training camp to shed the extra pounds is long dead and buried.
Physical work is now done year-round, and time away from the rink, even during the hottest weeks of summer, is measured in days rather than weeks.
Devon Levi is no exception. With the Buffalo Sabres missing the playoffs, he has already spent hundreds of hours in the gym and at the rink, preparing for the upcoming campaign. However, the Montreal goaltender is also taking advantage of the summer season to indulge in what he aptly calls a “mental diet.”
At the heart of this regime: simply “reading books,” he explained last Wednesday, while taking part in the Sun Life Pro-Am, a charity event held at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City.
His readings go in several directions, but converge mainly on mental and spiritual preparation. “Books that make you think, that help you manage your emotions and your thoughts,” he said. “As a goalie, whether you give up a bad goal or make a good save, you have to control your emotions. It’s important to practice that during the summer, because we don’t have much opportunity to focus on that during the season, on the ice.”
Opening a book is obviously not an accomplishment, but the goalie’s approach and thoughts are certainly in line with Devon Levi’s personality. From his first practices in Buffalo, he had caught the attention of his coach with his studious side. A few months later, he had to be called to order by the NHL because his meditation sessions between whistles were disturbing the staff responsible for removing snow from the rink.
Top of his class since he was young, the one who studied computer science at Northeastern University has already been described as a “rare bug” by Jayden Struble, Canadiens defender and former teammate in the university ranks. His reputation, visibly, is not overrated.
It’s something I love to do, something that motivates me to get up in the morning.
Devon Levi
“It’s in me, like no one else. At school, I was like that too. When I love something, I throw myself into it 100%. I want to be the best I can be.”
Hard
As prepared as he is, Levi will have his work cut out for him at the Sabres’ upcoming training camp to carve out a spot with the team.
Last season, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen established himself as the club’s No. 1. Then, after posting 27 wins in 51 starts, he signed a four-year contract last month that will pay him an average of $4.75 million.
But rather than betting all his marbles on youth with a Luukkonen-Levi duo, aged 25 and 22 respectively, general manager Kevyn Adams hired veteran James Reimer on the free agent market.
So unless he’s in a good place at camp, and even then, Levi could very well be sent to the American League in October.
PHOTO TIMOTHY T. LUDWIG, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
Devon Levi
Although his obvious goal is to play in Buffalo, the Quebecer does not seem put off by the idea of returning to the Rochester Americans, a team with which he played 26 games last season, and five more in the playoffs.
His “official” NHL debut in the fall of 2023 had not been easy. The step up from the college ranks was steep, and the Sabres preferred to give him some breathing room rather than burn him in the NHL. In the American League, he quickly found his comfort zone, as evidenced by his 16-6-4 record and his .927 save percentage. In the NHL, his 10-8-2 record was not catastrophic, but his .899 save percentage betrayed the fact that he still had some scabs to eat.
It was a very good season. I experienced the best of the NHL and the American League. I learned a lot, mentally and on the ice. It wasn’t always easy, but the challenges allowed me to improve.
Devon Levi
The looming fight in camp with Luukkonen and Reimer doesn’t keep him awake at night, we understand. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about it,” he assures.
It must be said that he already experienced a three-way split last year, with Luukkonen and Eric Comrie.
“It can change in the blink of an eye,” the goalkeeper continued. “You never know when things are going to change. It’s not my decision, so I focus on what I control.”
Question after question, it quickly became clear that Levi applied this analytical framework to all subjects. Whether it was the Sabres’ imperative to finally reach the playoffs after 13 consecutive exclusions, or the difficult decision a few weeks ago to buy out veteran Jeff Skinner’s contract, the conclusion was the same: management did its job, and he did his.
“It’s not up to me to decide what’s good for the team,” he sums up.
He prefers, he insists, to focus on “being the best goalie possible.” On the ice, obviously, but also between the two ears.