Sabres' Linus Ullmark: Begins season with improved health, conditioning

Ullmark played 48 games in his first year in North America last year, but admitted that double hip surgery and poor conditioning affected his play, The Buffalo News reports.

Analysis:

Selected in the sixth round of the 2012 NHL Draft, the 23-year-old Swede was named the SHL's top goalie in 2014. Even though he arrived in Buffalo right after undergoing double hip surgery, he fared well during his first NHL call-up, posting a .915 save percentage and seven wins in 20 games, but faltered later in the season after being reassigned to AHL Rochester, where he finished with a .902 save percentage and 3.41 GAA. Ullmark admitted that he wasn't quite prepared for the workload and pressure in North America, and noted that his confidence took a hit when he fell into a slump and started to lose consecutive games. Anders Nilsson is expected to back up Robin Lehner in Buffalo this season, and it's important for a young goalie to get playing experience, so Ullmark will likely spend much of the 2016-17 season in the AHL.