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Sabres’ Goalie Sparkles in Debut After Starting Season on Waivers

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Hartnett | Last updated Oct 23, 2025 2:03 PM ET

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Colten Ellis made the most of his long-awaited opportunity to make his NHL debut.

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old goaltender stood tall by making 27 saves and stopping several breakaways in Buffalo’s 4-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

Ellis became the ninth goaltender in Sabres’ history to record a win in his NHL debut.

It’s been a long journey for the Nova Scotia native, who spent four seasons in the QMJHL, played 82 games in the ECHL, and appeared in 64 AHL games prior to making his first NHL start.

They say that when one door closes, another one opens. The St. Louis Blues opted to waive Ellis on the eve of the new season. Having tracked Ellis closely in the AHL, the Sabres decided that it was worth a shot to add the former third-round draft pick to their goaltending competition.

Ellis beat out veteran Alexandar Georgiev to claim the Sabres’ backup goaltender spot behind No. 1 netminder Alex Lyon. The decision to give Ellis a chance has paid off immediately for the Sabres.

He responded by shutting down a scorching-hot Red Wings team that entered the contest on a five-game winning streak.

Late in the first period, Ellis was up to the task to shut down Marco Kasper on a breakaway to keep the game scoreless before the first intermission.

Colten Ellis makes a big save on the breakaway to keep this one tied!

Watch on @NHL_On_TNT & @StreamOnMax! pic.twitter.com/aOu2lywyNn
— NHL (@NHL) October 23, 2025

He again showed his steely composure when stopping Dylan Larkin on a second-period breakaway. Larkin burst out of the penalty box and tried to go backhand – but Ellis quickly closed his five-hole.

Colten Ellis comes up big again and stops Larkin on a breakaway #LetsGoBuffalo #LGRW pic.twitter.com/QS1czUfWeZ
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) October 23, 2025

Ellis would later deny a close-range Alex DeBrincat one-timer in the third period.

Colten Ellis save on DeBrincat #LetsGoBuffalo #LGRW pic.twitter.com/vHbxX7AhPI
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) October 23, 2025

In all, Ellis faced 10 high-danger chances and turned away eight.

Jason Zucker, Tyson Kozak, Jack Quinn and Josh Doan all found twine in Buffalo’s victory. Though Quinn recorded one goal and two assists, there was no doubt who would be named the first star of the game. That honor would go to Ellis.

Ellis Gets Props From 'The King'

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Colten Ellis (92) celebrates his first NHL win against the Detroit Red Wings with goaltender Alex Lyon (34) at KeyBank Center. Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn ImagesTimothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Following his victorious debut, he received congratulations from Hall of Fame goaltender and TNT analyst Henrik Lundqvist.

“Congrats on your first start, first win, you played incredible,” Lundqvist said.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j8ZTpBT5zKg

Ellis admitted that he only found out that he was starting on Tuesday morning.

“I found out yesterday in the morning, coming into the rink,” Ellis said. “So, I kinda had the day yesterday to prepare and get a bunch of my family and everybody in. Luckily, I had enough notice for all that. It was just a lot of excitement. Like I said, just 25 years to kinda get to this point and kind of realize my dream tonight and get a win. Two points for the team, it’s pretty incredible.”

Over 20 family members made the trip from Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia to Buffalo’s KeyBank Arena.