Former Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) student-athlete Matthew Savoie has signed a National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Level Contract (ELC) with the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres selected the St. Albert, AB forward with the ninth pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Savoie became the eighth ever CSSHL alumni selected inside the Top 10.
Savoie spent three seasons in the CSSHL, joining the Northern Alberta Xtreme (NAX) U15 Prep team in 2017/18. In 30 games Savoie would finish second in league scoring with 97 points, including a league best 69 assists as he was named the CSSHL U15 Prep Most Valuable Player.
Granted ‘Exceptional Status’ to play U18 as an underage, Savoie would record 31 goals and 40 assists in 30 U18 Prep games, once again being named the divisions Most Valuable Player. He would add an additional 12 points in 5 playoff games as NAX captured a CSSHL U18 Prep League Championship.
Following the 2018/19 season the Winnipeg Ice would select Savoie first overall in the 2019 Western Hockey League (WHL) Draft. Savoie would split the 2019/20 season with the Ice and RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg U18 Prep, recording 7 assists in 22 WHL games and 52 points in 22 CSSHL U18 Prep games.
That season Savoie would suit up for Team Canada at the Youth Olympics, captaining the team to a bronze medal, while also later competing for Canada White at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge where he would tally six points in six games.
Savoie would join the Sherwood Park Crusaders for the beginning of the 2020/21 Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) season, tallying six points in four games before heading south of the border due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021/22 would see Savoie return to the Winnipeg Ice, where he would lead his team and all WHL rookies with 90 points in 65 games while earning WHL (East) First All-Star Team honours.