Colten Ellis

This Season So Far

The 2026-27 season has not started. The empty row above is his, and both it and this paragraph fill in on their own from the morning after he first plays: what he has done, what it is worth against his own last season, and the run he is on when the two disagree.

Last Season

16 appearances, 8-4-2, a 2.90 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage with 1 shutout. His first NHL games, at 25.

The Physical Game

6-1 and 191, which is undersized for the modern position, and like Lyon he answers it by coming out to meet the shot. The technique is compact and the recovery is quick.

16 games is not a sample that supports strong claims in either direction, and it would be dishonest to manufacture them. What can be said is that .903 across them is above the league median of .896, which for a first look is fine.

The Mental Game

A third-round pick who spent 5 years in the minors waiting, and by the time he arrived the club had 2 goaltenders ahead of him. He played when asked and did not embarrass himself.

Over his last 10 appearances, .897 on 271 shots — a heavy workload for a third man, and a perfectly ordinary result.

The Intangibles

Buffalo has 3 goaltenders and no settled answer. Luukkonen finished the season stopping .922 over 10 appearances; Lyon finished stopping .880 over his; Ellis sits behind both at .897.

He is 25, out of options for hiding, and this season is the one where a third goaltender either becomes a tandem partner somewhere or goes back down for good. There is not enough evidence here to guess which. Ask again after 30 starts.