The Buffalo Sabres are considered to have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL, not only because of their selecting high in recent drafts but also due to their eye for talent and their organizational choices of either leaving players to develop in their home countries or bringing them to North America. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals and have played less than 40 NHL games.
4. – NOAH OSTLUND - C (ROCHESTER – AHL)
Ostlund was the Sabres second first-round pick (16th overall) at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal after scoring 42 points for the Djurgardens junior-level club, 10 points for Sweden at the Under-18s, and a brief stint in the SHL. The following season, he had 26 points (8 goals, 18 assists) in 37 regular season games in the second-level pro league Allsvenskan and four points (1 goal, 3 assists) for Team Sweden at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships. He travelled to North America after his season in Sweden and joined the Rochester Americans for their Calder Cup Playoff run, but did not play.
The Stockholm native chose not to come over and play for the Amerks last season, instead returning to Sweden to play for Vaxjo and play again for his country at the 2024 World Junior in Gothenburg. The 20-year-old thrived at the WJC, scoring 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in seven games and earning a silver medal. Ostlund was also a solid contributor for Vaxjo, with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 38 games, and joined Rochester at the end of the AHL season, earning an assist in two regular season games and one goal in three playoff games.
In his first full season in North America, Ostlund missed nearly two months with a hand injury, but returned just before Christmas and went goalless in his first 10 games, but has begun to produce consistently, with nine points (3 goals, 6 assists) in his last nine games.
The Hockey Prospect Black Book said of the speedy center “Östlund is quick, mobile, and has perfect knowledge of his surroundings. His balance and mobility are what is allowing him to perform as well as he does at the j20 level. He has the ability to process the game while moving in all directions, even with the puck on his stick, this makes him very elusive and hard to catch. On the occasions where he gets caught, he is often outmuscled and can be found bumped off his feet, but he was close to never caught off guard by a hit that he didn't know was coming his way.”
