The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration
by members of the Die By The Blade community. It was a combination of staff writers and over 200 readers that ranked Buffalo Sabres players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2024. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production to rank each player. Staff votes counted equally with reader votes.
Drafted: 2023 – 2nd Round (39th Overall)
Position: Center
Born: July 4, 2005 (19 years old)
2023-24 Stats: Rochester Amerks (AHL): 1-3-4 + 6 PIM in 9 GP, Malmö Redhawks (SHL): 5-5-10 + 4 PIM in 43 GP
2023 T25U25 Ranking: 19th
The Sabres selected Anton Wahlberg in last year’s NHL Draft. The 6-foot-3-inch hockey prospect played nine games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans this past season and enjoyed a 1-3-4 record. He also competed in five contests during the Calder Cup Playoffs and his stats were 1-0-1. Wahlberg spent far more time with the Swedish Hockey League’s Malmö Redhawks in 2023-24, where his numbers were 5-5-10.
One of his best goals this past season was at the IIHF World Junior Championship between Latvia and Sweden on Dec. 26, 2023. With no score in the middle of the first period, Wahlberg hung around the crease and tipped in the puck to give Team Sweden a 1-0 lead.
It’s the type of playmaking ability Wahlberg is good at. Unfortunately for hockey-loving Swedes in his home country, he won’t be going back to Sweden to play. Instead, the Amerks plan to have him to spend his first full season in Rochester. It’s easy to see why. In his initial postseason matchup with the Amerks, Wahlberg scored an unassisted goal only a little over a minute into the opening period to make it 1-0 Rochester.
Hopefully Wahlberg can keep up his offensive production level with the Sabres’ AHL affiliate this season. If he does, fans could see him in Buffalo as soon as one year from now.
