Sabres have the 11th pick at the NHL Draft in Las Vegas on Friday
With the NHL Draft in Las Vegas 48 hours away, the Buffalo Sabres 11th overall pick is in play. GM Kevyn Adams spoker last week about the possibility of trading up, trading down, or out of the first round entirely, since the Sabres have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL.
In a mock draft after the NHL Scouting Combine earlier this month had the Sabres selecting London Knights blueliner Sam Dickinson 11th overall, but in their final mock draft before the first round on Friday, The Athletic had the 18-year-old Toronto native being selected by Utah with the sixth overall pick and the Sabres selecting big right-handed blueliner Carter Yakemchuk at #11. The 6’3”, 190 lb. defenseman scored a career-high 71 points (30 goals, 41 assists) and 120 penalty minutes in 66 games for the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League.
The 18-year-old models his game after Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard, with his heavy shot from the point and playmaking ability, but like the Oilers defenseman, he will have to work on his game at the other end of the ice to be a well-rounded top-four blueliner at the NHL level.
"I think offensive creativity (is my best attribute). That's something I take a lot of pride in (and is) one of my strengths." Yakemchuk said. "My defensive play (and) just being better positionally (is what I need to work on).”
The Sabres were one of the 23 teams that spoke to Yakemchuk at the Combine, and the pick would make sense since most of Buffalo’s defensive corps at the NHL and prospect level are left-handed. Most of the players selected in the first round of the draft will not reach the NHL for two to three seasons, but lefties Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson will be under contract at that point and the left/right breakdown could still be an issue at that point.
Tony Ferrari of the Hockey News had Yakemchuk going to Vegas at 19th overall in his mock draft, saying that he “brings an element of skill that the Knights could use as their current crop of defenders age. He must work on his skating, but he checks a lot of boxes otherwise.”
