The Buffalo Sabres are widely regarded as having one of the best prospect systems in the NHL even after trading former ninth-overall draft pick Matthew Savoie to the Edmonton Oilers. Their pool is stacked with former draft picks over the past six seasons, despite players like Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, and Owen Power already established as difference-makers in the league. To better understand just how deep the Sabres prospects run, let’s sort through the pipeline and put them into tiers.
We’re following the Calder Trophy guidelines to qualify Sabres prospects. Players must be under 26 years old by September 15th of this year and cannot have played more than 25 games in 2023-2024 nor six or more games in the two seasons before that.
Zach Benson, the team’s top draft selection in 2023, completed his first full season with the Sabres and has graduated from prospect to NHLer. Devon Levi is expected to get a full season in Buffalo this season and has too many NHL games played, at 22 years old, to qualify as a prospect under these terms.
Other players who don’t qualify include Brett Murray, Ryan Johnson, and Jack Rathbone. That leaves 36 prospects in total to rank into tiers. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
Elite Sabres Prospects
- None
The entire group of Sabres prospects is missing that true, elite player who will develop into a star. Of course, Buffalo has drafted players in recent seasons who could qualify as having elite potential, they’ve just taken the highway to the NHL.
Rasmus Dahlin and Power are under 25 and anchor the defense. Cozens, Quinn, Peterka, and Benson probably are down a tier from Buffalo’s stud blueliners but are crucial pieces to the core of the Sabres.
Top-Six Forward Sabres Prospects
- Konsta Helenius
- Jiri Kulich
- Noah Ostlund
The tiers are the focus here, but 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius may be Buffalo’s top prospect already. He’s certainly the most complete, with a well-rounded defensive game to complement his playmaking ability. The vision and hockey sense are immediate indicators of a top-six center in the making.
Jiri Kulich is the consensus next prospect up, as he’s been developing in the AHL for two seasons as an 18 and 19-year-old. The Sabres are still trying to make him a center, but the likeliness that he ends up on the wing devalues him slightly.
Noah Ostlund’s development has run under the radar in Sweden, but the national tournaments he’s shined in bring him to the forefront. He’s another natural center, which is promising for Buffalo’s long-term outlook at the position.
Prospects: Sabres 2024 NHL Draft Summary
Top-Four Defenseman Sabres Prospects
- None
If there was another glaring hole in Buffalo’s prospect pool, it’s a top defensive prospect. With Dahlin, Power, and Bowen Byram presumably long-term Sabres, the need for a top prospect on the backend is less important, but it’s still a need.
The Sabres selected forwards with their last six first-round draft picks. They’ve addressed defense in the second round in 2023 and 2024, but the top-four potential isn’t quite there.
Middle-Six Forward Sabres Prospects
- Isak Rosen
- Anton Wahlberg
- Prokar Poltapov
- Stiven Sardarian
- Brodie Ziemer
- Alexander Kisakov
- Viktor Neuchev
Bonafide middle-six forward prospects are where the Sabres start to get crowded. Isak Rosen headlines this group, as a former first-rounder. Some may argue Rosen has top-six potential after leading Rochester in scoring last season, but his game translates to a second or third-line role more than a first or second-line one. He hasn’t shown the game-breaking, put-his-team-on-his-back mentality that comes with a true first-line NHLer.
Anton Wahlberg has enough skill to combine with his size to make him a dangerous player. Brodie Ziemer impressed during development camp and projects as a dangerous finisher with the right playmaking center. The quartet of Russian forwards are taking different development paths, but are shaping up to be in the same vicinity as prospects.
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Top-Six Defenseman Sabres Prospects
- Maxim Strbak
- Adam Kleber
- Vsevolod Komarov
- Nikita Novikov
- Luke Osburn
Maxim Strbak and Adam Kleber project as complementary right-shot defensemen, which the Sabres could use in the not-too-distant future. Vsevolod Komarov was a points monster in the QMJHL. He could be a play-driving blueliner if his game translates well to the professional level.
Nikita Novikov is poised and took a huge leap in development as a sixth-round selection. He looks destined to reach the NHL in some capacity. Luke Osburn is big and smooth in his transitions, keeping him in the top-six potential tier until we see more from the 2024 fourth-rounder.
Bottom-Six Forward Sabres Prospects
- Ethan Miedema
- Jake Richard
- Lukas Rousek
Ethan Miedema and Jake Richard were two of the most impressive prospects at Sabres development camp. It’s important to remember that a 3-on-3 game against other prospects is not the best situation to judge what a player will be going forward. Still, they both are on a path to the NHL if they continue developing appropriately.
Lukas Rousek got some run in the NHL at the tail-end of last season and showed he’s an okay bottom-six contributor. He’ll give effort and some heady plays, but the difference-making at the NHL level wasn’t there.
Fringe-NHL Prospects
- Gavin McCarthy
- Matteo Costantini
- Scott Ratzlaff
- Tyson Kozak
- Topias Leinonen
- Aaron Huglen
- Tyler Tullio
- Olivier Nadeau
- Vasily Zelenov
- Norwin Panocha
Having as many mid-to-late-round draft picks as the Sabres have had in recent seasons, they have to make some decisions on who to sign and continue developing. Landing in the next two tiers could be the difference in who receives a contract with the Sabres and who doesn’t.
Gavin McCarthy, Matteo Costantini, and Tyson Kozak bring enough that they’ll at least be Rochester mainstays. Scott Ratzlaff and Topias Leinonen are regarded highly enough as goaltending prospects to earn shots as well. Then things get iffy for the remainder of the prospects.
The rest of the fringe guys listed have shown enough to at least raise an eyebrow.
Longshot NHL Hopefuls
- Simon-Pier Brunet
- Patrick Geary
- William von Barnekow
- Joel Ratkovic Berndtsson
- Ryerson Leenders
- Gustav Karlsson
- Sean Keohane
- Linus Sjodin
The rest of the prospects fall into the “longshot” category and will have to show big improvement to catch Buffalo’s attention. Some may latch on in the AHL, but, for the most part, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see any of this tier in a Sabres uniform other than at future development camps.
Overall, without an elite prospect and any top-four defensemen prospects, the Sabres might have an overstated pipeline. There’s still plenty of talent and room for prospects to grow, but the top-of-the-league status is probably too high of a ranking. With the NHL’s youngest team, it doesn’t matter all that much. The Sabres now have to focus on creating a competitive environment for future NHL jobs.
