The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, and the organization’s developmental model has begun to yield results, with 2023 first rounder Zach Benson making an impact in the playoffs, and 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius appearing as one of the AHL’s top prospects the last two seasons.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club’s top 40 prospects. These players are all 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 82 NHL games.
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19. Simon-Pier Brunet – Defense (Victoriaville – QMJHL)
Brunet was the Sabres fourth-round pick at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. A junior teammate of Rochester Americans defenseman Vsevolod Komarov, the 6’2″ 205 lb. defenseman has not shown much of an offensive side thus far in his junior career in the normally high-scoring QMJHL.
In four seasons in the Q, the defensive-minded Brunet has 77 points (15 goals, 62 assists) in 218 career games. He served as team captain of the Victoriaville Tigres last season, and posted 26 points (2 goals, 24 assists) along with 61 penalty minutes,
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Elite Prospects Draft Guide described the right-handed Brunet as someone who “motors up and down the ice with a sound skating posture for a player of his 6-foot-2 size. With his skating and reach, he denies space from the opposition, closes on them in transition, and guards the front of the net. Attackers can’t go through him. He walls them off from high-danger areas.”
Normally, the Sabres would have had to sign the 20-year-old by June to avoid losing his exclusive rights, but the new CBA allows them to retain his rights if he goes to the NCAA. This fall, Brunet will play for Merrimack College in Massachusetts.
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