The Buffalo Sabres will host the annual NHL Draft Combine this week, with the 2025 NHL Decentralized Draft in Los Angeles late this month. Buffalo will select ninth overall if they do not trade the pick, but between now and the night of the first round. Draft prognosticators have begun to decipher what teams will select and how the draft will unfold, and according to the Athletic’s most recent mock draft, the Sabres are projected to select OHL defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson with their pick.
The 18-year-old blueliner had a breakout offensive year with the Barrie Colts, jumping from eight goals last season to 26 goals, finishing behind only 2024 first rounders Zayne Parekh and Sam Dickinson among OHL defenseman. Aitcheson led the Colts with 59 points and scored 12 points in the OHL playoffs.
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Corey Pronman indicated that Aitcheson was the second ranked blueliner on The Athletic’s draft list next to presumptive top overall selection Matthew Schaefer, and that the 6’2”. 196 lb. defenseman “brings a combination of tenacity, skill and athleticism to the blue line and will help us at both ends of the ice on top of making our team harder to play against”.
While the possibility of taking a blueliner is good, the Sabres might be hesitant to take a offensive lefty such as Aitcheson with both Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power locked up on long-term deals and aged 25 or younger. Buffalo’s blueline organizational depth is thin on the right side, with 21-year-old Vsevolod Komarov in Rochester, and 2023 second-rounder Maxim Strbak and 2024 second-rounder Adam Kleber in the NCAA.
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