Later this month, Kevyn Adams will be involved in his sixth NHL Draft as Buffalo Sabres GM. In that time, the club has made 43 selections and have been operating under a model of drafting and developing prospects, but their failure of making the postseason during Adams tenure and for 14 straight seasons can be directly connected to their failure of recognizing talent and developing NHL players.
Adams has had some success with first rounders Jack Quinn, Owen Power, Jiri Kulich, and Zach Benson, other first rounders (Isak Rosen, Noah Ostlund, Konsta Helenius and Matthew Savoie – now with Edmonton), have not as of yet established themselves in the NHL. Many teams are able to find contributors in the later rounds, but that has not been the case with Buffalo.
Only JJ Peterka (selected at the top of the second round in 2020) has been a productive NHLer, the other five second-rounders have not played one game in the league. The record is even more stunning when it comes to rounds three through seven. Of the 29 picks over five drafts, only 2021 seventh-rounder Tyson Kozak has made it to the NHL, playing 21 games for the Sabres this season.
Other Sabres Stories
Is Peterka In Prime Position For Big Payday?
Sabres Summer Dilemmas – Bowen Byram
Sabres Facing An Off-Season Of Change
Here is a quick update on Buffalo Sabres selected in 2024:
Simon-Pierre Brunet – D – 123rd overall
Brunet was one of four blueliners selected by the Sabres at the draft in Las Vegas and played with prospect Vsevolod Komarov, winning a Memorial Cup with Drummondville in the QMJHL in 2024. In 60 games with the Voltigeurs this season, the 19-year-old doubled his offensive totals, with 32 points (8 goals, 24 assists) in 60 games.
Patrick Geary – D – 172nd overall
Geary was selected by the Sabres in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. The Hamburg, NY native played his amateur hockey for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres and two seasons for Waterloo of the USHL before heading to Michigan State, where he is teammates with ’24 second-rounder Maxim Strbak.
The 21-year-old played mostly a shutdown defensive role and had 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 32 games in his freshman year. This season, he finished with seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) in 37 games.
Vasily Zelenov – RW – 204th overall
The Moscow-born winger has been playing at various lower-level youth leagues in Austria since 2021 and posted an impressive 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 40 games for the Salzburg RB Hockey Juniors last season. This season, he shifted to the USHL and had 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 54 games for Green Bay. According to Elite Prospects, the 19-year-old has committed to the University of Wisconsin Badgers, where he could be teammates with fellow 2024 Sabres draftee Luke Osburn.
Ryerson Leenders – G – 219th overall
A slightly above-average goalie at 6’2”, 179 lb., the 18-year-old has played two seasons for the OHL’s Mississauga (now the Brantford Bulldogs), splitting duties in 2022-23 as a 16-year-old and serving as the primary starter last season, going 24-17-4, with a 3.12 GAA, and .909 save % last season. This season, Leenders has become the primary starter for the Bulldogs and finished the regular season with a 31-14-3 record, 3.11 GAA, and .910 save %.
Brantford was the top seed in the OHL’s Eastern Conference Playoffs and eliminated North Bay five games, before falling to Oshawa in the second round.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo
Read the full article here
