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, but the organization’s developmental model has not yielded enough results.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. All are 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 40 NHL games.
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#22 – Simon-Pier Brunet – D (Drummondville – QMJHL)
Brunet was the Sabres fourth-round pick at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. A teammate of Buffalo blueline prospect Vsevolod Komarov, the 6’2” 196 lb. defenseman had not shown much of an offensive side in the first two years of his junior career, posting just 17 points in 99 games before being drafted, but last season the 19-year-old posted 32 points (8 goals, 24 assists) in 60 games with Drummondville of the QMJHL.
Brunet does have the size and skating ability that could have develop into a matchup shutdown defender down the line. In June, the 6’2”, 196 blueliner was dealt by the Voltigeurs to Victoriaville, where he will play next season, but reports indicate that after next season he will head to the NCAA to play at Merrimack College.
The Sabres obviously recognize the organizational need for right-handed blueliners with their top four defenders in Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Bowen Byram, and Owen Power all left-handed, that is why they have drafted predominantly righties (Radim Mrtka, David Bedkowski, Adam Kleber, Brunet, Maxim Strbak, Gavin McCarthy, and Komarov) in the last four drafts.
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