The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the best 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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#35 – Yevgeni Prokhorov – Goalie (Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruysk – MHL)
The Sabres continued their practice of selecting players with longer development windows, since they do not have to sign them within two years. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, players drafted out of the KHL development system have their rights retained by their NHL club until 27 years old, because there is no transfer agreement between the KHL and NHL.
After watching recent interviews with Dan Milstein @HockeyAgent1 , the agent for many Russian NHL players, I'm amazed by his simple yet brilliant explanation for why Carolina drafts so many Russian players. pic.twitter.com/bvHXJEcbqj
— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) July 28, 2025
With the first of two seventh-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Sabres selected Belarusian goalie Yevgeni Prokhorov. The 18-year-old played 28 games in the junior-level MHL last season for Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruysk, and posted a 2.19 GAA, and .903 save percentage, and went 3-3, with a 1.95 GAA and .943 save percentage in six playoff games.
With Belarus subject to the ban from the IIHF along with Russia due to the war in Ukraine, Prokhorov will not get any international experience like playing in the World Junior, and will likely play in the MHL again next season, but could see some time in the second-level VHL or KHL depending on his performance.
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