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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18. David Bedkowski – Defense (Owen Sound – OHL)
The Sabres have drafted predominantly right-handed defensemen (Radim Mrtka, Daxon Rudolph, Adam Kleber, Simon-Pier Brunet, Maxim Strbak, Gavin McCarthy, and Vsevolod Komarov) in the last five drafts, with the top half of their NHL blueline all left-handers.
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The club continued that practice at the 2025 NHL Draft, selecting Mrtka ninth overall, and after trading their second-round pick to clear Connor Clifton’s contract and acquire righty Conor Timmins, Buffalo selected another righty in David Bedkowski in the third round.
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The 19-year-old played his first two OHL seasons with Oshawa and was traded in his draft year early in the season to the Owen Sound Attack. The 6’5″, 215 lb. defenseman’s skill set is purely physical, as he had only seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 35 games, but compiled 73 penalty minutes. Last season, Bedkowski played the first half as team captain of the Attack, but was traded to the Ottawa 67’s. In 68 games between the two clubs, he posted 29 points (5 goals, 24 assists) and 118 penalty minutes.
Elite Prospects Draft Guide said that it would be an understatement to say Bedkowski has a mean streak. “He punishes. He hurts, retaliates, beats down, knocks, and crushes opponents with open-ice hits and bone-rattling contact along the boards.”
That mean streak is something that most of Buffalo’s blueline have been missing for years, but it will be at least a few years before the Toronto native can bring that physicality to the NHL roster. He has one more year before the Sabres have to make a decision on whether to sign him or not, unless he decides like many CHL products to go the NCAA route.
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