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The 32-in-32 Series is an annual event here at DobberProspects and has been condensed from two articles to one. The article will bring you: The highlighted team’s draft; insights into its off-season moves; looking at prospect risers, fallers and likely prospects to play NHL games; and of course, the writers’ top-20 prospects. Articles may be brought back when an important team update occurs, so check back because we plan to fill your hockey withdrawal needs all off-season!

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Make sure to check out the Buffalo Sabres team page here: https://dobberprospects.com/team/buffalo-sabres/

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With 79 points, the Sabres finished the year in the no fun zone, not bad enough to get a top pick and not good enough to be in a playoff race. After an off-season that saw limited free agent moves and a lack of star talent up-front outside of Tage Thompson, the Sabres project to be staying put in the no fun zone. While their peers in the rebuild game; Ottawa, Montreal and Detroit all took steps last season to make the playoffs, or in Detroit’s case, compete playoff spots, they’ll be hungry to do the same again next season. As for this year, unless there are some drastic moves up Kevyn Adams sleeves, this writer believes that the Sabres are set to finish near the bottom of the Atlantic Division again. 

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NHL Draft Recap

First Round, 9th overall, Radim Mrtka, D (WHL) 

After making the move from the Czech league to the WHL, Mrtka showed he can play the North American game with ease. Size, skating, physicality, and smarts the ninth overall pick for the Sabres has a nice package of tools needed for the pro game. The towering, 6-6, 207 lbs defenseman excels at breaking up plays in the defensive zone using a good stick and physicality. He gets the puck of his stick in a hurry, making the right play to get out of the defensive zone. On the offensive end of the ice, his shot isn’t his biggest weapon, but he is a very smart pass first defenseman. The 18-year-old projects to be a top pair defenseman Sabres in the future. He could be a perfect complementary piece to an Owen Power, or Rasmus Dahlin in the future. 

24/25 Stats, Seattle: GP: 43 | G: 3 | A: 32 | P: 35 | PPG: 0.8 |  

Third Round, 71^st overall, David Bedkowski, D (OHL)

With their second-round pick, the Sabres took another hulking defenseman, this time from the OHL. In Bedkowski, the Sabres get an extremely physical, tough to play against, 6-5, 215 lbs rearguard. After being traded from the Oshawa Generals two games into the season, he took on a leadership role with the Owen Sound Attack. He is a nightmare for any forward in front of the net. He’s good at breaking up plays along the boards and in open ice he throws bone crushing hits. All signs with the Toronto native points to third pairing, shutdown defenseman in the NHL. 

24/25 Stats, Owen Sound/Oshawa: GP: 35 | G: 3 | A: 4 | P: 7 | PPG: 0.2 

Fourth Round, 103rd overall Matous Kucharcik, C (Czech U20) 

Spent the season in Czechia, playing for both the U20 and in the second league. Big two-way centre, lots of time needed to develop his skating and physicality. 

24/25 Stats, HC Slavia Praha: GP: 20 | G: 6 | A: 10 | P: 16 | PPG: 0.6  

Fourth Round, 116th overall, Samuel Meloche, G (QMJHL) 

The 12^th goalie taken in the draft, Meloche stands 6-2 and moves very well in the crease. He had a good season for Rouyn, with a record of 30-14-6, he posted a 2.90 GAA and a 0.900 save percentage.  

24/25 Stats, Rouyn-Noranda: GP: 51 | W: 30 | L: 14 | OTL: 6  | GAA: 2.90 | SV Pct : 0.900 | 

Fifth Round, 135th overall, Noah Laberge, D (QMJHL)

Buffalo’s third defenseman taken in this draft, Laberge is a very cerebral defenseman. He breaks plays up in the defensive zone with his stick and smart positioning. While he didn’t put up crazy numbers, he shows potential on the offensive end of the ice as well. With 12 goals and 23 assists he’s an excellent passer, who will jump into the play when needed. 

24/25 Stats, Acadia-Bathurst: GP: 63 | G: 12 | A: 23 | P: 35 | PPG: 0.6 

Sixth Round, 167th overall, Ashton Schultz, C (USHL)

Smooth skating, skilled centre, put up 39 points in 57 games for the Chicago Steel. He has a good shot and is always looking to set up a teammate in the slot. 

24/25 Stats, Chicago: GP: 57 | G: 14 | A: 25 | P: 39 | PPG: 0.7  

Seventh Round , 195^th overall, Melvin Novotny, LW (SWE Jr)

The first of three seventh round picks for the Sabres. He has decent offensive upside, he’s a good skater, has excellent vision and a good shot. The 6-1 left winger had 12 goals and 26 assists in the Swedish junior league this year. 

24/25 Stats, Leksands IF Jr: GP: 41 | G: 12 | A: 26 | P: 38 | PPG: 0.9 

Seventh Round, 199^th overall, Evgeny Prokhorov, G (MHL)

Buffalo’s second goalie taken in the draft, the 6-2 Belarusian had a 2.19 GAA and a 0.903 save percentage this year in MHL. 

24/25 Stats, Babruysk: GP 28 | W: 16 | L: 7 | T : 3 | GAA : 2.19 | SV Pct: 0.903 

Seventh Round, 219^th overall, Ryan Rucinksi, C (USHL) 

With the Sabre’s last pick in the draft, they took the skilled centre from Ohio. The 5-10 centre for Youngstown had 19 goals and 23 assists this year in 49 games played. He’s slightly undersized but doesn’t quit on any play, and isn’t afraid of going to the hard areas of the ice.  

24/25 Stats, Youngstown: GP: 49 | G: 19 | A: 23 | P: 42 | PPG: 0.9 

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Off-Season Moves

Incoming: (Remaining Years, AAV) 

• Alex Lyon – 3 years, $1.5 Million
• Justin Danforth – 2 years, $1.8 Million
• Josh Doan – 1 year, $925K 
• Michael Kesselring – 1 year, $1.4 Million 
• Isaac Belliveau – 1 year, $875K 

Outgoing

• Jacob Bernard-Docker 
• Erik Brannstrom 
• Kale Clague  

Re-signed 

• Bowen Byram – 2 years $6.25 Million
• Jack Quinn – 2 years $3.375 Million
• Ryan McLeod – 4 years $5.0 Million
• Ryan Johnson – 3 years, $775K
• Tyson Kozak – 3 years $775K 

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Risers 

Isak Rosen, RW

Rosen had an eight-game stint with the Sabres, where he struggled offensively for the big club recording only one assist in that span. In the AHL, however, he picked up from where he left off last year. With 28 goals in 61 games, Rosen showed he could be relied upon to fill the net for the Americans. The 22-year-old should expect to see more opportunity with the Sabres this coming campaign, he will need to take advantage of that opportunity this year to show he can start to produce at the NHL level. 

Konsta Helenius, C

The Sabres first rounder in 2024 made the jump over to North America playing for the Americans. He showed he is well suited for the North American game, he is a high IQ centre, can play in the dirty areas and is great on the defensive side of the puck. He had 35 points in 65 games in Rochester, during the playoffs his production didn’t drop off, putting up six points in eight games. He should build of this past season with another year in the AHL developing his game but could see some time in Buffalo.  

Noah Oslund, C 

Ostlund got off to a slow start in his first full season in the AHL, with only two points in his first 14 games. During that stretch he missed two months with an upper body injury. It wasn’t until the middle of January that things turned around for the Swede, in his final 31 games he put up 32 points with 18 goals and 16 assists in that stretch. The skill set is very exciting, he has a great release and can score from the outside with a quick snapshot. His vision is excellent as well, he processes the play quickly, making the right play in tight spaces and under pressure.  The 5-11, 175 lbs centre will need to continue to work on his game in the AHL, adding muscle and playing more physical will be the next steps to get ready for the NHL game.    

Jake Richard, LW/RW

The sophomore winger had a breakout season for UConn. After putting up 18 points in 36 games last year as a freshman, he more than doubled his production scoring 15 goals and adding 28 assists in 34 games. In his second season he saw first line minutes and top powerplay deployment, taking full advantage of the opportunity. 

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Fallers

Devon Levi, G

Levi was solid in the AHL this past season. He posted a 0.919 SV% and a 2.20 GAA, while going 25-13-4 for the Americans. The reason the 23-year-old ended up on the fallers list is his NHL numbers. Playing for Buffalo doesn’t help the stats out by any means, but the former Team Canada netminder at the 2021 World Jr’s has struggled season over season at the NHL level. The Quebec Native is still widely considered a top prospect for the Sabres, but with the signing of Alex Lyon, Levi’s going to have to show he can compete for a back-up position in Buffalo.    

Aleksander Kisakov, LW 

Buffalo’s second round pick in 2021, struggled to stay in the lineup with the Americans all year. Inconsistent play in the hard areas of the ice, saw the Russian winger scratched for several long stretches of the campaign. He managed just four points in 13 games. He can show so much skill at times, he skates like the wind and can finish with ease. At this point however, he hasn’t received a qualifying offer from the Sabres and his time in the organization may be coming to an end.  

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Likely to See NHL Action 

Devon Levi

Isak Rosen

Konsta Helenius

Noah Ostlund

Anton Wahlberg

Ryan Johnson 

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Top 20 Fantasy Prospects

This section is intended to paint a picture of the Buffalo prospects whose current trajectory projects them to make the most positive fantasy impact at the time that they reach the NHL. Arrival date and NHL certainty have been taken into consideration; however, potential upside is the most important factor in determining this list.

1. Radim Mrtka 
2. Isak Rosen
3. Konsta Helenius 
4. Noah Ostlund 
5. Devon Levi
6. Anton Wahlberg 
7.  Nikita Novikov
8. Brodie Ziemer
9. Ryan Johnson
10. Vsevolod Komarov
11.  Adam Kleber
12. Topais Leinnonen
13. Viljami Marjala
14. Maxim Strbak
15. Viktor Neuchev
16. Luke Osburn 
17. Jake Richard
18. Stiven Sardarian
19. Ryerson Leenders
20. Prokhor Poltapov

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Final Thoughts

A team that’s been in turmoil season over season, toiling away in a rebuild off a rebuild, the Sabres are sporting the NHL’s longest active playoff drought at 14 years and counting. All signs point to another season missing the playoffs, in the slow burn of another rebuild. The Sabres strength is clearly their defense, and drafting Mrtka, 9^th overall this summer only adds to that stockpile of riches on the back end. Where they are lacking, is the game breakers up front, the star on the centre or winger who can take over games. There doesn’t appear to be any clear-cut stars in the prospect cupboards, but they do have several solid playmakers who have the potential to contribute offensively at the NHL level. The development of Rosen, Ostlund and Helenius this year are crucial to see if the three former first round picks can start to make a serious jump towards playing in the NHL.  

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Make sure to check out the Buffalo Sabres team page here: https://dobberprospects.com/team/buffalo-sabres/

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Andrew Barrett