BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams spoke with the media ahead of the team's three first-round picks in the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal, starting on Thursday night.
Adams wasn't afraid to admit he doesn't know how the Sabres picks -- at Nos. 9, 16 and 28 -- could possibly fall.
"You can sit there and look at the board and do a mock draft and predict, and you just don't know," Adams said.
But just like every other team, the Sabres and their staff have been doing their homework.
"I'm excited to get the next group of Sabres players and reward the scouts for their hard work," Adams said.
"We have to evaluate hockey players. We have to do ... the analytics and the data ... but we have to pay attention. ... If we are in a position where we feel there's great value, we have to look into it."
Even Sabres coach Don Granato can't help but get himself involved.
"It's not his job, but Donny loves it so much. ... I think he's paying attention," Adams laughed about his head coach watching film on prospects.
Since Adams was named the Sabres general manager two years ago, he's made a point to focus on culture first. He approaches the draft-scouting process the same way.
"You be up front. You talk about what you see in them as a player, how you see them progressing, what you think they maybe need to improve on," Adams said.
"You ask them questions. 'What do you think about your game? What do you think about the Sabres organization?' You start to get a feel for, 'Is this player going to be a Sabre?' and there's times maybe you feel that it doesn't work, but I do really believe if you start things off in an honest way, it doesn't always have to be perfect."
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