BUFFALO, N.Y. — What can the Buffalo Sabres expect with the 13th overall pick Wednesday at the NHL Draft? It’s a pick that has netted Buffalo players like Drew Stafford, Philippe Boucher and Zack Kassian. Buffalo also took players that were total busts at 13 including Marek Zagrapan in 2005.
Over the years, the 13th overall pick has produced some good NHL players, but not much you’d get super excited over. In my estimation, Ron Duguay of the New York Rangers is the best 13th overall pick. The Hartford Whalers took J.S. Giguere in 1995 and the Boston Bruins selected Craig Janney in 1986.
Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets had a breakout season this year and he was taken in that slot in 2013. Other players recently that went 13th are Nick Suzuki, Lars Eller, Spencer Knight and Jakub Vrana.
There are some people that think there won’t be a defenseman picked on Wednesday until 15th or later. I can almost guarantee that won’t happen because if David Reinbacher is available to the Sabres, which I don’t think he will be, I’d be shocked if they didn’t take him.
In my mind Reinbacher is the best defenseman in this draft. The Austrian is 6-2, 185 and shoots right. This is a kid that skates well and has no trouble getting the puck out of his own end quickly. I’ve read that many scouts project him as a second pair guy.
I can tell you this, when you’re drafting 18-year-olds, it really is the old cliché, best player available.
This is Kevyn Adams fourth draft and you really can’t evaluate the drafts yet. In 2020 he only had five picks. Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka were one and two. Many criticized Adams for taking the winger leaving Marco Rossi and Cole Perfetti on the board, but Quinn looks like a guy that could score 30 goals in the NHL. Adams moved up four spots to take Peterka and he was just voted the best forward at the World Championship leading Team Germany. Fifth round pick Matteo Costantini from the Buffalo Junior Sabres only had two goals and three points in 25 games for North Dakota.
In the last two drafts, Adams took Owen Power, Isak Rosen, Matt Savoie, Noah Ostlund and Jiri Kulich in the first round alone. Adams has never traded away a first round pick, but he told me that it’s not a thing. He said he’d rather make the selection, but if a trade came along that would make this team stronger, he’d definitely trade the pick. It’s just not something he’s looking to do.
The team also made a shift to drafting Russians selecting six of them. Not only have they taken them, but they’ve been able to sign Viktor Neuchev, Nikita Novikov, Vsevolod Komarov and Aleksandr Kisakov.
The Sabres are very excited about 2021 second-round pick Prokhor Poltapov. The 33rd overall pick has good skill and seems to fit what the Sabres are trying to build. With his contract in the KHL, he may have to stay there through the 2024-25 season.
It didn’t take long for Buffalo to go from four young prospects in goal to one. Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen are up with the Sabres and Erik Portillo wasn’t going to sign here because of that, so he got traded to the Los Angeles Kings. That leaves only last year’s second round pick, Topias Leinonen as the only goalie in the pipeline. With that in mind, I think there’s a good chance the Sabres take a goalie in this draft.
We’ll have to see how much trading there is at the draft. Adams has said many times that some trades that are made now, originated months ago. We know the Sabres GM is looking for a top four defenseman. I’m not convinced that he’s actively looking to trade for a goaltender.
I think Adams is happy with his forwards. They were around the league lead in goal scoring for most of last season, plus I think Adams feels he addressed the size and grit issue by acquiring Jordan Greenway from the Minnesota Wild. In order for that to be true, Don Granato is going to have to get a lot more out of him, but he believes he can. I think Adams overpaid for Greenway, sending second and a fifth round picks to the Wild, but if he reaches his potential, it will have been worth it.
I’ll be live in Nashville and of course will be joining Lindsey Moppert throughout Wednesday and Thursday with all the picks and trades that come down.