BUFFALO, N.Y. — It really is unbelievable how much young talent Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has put together in such a short time.
Thanks to other GMs, Adams only had five picks in his first draft, but he still landed Jack Quinn and traded up to get JJ Peterka in the first two rounds.
In his next two drafts, Adams had 22 picks, including five in the first round.
From 2010 on, the Sabres got pretty much nothing after the first two rounds of the drafts, and in many cases only the first round pick came through. You just can’t build a team if you’re whiffing on all your lower-round picks.
The only pick to play any games in the NHL from the Sabres' 2010 class was first-round pick Mark Pysyk. In 2011, Joel Armia is the only pick to make it, but he’s a very useful bottom line player.
The next season, it’s just sixth-round pick Linus Ullmark, who made it after the second round. In 2013, it’s just fifth-round pick Cal Petersen. In 2014, Buffalo hit on one late pick, and that was seventh-rounder Victor Olofsson, with 2015 being a total late-round bust.
The tide started to turn in 2016. That produced third rounder Casey Fitzgerald, fourth-rounder Brett Murray, and sixth-rounder Brandon Hagel.
The 2017 draft is promising with Jacob Bryson, Oskari Laaksonen and Linus Weissbach. 2018 looks grim for the late rounds, but from 2019, Erik Portillo, Aaron Huglen, Filip Cederqvist and Lukas Rousek have all excelled in their development.
Rousek looked so good in the playoffs with the Rochester Americans. The sixth-round pick missed most of the season with a knee injury, and he scored two goals and four assists for six points in 10 games and limited action. He got two more in Saturday’s games, and I think he is a bona-fide prospect.
Watching this week, things look very bright for 2021 third-round picks Alek Kisakov and Josh Bloom, fourth-round pick Olivier Nadeau, and seventh-round pick Tyson Kozak.
Portillo and Devon Levi showed why Adams doesn’t want to sign a goalie for more than two years. From the start of camp right through the tournament, those two put on a show.
It was the first time we’ve gotten to see them live, and there was quite a bit of the ‘wow’ factor. The two of them had two shutouts in the two games they played against each other, which went to a shootout tied at zero. Portillo helped Team Perreault win the tournament, stopping 30 of 32 shots.
Both goalies are headed back to college, but I can tell you Levi is not doing it to become an unrestricted free agent in two years. He will sign with the Sabres eventually. Portillo sidestepped that question when I asked him, so Adams may have to trade him before next summer if he decides he wants to leave.
Ryan Johnson was the first-round pick Buffalo acquired from the St. Louis Blues for Ryan O’Reilly. Johnson moves very well and has quick hands and quick feet to avoid the first forechecker. He was here to meet the young players and give the organization a try.
When I asked him about being a UFA next summer, he said he loves the Sabres organization and his goal is to sign. That could happen next week because when we spoke to him on Wednesday, he was very much torn about his decision. He also said he's leaning towards going back to Minnesota for his senior year.
Adams has already signed all three first-round picks from last week’s draft in Montreal. Jiri Kulich looked so good this week it made many of us wonder why he was still on the board at No. 28.
Adams resisted overpaying for free agents this week because he knows 80 to 90 percent of those contracts are regretted in three years. He believes in the young talent he’s putting together and I can’t argue with him after watching Development Camp.
Now we must see who is willing to put the work in to maximize their development.