Buffalo Sabres Draft Steal #4

It gets closer by the day and today we have another double dip because I was unavailable yesterday to write anything...but the golf was good wasn't it?  Anyway today we take a look at a player who never really made it as a Buffalo Sabre but he has had a tremendous NHL career and he has won a Stanley Cup.

Sean O'Donnell- 1991 (6th round, #123 overall)

O'Donnell was drafted by the Sabres in 1991 while he was a member of the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.  He played three seasons with the Rochester Americans of the merican Hockey League before the Sabres shipped him off in a BLOCKBUSTER deal (bold for sarcastic emphasis).  The Sabres traded him to the Los Angeles Kings on July 26, 1994 for another defensive player, Doug Houda.

O'Donnell has made many stops along the way but his NHL career has lasted 14 years and is still going.  He has played for six NHL teams (seven organizations including Buffalo) and he won a Stanley Cup in 2006-2007 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks.  He also played deep into the playoffs with the New Jersey Devils in 2000-2001 after being traded by Minnesota at the trade deadline for Willie Mitchell.  The Devils lost the Stanley Cup in seven games to the Colorado Avalanche that season.

It can easily be said that he was the one that got away but quite honestly the Sabres had no idea he would be as good as he is.  He is the type of player that any winning team wants because he brings toughness to the defense and he is solid in front of his own net.  He is not a superstar type player but he is effective at what he does.