The Buffalo Sabres went into the 2020 NHL Draft with six picks in their pocket. They walked out of two long days with five total selections. The Sabres picked four forwards and one defenseman.
They started the draft out with an interesting selection of Jack Quinn at eighth overall. With Cole Perfetti and Marco Rossi on the board still, they seemed like the obvious picks. The Sabres decided to follow their board and went with the scoring winger.
While the initial uproar was a disappointment in letting Rossi pass, the truth of the matter is that the Sabres still selected a potential high-end goal scorer. Quinn fills a need and he’ll be an interesting prospect to follow.
In the second round, they traded up to get German-born winger John-Jason Peterka. He carried a first-round grade from a lot of draft folks and he has a lot of upside. The scoring side of his game isn’t rounded out, but his skating is great. Peterka is relentless on the puck and fans will enjoy watching him.
The final three picks are your long shots that will keep an eye on over the next few years. In the fifth round, they selected Buffalo Jr. Sabres player Matteo Costantini. He’ll play next season in the BCHL.
The two seventh-round picks were defenseman Albert Lyckasen currently playing in Allsvenskan and forward Jakub Konecny out of the Czech Republic.
Kevyn Adams and his staff addressed the needs at forward to get some prospects into the system. We’ll see how they turn out.
Sabres Picks
8 – Jack Quinn | F
34 – John-Jason Peterka | F
131 – Matteo Constantni | F
193 – Albert Lyckasen | D
216 – Jakub Konecny | F
What grade would you give the Sabres on their 2020 NHL Draft picks?
| A | 101 |
| B | 434 |
| C | 312 |
| D | 68 |
| F | 40 |