The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Die By The Blade community. It was a combination of staff writers and over 200 readers that ranked Buffalo Sabres players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2023. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production to rank each player. Staff votes counted equally with reader votes.
Peyton Krebs
Drafted: 2019 – 1st Round (17th Overall-drafted by the Las Vegas Golden Knights)
Position: Center/Wing
Born: Jan. 26, 2001 – 22 years old
2022-23 Stats: Buffalo Sabres – 9 goals, 17 assists, 26 total points in 74 regular season games
2022 T25UT Ranking: 5
Peyton Krebs came to Buffalo with fellow forward Alex Tuch as part of the Jack Eichel trade with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021. Since then, Tuch has overshadowed Krebs, with No. 89 getting 36 goals, 43 assists and 79 total points compared to Krebs’ 9-17-26 record in 2022-23.
However, Krebs has held his own, playing an aggressive, physical style of hockey on the ice. Sion Fawkes of SabreNoise pointed to No. 19’s 93 hits in his first full Sabres season, along with 51 penalty kill minutes last year, as reasons for Krebs to keep evolving into a strong defensive forward.
Despite not scoring as many goals as other Sabres forwards such as Tuch, Thompson or Skinner, Krebs stills knows how to find the back of the net. He’s also skilled at assists, frequently passing the puck and setting up other players.
Krebs’ offensive skills were on display most recently when the 2023-24 pregames started. During Buffalo’s first preseason matchup against the Washington Capitals on Sept. 24, the Sabres were trailing the Caps 2-1 at the start of the third period. Krebs made a wrist shot from the blue line to tie to score at 2.
Peyton Krebs is an RFA at the end of the 2023-23 season. The Sabres will need to decide whether to resign him early, match any offers Krebs gets from other teams or let him go. In the meantime, fans can watch Krebs continue to play his physical game and get some more goals and assists.
2023 Buffalo Sabres Top 25 Under 25 –
#13: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen