The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Die By The Blade community. 117 readers ranked Buffalo Sabres players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2025. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production to rank each player.
Maxim Strbak
Drafted: 2023, (45th overall), 2nd round, 13th pick
Position: Defenseman (RHD)
Born: 4/13/2005 (Age: 20) Košice, Slovakia
2024-2025 stats: GP 33, G 3, A 16, PTS 19, +6
2024 T25U25 Ranking: Strbak was ranked 23rd last year
After an impressive showing at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships, where he was named one of Slovakia’s top three players, Maxim Strbak had another strong season as a sophomore at Michigan State University. He was an integral part of the Spartans side that clinched a second consecutive Big 10 championship, scoring 19 points which was an improvement over his freshman numbers of 9 pts.
Strbak has been making a name for himself filling out his 6’2″ frame at a hefty 203lbs, and is turning out to be a more stay-at-home style of defenseman which works out well for the Sabres who have been short in right handed dmen leading up to this season’s draft. Strbak impressively speaks five languages and while he had some initial challenges settling in during his rookier season at the Spartans, has quickly made himself at home in the US after spending the 2022-23 season at Sioux Falls and four seasons in Finland’s youth leagues before that.
The 20-year-old had another solid campaign at the World Junior Championships in Ottawa this last December where he was handed the added responsibility of wearing the alternate captain “A” on his jersey. He ended up with 1G and 5A in five games, and grabbed the overtime winner in a key game against Kazakhstan to hop above their opponents in the group table (check out that celly!).
Strbak might have been hoping to get signed to a pro contract this summer, but Buffalo ended up deciding to keep him at the Spartans for his junior year at least. Last season he played alongside his fellow Sabre Patrick Geary, who was a 2024 sixth-round pick and a Junior Sabres product drafted by his hometown team.
The two have built a strong relationship together, with Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale commenting:
“You want to have some chemistry there, and not that they’re always living together, but they seem to hang out together and I think they complement each other well. They’re both smart players, both competitive players. Their communication on the ice is good. So, I think that’s a bonus for us that they really do enjoy playing together.”
2025 Buffalo Sabres Top 25 Under 25
#25: Scott Ratzlaff
#24: Topias Leinonen
#23: Zac Jones
#22: Viktor Neuchev
#21: Prokhor Poltapov
#20: Adam Kleber
#19: Brodie Ziemer