The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Die By The Blade community. 92 readers ranked Buffalo Sabres players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2026. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production to rank each player.
Vsevolod Komarov
Drafted: 2022, BUF (134th overall), 5th round pick
Size: 6’4″, 208 lbs
Position: Defenseman (shoots right)
Born: 1/11/2004 (Age: 22) Chelyabinsk, Russia
2025-2026 stats: GP 55 G 4 A 7 PTS 11, Rochester Americans
2025 T25U25 Ranking: 17th
And just like that we’re back to defensemen.
Vsevolod Komarov has had a couple of years of seasoning with the Amerks without being called up to suit up for the Buffalo Sabres, despite the senior club’s severe shortage of right-handed dmen. That should tell you how patient they are willing to be with the hulking Russian who has been biding his time to get his shot. Buffalo signed Komarov on an entry-level contract in June 2023 sensing his potential, which gives Buffalo this year to decide where exactly he fits on this defensively-loaded roster.
A Sabres fifth-round pick (134th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, the Chelyabinsk-born defenseman played his minor hockey with the Metallurg Magnitogorsk organization before making the switch to Quebec Remparts after being selected in the CHL Import Draft. His first season was focused on being more conscientious of the defensive side of the game, picking up 19 points (2 G, 17 A) in 60 QMJHL games, but the brakes came off the next season with 12 goals and 27 assists, including the game-winning goal for Quebec in the Memorial Cup final.
His dominance in the QMJHL was such that when the new leadership team took over at the Drummondville Voltigeurs, they made trading for Komarov a priority, and the blockbuster trade worked out for them with the defenseman enjoying another stellar season. The Russian dman won his second consecutive QMJHL Championship, picking up the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the QMJHL’s top defenseman and more than compensated for the injury of star forward Maveric Lamoureux, also winning the QMJHL playoffs MVP with another 15 points in 19 games. While he wasn’t able to win back-to-back Memorial Cups, his feat of 14 G and 55 A, and a total of 86 points in 82 games across two teams and the entire season was no mean feat.
Sylvain Favreau, Voltigeurs’ head coach, from The Athletic –
“I think he’s an NHL player. At the NHL level he’s going to be classified as a two-way defenseman but somebody who can escape out of trouble, make a first pass, bring a little bit of offense, and probably one of the best sticks that I’ve seen in my eight years in the Q, and I’ve seen a lot of really good defensemen.”
Sabres’ development coach Nathan Paetsch, also to The Athletic –
“He has elite composure and hockey sense,” Paetsch said. “A lot of young (defensemen), they get the puck and they panic. There’s just no panic to his game, so he can make those tight-area plays in small spaces. A lot of D can’t make those plays at that size. Let’s be honest, we got a steal in the fifth round.”
Komarov didn’t have the best season last year for the Amerks, but few players did. With the constant moving of forwards up the interstate to Buffalo, Rochester endured a difficult season and trades further decimated the roster. The Sabres will be grateful they have one more year to evaluate the dman, and even with the roster additions, he should be on the top pair for the Amerks and quarterbacking at least one of the two power play units.
2026 Buffalo Sabres Top 25 Under 25
#25 Simon-Pier Brunet
#24 Topias Leinonen
#23 Gavin McCarthy
#22 Luke Osburn
#21 Maxim Strbak
#20 David Bedkowksi
#19 Brodie Ziemer
#18 Vsevolod Komarov