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.
Josh Doan
Drafted: 2021 Second Round, #37 overall
Size: 6’2″, 198 lbs
Position: Winger (shoots right)
Born: 2/1/2002 (Age: 24) Scottsdale, AZ
2025-2026 stats: GP82 G25 A27 PTS52, Buffalo Sabres (NHL)
2025 T25U25 Ranking: 8th
This is how we started last year’s T25U25 for Doan –
It’s truly unfortunate that every movement Josh Doan makes is going to be examined under the microscope of the JJ Peterka trade. In case you forgot, the 23-year-old comes to Buffalo along with defenseman Michael Kesselring from Utah Mammoth with the young German forward going the other way. It definitely was a controversial trade that many will say the Sabres got fleeced in, while others maintain that as long as both sides get what they wanted out of it, it’s a fair hockey trade. Only time will tell.
A year later, Kesselring is a distant memory traded away to the Sharks for the Sabres to move up seven spots in the Draft and pick up Ilia Morozov. Meanwhile Doan has been an unqualified success, logging 52 points outscoring Peterka who had 47 points and was then flipped to the Boston Bruins for two first rounders, in 2026 and 2028.
The Son of Doan has become an integral part of the Sabres top six, getting minutes on the right side of the powerplay unit as well. His 17 points with the man advantage was third behind only Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson.
So where does Josh Doan go from here?
Buffalo tried real hard to keep Alex Tuch, and reports indicate they were willing to pay him nearly $10 million a year too, but eventually the Syracuse-native decided he wanted to go to Washington instead. At some point the Sabres decided that Doan was an in-house, more than ready-made replacement for him, especially since the 24-year-old led Buffalo with 2.12 takeaways per 60, while Tuch was at 1.55.
Doan is not afraid to be physical, throwing the body where needed with 3.59 hits/60, but it’s the timing of when he chooses to do so was what was incredible, especially in the Bruins series when it went up to 7.07 hits/60.
Doan signed a seven-year, $48.65 million contract extension in January 2026, which is actually just higher in AAV than the extension Noah Ostlund signed yesterday. For the $6.95 million AAV, the Sabres are certainly getting excellent value for what they have him locked up for, with comparables such as Troy Terry who matched his scoring output in just 51 games, Nazem Kadri who had 50 pts in 77 GP and Anders Lee who got to 42 pts in 82 GP.
He’s quickly become a fan favorite with his work ethic and Doan has shown that he is indeed his father’s son with his no prisoners taken playing style. The Sabres certainly got a gem of a hockey player in Josh Doan.
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
#17 Ashton Schultz
#16 Riley Fiddler-Schultz
#15 Prokhor Poltapov
#14 Ryan Johnson
#13 Ilia Morozov
#12 Adam Kleber
#11 Tyson Kozak
#10 Olen Zellweger
#9 Daxon Rudolph
#8 Radim Mrtka
#7 Jack Quinn
#6 Jiri Kulich
#5 Noah Ostlund
#4 Konsta Helenius
#3 Josh Doan