Hello, my fellow
DBTB’ers! Welcome to another Draft
season. And after the last couple of
Kevyn Adams drafts, the Sabres’ pipeline is looking remarkably deep, talented,
and balanced…perhaps more so than in any period in their history. Is this the year they move some of those
draft picks to add a player for a stretch run into the playoffs? Maybe.
Right now, they only have 6 selections in the 2024 NHL Draft – they’re
missing their 5th rounder, which I believe they gave up for Riley
Stillman. But they already have 9
choices in the 2025 Draft and in recent years, teams have been dipping into their
draft picks from the out years. So they
have a bunch of picks and prospects that they could use if the right player
came along. Beyond that, your guess is
as good as mine what happens!
Let’s turn to the
2024 Draft. This is a solid draft, but
I’m not dazzled by it like last year’s group.
There’s some good talent at the top, but no one who’s a surefire
franchise player. And it’s not super
deep either. It was tough trying to fill
out a full 1st round with what I know at this moment. One thing it does have on last year’s draft:
there are more, and more varied, talented blueliners toward the top of this
year’s group. Several guys with good
size, good mobility, some are defense-only, others are puck wizards who can
make plays up the ice, there are thumpers and players who can evade
contact. So if you’re in the market for
a D-Man, you should be able to find at least one in this bunch. One other item of note: this is a remarkably
good year for the USHL. It’s possible 3
of the Top 5 players chosen will be ostensibly from the USHL (Eiserman plays
for the National Team Program, but it is housed within the USHL). It wouldn’t be crazy to suggest that almost
one-third of the 1st round could be from the USHL. That’s amazing, considering it’s not expected
to be a great year for the US NTDP. This
also appears to be a very thin year for centers and goaltenders, especially the
latter. We may not see a goalie chosen
until the 3rd round at this rate.
Obviously, a lot can change over the course of a season. But right now, with limited views, no one
jumps out at me.
We’ve already got
one tournament in the books. The Hlinka Tournament
took place a couple months back, with Canada narrowly winning the Gold Medal in
overtime over a suddenly very dangerous Czech team (silver at last year’s Word
Juniors, silver at the Hlinka, played in the Bronze medal game at the
U-18s). The surprising Americans
triumphed over Finland for the Bronze. A
list of standouts I noticed from the tournament included: fabulous performances
from Berkly Catton and Maxim Masse for the victorious Canadians, Trevor
Connolly and JJ Montiero from the USA, Jakub Fibigr, Adam Titlbach and Adam
Jecho for the Czechs, Tomas Suoniemi was dynamic for the Finns, Melvin
Fernstrom and Leo Wallenius for the Swedes, and Rio Kaiser for the Germans (a
kid who isn’t eligible until next year’s Draft!). Interestingly, this is the tournament the US
does not bring the US National Team but relies on a ragtag bunch of guys from
the USHL, US high schools, and the occasional American-born CHL player to
represent the Stars and Stripes. And of
course, Russia remains banned from all international tournaments thanks to the
ongoing conflict in the Ukraine. Thus,
it’s not a full slate of likely NHL draft picks, or ‘best on best’ as people
like to say, but there are a number of players who get their first time in the
spotlight on the international stage…so always a fun tournament to watch.
As for our beloved
Sabres, their prospect pool is so deep and balanced, they can truly swing for
the fences when they select. An actual
Best-Player-Available strategy makes sense.
Defender, center, wing…could be any of those. It will be interesting to see what they do…or
if they even have a 1st rounder when we do get to Draft Day.
Traditionally, I
take the Vegas odds for the Stanley Cup at the time of this typing and use that
to arrange the Draft order. So I’m not
making a statement or anything with the order of selection…don’t yell at me
about where I have certain teams! Just
making it easier for me. Enjoy!
ROUND ONE:
#1: ARIZONA: Cole Eiserman, 6’0 RW, US NTDP
#2: SAN JOSE: Artyom Levshunov, 6’2 RHD, USHL
#3: ANAHEIM: Berkly Catton, 5’11 C/LW, WHL
#4: MONTREAL: Macklin Celebrini, 5’11 C, USHL
#5: PHILADELPHIA: Sam Dickinson, 6’3 LHD, OHL
#6: CHICAGO: Ivan Demidov, 5’11 RW, RUS
#7: COLUMBUS: Yegor Surin, 5’11 C/W, RUS
#8: ST LOUIS: Maxim Masse, 6’1 LW, QMJHL
#9: WASHINGTON: Karl Sterner, 6’3 RW, SWE
#10: NASHVILLE: Michael Hage, 6’1 C, USHL
#11: DETROIT: Konsta Helenius, 5’9 RW, FIN
#12: WINNIPEG: Henry Mews, 6’0 RHD, OHL
#13: VANCOUVER: Tanner Howe, 5’10 RW, WHL
#14: NY ISLANDERS: Adam Jiricek, 6’1 RHD, CZE
#15: OTTAWA: Cole Hutson, 5’9 LHD, US NTDP
#16: SEATTLE: Igor Chernyshov, 6’2 LW, RUS
#17: CALGARY: Tomas Lavoie, 6’3 RHD,
QMJHL
#18: BUFFALO: Sasha Boisvert, 6’2 C, USHL
#19: PITTSBURGH: Will Skahan, 6’4 LHD, US NTDP
#20: MINNESOTA: Aron Kiviharju, 5’10 LHD, FIN
#21: BOSTON: Michael Braddsegg-Nygard, 6’1 RW, SWE
#22: LOS ANGELES: Adam Jecho, 6’3 RW, FIN
#23: TAMPA BAY: Dominik Badinka, 6’2 RHD, FIN
#24: DALLAS: Zeev Buium, 6’0 LHD, US NTDP
#25: NY RANGERS: Zayne Parekh, 6’0 RHD, OHL
#26: FLORIDA: Linus Eriksson, 6’0 C, SWE
#27: VEGAS: Carter Yakemchuk, 6’2 RHD, WHL
#28: NEW JERSEY: Trevor Connolly, 6’1 LW, USHL
#29: EDMONTON: Jakub Chromiak, 5’11 LHD, OHL
#30: TORONTO: Tory Pitner, 6’1 RHD, USHL
#31: CAROLINA: Beckett Sennecke, 6’2 RW, OHL
#32: COLORADO: Cayden Lindstrom, 6’5 C, WHL
Sabres’ Haul:
1#18: Sacha Boisvert, 6’2 C, USHL: A highly mobile, playmaking power center in
the Dylan Cozens mold. While he doesn’t
have the same kind of explosive first couple steps as Cozens, Boisvert can
definitely skate. He’s quick, agile, and
has light feet. Strong lateral movement. Has a nice change-of-pace to his game that
keeps defenders off-balance and opens up space for him to survey the ice. Excellent speed once he gets going. Able to handle the puck, assess the
situation, and make plays at top speed. Likes
to take the puck outside-in, getting inside defenders and breaking down structure
before making the pass to a teammate for a prime chance. Can slalom through the Neutral Zone, leaving
defenders in his wake and creating odd-man rushes single-handedly. When he isn’t playing a transition game,
Boisvert can rifle a nasty wrister with very little time needed to load up his
stick. Heavy slapper that he likes to
catch-and-shoot with, he’s got a mean one-timer that he can unleash with a lot
of velocity – again, not unlike Cozens.
Where he’s better than Cozens at the same age is his playmaking. Boisvert possesses a pair of excellent
hands. Able to handle bouncing pucks and
passes in his skates better than most, thanks to those hands. He loves to dance around defenders and dangle
them just enough to make them look bad.
While a shoot-first guy, Boisvert’s a solid puck distributor and a
dynamic playmaker. He’s also very
long. Long-limbed with a slightly longer
stick than average, he’s a dangerous forechecker who uses his quick feet and
length to disrupt breakouts and turn pucks over. Blessed with a great frame at 6’2 170#, he
needs to put on quite a bit of muscle to play his game at higher levels, but he’s
got time. Not to mention, he almost
passed up hockey to become a kickboxer.
So he’s an athlete for sure. Could
stand to play a more hard-nosed game around the net, as right now he’s getting
pushed around a bit too much for my liking.
But that will come. Had a
monstrous year as a 15-16 year old in the USHL for Muskegon, where the Sabres
no doubt got a lot of looks at him since both Jake Richard and Gavin McCarthy
(Sabres’ prospects) played alongside him for stretches last season. Still, he finished 3rd on the team
in scoring with 45P in 57 games despite his youth. For some perspective, Matt Savoie played in
the USHL in his Draft -1 year and put up 34P in 38 games. Off to play for North Dakota next season with
prize recruit Keith McInnis, he could be at the forefront of another UND run as
the #1 team in the NCAA.
2#18: Danil
Ustinkov, 6’1 LHD, SWISS: Tremendous
skater with the pungent name, Ustinkov was recently snapped up by the London
Knights of the OHL this year, which could be both good and bad for him going
forward. Dynamite skater with a ton
confidence carrying the puck. Owns great
four-way mobility, change of direction is smooth as silk and transitions easily
from front-to-back and vice versa. He’s
a slick operator with the puck, able to beat forecheckers one-on-one and get up
ice to start the rush. Bag of tricks
contains a variety of dekes, head fakes, and look offs to get a step on
forecheckers and then can burst past them with that step. Moves easily and confidently through the
Neutral Zone. Sets up defenders for give-and-gos,
can handle the puck in full flight and avoid hits, sticks, and bodies to create
time and space for teammates or himself.
His shot isn’t anything special, but it is accurate, and when he carries
the puck into the O-zone, he can elude opponents and get to a spot where his
shot is effective. But it is not
dangerous. Offensive-minded, he is very
young (missed the cut-off date for the 2025 Draft by 3 weeks) and still
struggles to defend in his own end and his puck management can be very
spotty. The inconsistency is to be
expected from a player so young. There
are games where he looks elite and controls the pace of the game, and others where
he’s giving away the puck left and right.
But he has to correct his choices when retrieving the puck in his own
end and overhandling the puck in the O-zone.
If he can’t, you have to start questioning his decision-making – never a
good thing for a defenseman. Has good
strength, and even against men in the NLA (Swiss Men’s League), he can pin
older players against the boards and force them to give up the puck. Put up 4P in 5 games for the Swiss team at
the U-18s, which was good for 3rd in scoring for all D-Men in the
tournament despite his club not making the medal round. Chosen by London, it will be interesting to
see if he comes to North American or stays in Switzerland and plays full-time
in the Men’s League there. The Knights
have a great track record of coaching up defenders, and they have 3 NHL
defenders plus projected Top 10 pick Sam Dickinson in their Top 4. So Ustinkov may not come over until next
season, but either way, he’s got a ton of upside and could be another steal for
the Sabres.
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