With just a few hours to go until the 2014 NHL Draft begins, let’s take one last look at the mock drafts floating around the internet so we can all brag about how right we were once the Sabres make their pick.
Sam Reinhart was the consensus top pick at the end of last season, but by the end of the year he’d been surpassed in NHL Central Scouting rankings by Sam Bennett. A late push locally (thanks to WGR) led to some support for Leon Draisaitl among the Sabres faithful, but let’s take a look at what eleven experts and one poor blogger think Buffalo will do with their first pick.
| Site | Writer | Pick |
| NHL.com | Steven Hoffner | Sam Reinhart |
| NHL.com | Adam Kimelman | Sam Reinhart |
| NHL.com | Mike Morreale | Leon Draisaitl |
| TSN | Craig Button | Sam Bennett |
| ESPN | Corey Pronman | Sam Reinhart |
| USA Today | Kevin Allen | Sam Bennett |
| Sports Illustrated | Allan Muir | Leon Draisaitl |
| The Hockey News | Ryan Kennedy | Sam Bennett |
| Sportsnet | Patrick King | Sam Reinhart |
| Yahoo! Sports | Mike Finewax | Sam Bennett |
| Red Line Report | Kyle Woodlief | Sam Bennett |
| SBNation | Andy Boron | Sam Bennett |
Of the twelve mock drafts we collected, it adds up to six votes for Sam Bennett, four votes for Sam Reinhart, and two for Leon Darisaitl. Tim Murray said today that he plans on using the No. 2 pick rather than trading it, so it looks like either way the Sabres will be coming away with a Sam. Unless, of course, they don’t.
Ah, the joys of speculation.
The 2014 NHL Draft is mere hours away. Time to leave your final predictions for which prospect you think will come away with a new Sabres hat and jersey at the end of the night.