NHL Draft - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres select Michigan’s Owen Power first overall at NHL Draft

BUFFALO – As expected, the Sabres selected Michigan defenseman Owen Power first overall tonight at the NHL Draft.

Power, 18, ranked first on NHL Central Scouting’s final list of 2021 North American skaters.

The 6-foot-6, 213-pound Power, who has drawn comparisons to Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, has said he is leaning toward returning to Michigan for his sophomore year.

Stay tuned for more updates. Power will be addressing the media via Zoom. The ... Read the full article

Sabres trade Rasmus Ristolainen, get huge return from Flyers

Rasmus Ristolainen’s eight-year career with the Buffalo Sabres is over.

The Sabres this afternoon traded the Finnish defenseman to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for the 14th overall pick in tonight’s NHL Draft, a 2023 second-round selection and defenseman Robert Hagg.

Ristolainen, 26, has just one year left on his contract. He often voiced his frustration with the constant losing he has endured over his NHL career. Following last season, he said he was open ... Read the full article

As offseason ramps up for NHL Draft, Sabres could start making trades

BUFFALO – Just after 8 tonight, the Sabres will add a potentially franchise-changing talent in defenseman Owen Power, winger William Eklund or one of the other special NHL Draft prospects available to be picked first overall.

But right now, the draft, a virtual event that starts with the first round tonight, almost feels secondary. The Sabres have hit a critical juncture during an offseason in which they could trade captain Jack Eichel, their ... Read the full article

2021-22 Sabres schedule features early home stand, games against Kraken

A season-opening four-game home stand, two contests against the expansion Seattle Kraken and four meetings with the Toronto Maple Leafs are among the highlights of the 82-game 2021-22 Buffalo Sabres schedule the NHL released Thursday.

The Sabres open the campaign Oct. 14 against the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center and also host the Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins before playing their first road game Oct. 23 versus the New Jersey Devils.

The Sabres ... Read the full article

NHL Draft: Sabres could land Hedman-type defenseman with Owen Power

Ex-NHL defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo knew Owen Power, the 18-year-old the Buffalo Sabres are expected to select first overall at the NHL Draft on Friday, was a special prospect.

Still, hulking defensemen in their teens – at 6-foot-6 and 213 pounds, Power already possesses a man’s body – are usually at least a little raw.

So when Colaiacovo watched Power earlier this month at the Power Edge Pro camp in Toronto, the up-close examination changed ... Read the full article

NHL Draft prospect Mason McTavish could give Sabres power forward

Last November, Mason McTavish started pursuing a temporary gig playing overseas. With the Ontario Hockey League season paused because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL Draft prospect needed to shake off the rust and showcase his talents.

Later that month, McTavish, a star center for the Peterborough Petes, thought he would be flying to Switzerland to play for Olten EHC. He was in Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal ready to leave when he ... Read the full article

NHL Draft prospect William Eklund would be intriguing choice for Sabres

William Eklund believes playing another season in the Swedish Hockey League will benefit his development, so whichever team picks the winger early in Friday’s NHL Draft will likely have to wait a year for him.

“I have one more year in Europe to develop into a better player here,” Eklund, a winger who has spent the last two seasons with Djurgardens IF, said on a Zoom call July 6.

NHL Central Scouting ranked Eklund first ... Read the full article

Dylan Guenther could be too talented for Sabres to pass up at NHL Draft

NHL Draft prospect Dylan Guenther was just 15, a neophyte up for his first taste of major junior hockey. Still, despite being one of the league’s youngest players, the winger turned heads during his eight-game stint, utilizing his lethal shot to score three times.

“Dylan’s a shooter,” said Brad Lauer, Guenther’s coach with the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings. “Right from 15 when we had him, he scored three goals for us that some ... Read the full article

Owen Power to meet with Sabres this week, might return to Michigan

The COVID-19 pandemic deprived top NHL Draft prospect Owen Power of the full college experience as a freshman at Michigan.

Power, 18, played in empty rinks, meaning he never felt the rush of playing in front of 5,800 raucous fans at Yost Ice Arena, one of college hockey’s most historic venues. The defenseman had to take online classes, so he spent most of his time at Yost or home.

After Michigan compiled a 15-10-1 record ... Read the full article

Michigan star Kent Johnson intriguing option for Sabres early at NHL Draft

Barely a year before Jeff Tambellini would start coaching Kent Johnson, he was introduced to the ultra-talented forward during a summer skate in 2017.

Some pro hockey players from Vancouver would occasionally invite teenagers from the local Power Edge Pro training group to join them. So Tambellini, then a 33-year-old preparing to possibly play his 14th pro season, found himself on the same ice as Johnson, a skinny 14-year-old from nearby Burnaby, British Columbia.... Read the full article