Ristolainen | Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres select Swedish winger Isak Rosen 14th overall at NHL Draft

BUFFALO – The Sabres selected Swedish winger Isak Rosen 14th overall tonight at the NHL Draft.

The 5-foot-11, 156-pound Rosen, 18, ranked eighth on NHL Central Scouting’s final list of 2021 European skaters.

Rosen spent the 2020-21 season with Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League and their junior team, registering zero goals and one assist in 22 games with the big club and seven goals and 12 points in 12 contests in junior.... Read the full article

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

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 releases Sabres’ protected list for Expansion Draft

Sorry, Ron Francis, you won’t get a chance to snatch Rasmus Ristolainen for your Seattle Kraken defense corps. The Buffalo Sabres protected the Finn for Wednesday’s NHL Expansion Draft.

But if Francis, Seattle’s general manager, wants to grab a defenseman from the Sabres, he can take Will Borgen or Colin Miller, both of whom were left unprotected.

The Sabres’ 11-man protected list the NHL released Sunday morning features zero surprises. There had been speculation the ... Read the full article

Sabres could lose valuable young player to Kraken in NHL Expansion Draft

Since the Buffalo Sabres drafted Will Borgen 92nd overall in 2015, he has morphed from a relatively unknown prospect into a defenseman on the cusp of regular NHL duty.

The Sabres have guided Borgen’s development from his college career at St. Cloud State through his early pro days with the Rochester Americans to the big leagues.

Prior to breaking his forearm last season, Borgen, 24, appeared to be close to securing a spot on Buffalo’s ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Jeff Skinner waives no-movement clause for Expansion Draft

Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner has waived his no-movement clause for the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft, his agent, Don Meehan, confirmed to the Times Herald on Wednesday.

Skinner’s decision is significant. The Sabres can use his spot to protect a young forward – perhaps Rasmus Asplund, Anders Bjork or Tage Thompson – who could’ve been exposed to the Seattle Kraken next Wednesday.

Skinner, 29, has struggled since signing an eight-year, $72 million contract ... 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

Sabres name Sam Ventura VP of hockey strategy and research

The Buffalo Sabres have made a significant analytics hire, naming Sam Ventura vice president of hockey strategy and research, the team announced Monday.

Ventura, 33, spent the last six seasons in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ front office, winning the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017. In Pittsburgh, he worked under Jason Karmanos, who was hired as the Sabres’ associate general manager April 13.

Jason Nightingale, who recently served as the director of analytics and assistant ... Read the full article