ORCHARD PARK – The Sabres this afternoon selected forward Olivers Murnieks in the fourth round, 124th overall, at the NHL Draft in KeyBank Center.
The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Murnieks registered seven goals, 30 points, 14 penalty minutes and a minus-23 rating in 31 games with the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League’s Saint John Sea Dogs last season.
NHL Central Scouting ranked the Latvian 98th among draft-eligible North American skaters.
“I’m a two-way player that is very reliable, and the coach can put me on any situation he wants to,” Murnieks said on a Zoom call.
Murnieks said his only contact with the Sabres before the draft was a 15-minute phone call.
“My first and only time talking to them, so I was kind of a little bit shocked that they picked me,” he said.
Murnieks, who turns 18 on July 31, said he must talk to his agent and Boston College to decide if he’s going to play college hockey next season.
He represented at the World Junior Championship and World Championship this year, an experience that buoyed his development.
“I can take a lot from that tournament because I saw everything from behind the scenes how the pro players do it, how they prepare for games, how they eat, how they do everything,” he said.
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The Sabres have selected forward Doman Szongoth in the fifth round, 156th overall.
The 6-foot-1, 194-pound Szongoth registered 10 goals, 28 points, 57 penalty minutes and a minus-3 rating in 44 games with the KooKoo under-20 team in Finland last season.
Central Scouting ranked the Hungarian 40th among draft-eligible European skaters.
He represented at the World Junior Championship this year.
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The Sabres have selected forward Dylan Dumont in the sixth round, 188th overall.
The 6-foot, 183-pound Dumont registered 28 goals, 44 points, eight penalty minutes and a minus-7 rating in 62 games with the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs last season.
Central Scouting ranked him 117th among draft-eligible North American skaters.
Dumont turns 18 on Aug. 18.