BUFFALO – The Sabres today acquired the rights to Hobey Baker Award winner Jimmy Vesey from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a third-round draft pick, 76th overall, in this weekend’s NHL Draft.
The Sabres have until Aug. 15 to sign him.
Vesey, 23, refused to sign with the Predators, who drafted the forward in the third round, 66th overall, in 2012, following a 24-goal, 46-point senior season at Harvard University in which he was named college hockey’s top player.
The Massachusetts native played four years with the Crimson, compiling 80 goals and 144 points in 128 NCAA games.
The 6-foot-2, 201-pound Vesey knows Sabres center Jack Eichel and is playing with him in a summer league in Foxboro. They also played together at the 2015 world championship. The thought of playing with Eichel in the NHL possibly helped sway Vesey away from the Predators. The youngsters share the same agent, Peter Fish.
In other news, the Sabres have re-signed winger Nick Deslauriers to a two-year contract. The popular fourth-liner had six goals, 12 points and 59 penalty minutes in 70 games last season.