The Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday reassigned top defense prospect Radim Mrtka from his junior team, the Seattle Thunderbirds, to the Rochester Americans.
Mrtka, the ninth overall pick in 2025, began the season in Rochester before the Sabres sent him to Seattle.
Seattle’s season ended Friday in the first round of the Western Hockey League Playoffs.
The 6-foot-6, 218-pound Mrtka registered one goal, 34 points, 38 penalty minutes and a minus-3 rating in 43 games with the Thunderbirds this season.
The Czech recorded one assist and seven penalty minutes in four outings with the Amerks earlier this season.
Mrtka, 19, is the latest defense prospect to join the AHL club. Gavin McCarthy and Max Strbak recently left college and began their pro careers.
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Captain Rasmus Dahlin on Wednesday was announced as the Sabres’ 2026 Masterton Trophy nominee by the Buffalo Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association for his dedication to hockey.
Dahlin, 25, revealed before the season his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, suffered heart failure during the summer and spent several weeks on life support before undergoing a heart transplant.
She later posted on Instagram she had lost their unborn child.
Earlier this season, Dahlin visited Matovac a few times in their native Sweden, including in November, when he took a leave of absence from the Sabres.
After months of recovery and rehab, she joined Dahlin in Buffalo last month.
Dahlin, one of the NHL’s elite defensemen, has led the Sabres to their first playoff appearance since 2011.