The Buffalo Sabres have had quite an interesting off-season, starting with the Bowen Byram trade and a draft that saw plenty of value as well as some questionable picks. With a prospect pool that still has some solid pieces in it, the Sabres are hoping to stay competitive after their first playoff appearance in 14 years.

With the NHL off-season in full swing, we have the perfect opportunity to look at each team's prospect pool, going in alphabetical order, which means it's Buffalo's turn.

In our annual NHL prospect pool overview series, Tony Ferrari will dig into each team's top prospects. That entails the strengths and weaknesses of the pipeline, a quick overview of their latest draft class, where each team's positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for an NHL chance.

2026 NHL Draft Class

Round 1, 4th overall - Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert (WHL)

Round 1, 20th overall - Ilia Morozov, C, Miami University (NCAA)

Round 4, 124th overall - Olivers Murnieks, C, Saint John (QMJHL)

Round 5, 156th overall - Doman Kristof Szongoth, C, KooKoo Jr. (Fin.)

Round 6, 188th overall - Dylan Dumont, RW, Drummondville (QMJHL)

When the deal was made to send Byram to Chicago and the fourth overall pick, there was excitement that they would deal the pick for immediate help, or they would go and get one of the consensus top defenders in the class, Chase Reid or Alberts Smits. Instead, they made the draft's first truly bold and surprising selection by grabbing Daxon Rudolph.

The first defender off the board was an interesting one because Rudolph is a bit of a unique type of player. The Sabres are hoping that Rudolph can play his free-wheeling offensive game and thrive as a power-play option down the road. He will have to earn time ahead of guys like Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. Rudolph fits the mold of an Evan Bouchard, so there are a lot of things that will have to go right for him to be his best.

In the latter half of the first round of the draft, the Sabres made another selection, adding Miami University center Ilia Morozov. The Russian center played in all situations at Miami. He projects as a third-line center with great hands around the net and an impressive work rate all over the ice. He's the kind of player who might not be the most impressive skill player, but he should be a fixture in an NHL lineup one day.

The Sabres didn't pick again until the fourth round, where they selected Latvian forward Oliver Murnieks. Playing for the Saint John Sea Dogs, the versatile forward plays with plenty of energy and some really purposeful physicality. He's an active forechecker, creating offense off of pressure. He's a sneaky good grab at pick No. 124 in the draft.

The Sabres made an interesting pick when they selected Doman Kristof Szongoth in the fifth round, drafting the Hungarian center out of Finland. He's shown some really intelligent defensive play, and he is a willing physical presence. He lacks the refinement to be an impactful offensive player, so his upside is limited, but he could be a valuable fourth-line center if things work out.

Selecting Dylan Dumont in the sixth round to cap off their draft, the Sabres are banking on a player who has a good shot and some nifty skill at times, but there are some issues with his overall mobility. He's a nice bet on a player filling out, adding a bit of power in his stride and taking advantage of his heavy shot.

Strengths

Buffalo has had a plethora of high-end left-shot defenders at the NHL level over the last few years. So much so that they have been playing Power or Dahlin on their off-hand at times.

They are starting to build quite a strong crop of young right-handed defensemen that should be pushing for NHL jobs over the next couple of years. Mrtka and Rudolph are high first-round picks.

Strbak, Kleber and Bedkowski are stout defenders who bring a mix of physicality and mobility.

Gavin McCarthy and Vsevolod Komarov are interesting swings on potential depth defenders.

Many teams would love to have half the depth in their pipeline on the right side that Buffalo has.

Weaknesses

Any team that has a weakness on the wing in their pipeline, particularly when its depth on the wing is probably going to be okay with that. Wing is the easiest position to fill in both a team's prospect pool and at the NHL level.

The Sabres certainly aren't barren on the wing, with players like Prokhor Poltapov and Brodie Ziemer showing plenty of promise, even if Poltapov is 23 and signed in Russia through the end of this upcoming season.

Hidden Gem: Adam Kleber, D

When you watch Kleber in the NCAA with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, you see a 6-foot-6 blueliner who moves like a player five inches shorter while still maintaining the defensive acumen that a player with his size is generally known for.

Kleber is an ideal candidate to find a role at the NHL level as a potential shutdown defender because he has the length and mobility required in the NHL. His puck-moving ability is simple, smart and effective.

He's not going to be some sort of offensive dynamo, but he has the skating and passing to be at least an effective presence in the offensive zone.

Next Man Up: Konsta Helenius, C

We saw flashes of brilliance from Helenius in his NHL stint last year, but he didn't get the run that he probably should have.

Coming into this year, the Finnish center should be able to earn a full-time job. He's a very smart two-way center who plays a detail-oriented game, but what we saw last year was that he is much more skilled than given credit for.

He has the hands to dangle when needed, and he has a very good shot as well. If he can continue getting stronger and a bit faster, he should be an impactful top-six center this year.

Prospect Depth Chart Notables

LW: Prokhor Poltapov, Melvin Novotny, Matous Kucharcik

C: Konsta Helenius, Ilia Morozov, Olivers Murnieks, Doman Kristof Szongoth

RW: Brodie Ziemer, Ashton Schultz, Dylan Dumont

LD: Luke Osburn, Nikita Novikov, Noah Laberge, Norwin Panocha

RD: Radim Mrtka, Daxon Rudolph, Maxim Strbak, Adam Kleber, David Bedkowski, Vsevolod Komarov, Gavin McCarthy

G: Topias Leinonen, Scott Ratzlaff, Yevgeni Prokhorov

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook and Future Watch editions of the Hockey News print edition!

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This story was originally published July 5, 2026 at 12:06 PM.