Here is a quick update on Buffalo Sabres prospects selected at the 2024 NHL Draft
Simon-Pierre Brunet – D – 123rd overall
Brunet was one of four blueliners selected by the Sabres at the draft in Las Vegas and played with prospect Vsevolod Komarov, winning a Memorial Cup with Drummondville in the QMJHL in 2024. In 60 games with the Voltigeurs this season, the 19-year-old doubled his offensive totals, with 32 points (8 goals, 24 assists) in 60 games. The 20-year-old was dealt to Victoriaville in the offseason and in 17 games with the Tigres has 12 assists, but is -10.
Patrick Geary – D – 172nd overall
Geary was selected by the Sabres in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. The Hamburg, NY native played his amateur hockey for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres and two seasons for Waterloo of the USHL before heading to Michigan State, where he is teammates with ’24 second-rounder Maxim Strbak.
The 21-year-old played mostly a shutdown defensive role and had 20 points (6 goals, 14 assists) in 69 games in his first two.seasons. This season, he has three points in 10 games, but has compiled 27 penalty minutes.
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Vasily Zelenov – RW – 204th overall
The Moscow-born winger has been playing at various lower-level youth leagues in Austria since 2021 and posted an impressive 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 40 games for the Salzburg RB Hockey Juniors last season. Last season he shifted the USHL and had 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 54 games for Green Bay. As a freshman at the University of Wisconsin and a teammate with fellow 2024 draftee Luke Osburn, the 19-year-old has four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 10 games.
Ryerson Leenders - G – 219th overall
A slightly above-average goalie at 6’2”, 179 lb., the 19-year-old has played two seasons for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads (now the Brantford Bulldogs), splitting duties in 2022-23 as a 16-year-old and serving as the primary starter in 2023-24, going 24-17-4, with a 3.12 GAA, and .909 save %. Last season, Leenders has become the primary starter for the Bulldogs and finished the regular season with a 31-14-3 record, 3.11 GAA, and .910 save %.
This season, the Hamilton native has bolted out of the gate, and is 8-0-3 to start the season, with a 2.31 GAA and .920 save %.
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