Sabres Prospect Update – 2024 Draftees – Part 2
Brodie Ziemer was the Buffalo Sabres third-round selection at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. Here is a quick update on Buffalo Sabres selected in 2024:
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, but they are down 2-0 to Halifax in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs.
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 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 32 games in his freshman year. This season, he finished with seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) in 37 games, and the Spartans were eliminated by Cornell early in the NCAA tournament.
Other Sabres Stories
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. This season he shifted the USHL and had 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in 50 games for Green Bay, and according to Elite Prospects, the 19-year-old has committed to the University of Wisconsin Badgers, where he could be teammates with fellow 2024 Sabres draftee Luke Osburn.
Ryerson Leenders - G – 219th overall
A slightly above-average goalie at 6’2”, 179 lb., the 18-year-old has played two seasons for the OHL’s Mississauga (now the Brantford Bulldogs), splitting duties in 2022-23 as a 16-year-old and serving as the primary starter last season, going 24-17-4, with a 3.12 GAA, and .909 save % last season. This 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 %.
Brantford is the top seed in the OHL’s Eastern Conference Playoffs and lead North Bay 2-0 in the best-of-seven opening round. Leenders made 21 saves in a 3-0 shutout victory on Sunday.
Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo