19-year-old winger was drafted in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft by Buffalo
A trio of Buffalo Sabres prospects from the 2024 NHL Draft class have made Team USA for the 2026 IIHFWorld Junior Championships in Minnesota that begin on Friday, The American squad made their final roster cut to 25 players on Wednesday, cutting forward Jacob Kvasnicka and defenseman Blake Fiddler.
Forward Brodie Ziemer was named Team USA’s captain, and defensemen Adam Kleber and Luke Osburn made the roster and appear to be slated for key roles, as the Americans look to win their third straight World Junior title on home ice.
Kleber, the Sabres second round pick (42nd overall) in 2024, and Ziemer, the club’s third rounder (71st overall) were members of Team USA’s gold medal-winning squad that defeated the Finns 4-3 in overtime in Ottawa last January. Osburn, Buffalo’s fourth-round pick (102nd overall) had 41 points (10 goals, 31 assists) in 55 games for the Youngstown Phantoms last season and was named the USHL’s Defenseman of the Year.
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Kleber is expected to play a stay-at-home role on the US’s top pairing with Washington Capitals prospect Cole Hutson, while Ziemer is likely to be on the Americans top line in the tournament, and had a goal and two assists in a pre-tournament win over Germany on Sunday. Osburn, who was a standout at the Summer Showcase and has continued to impress as a freshman at Wisconsin, was quarterbacking the US power play against Germany and set up Ryker Lee for the Americans second goal, and will likely serve on the second unit, while Hutson quarterback’s the top unit.
The Sabres will have four players at the World Juniorsm with 2025 first rounder Radim Mrtka going as a member of Team Czechia. The big 18-year-old wa selected ninth overall last June, played for Czechia in the Under-18’s last year and after a brief stint in Rochester, returned to the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, where he has 16 points (1 goal, 11 assists) in 14 games.
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