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.

The Sabres certainly had a noisy summer, making moves to help reshape their defense corps. They sent Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks for the fourth overall pick, the 45th overall pick and hulking defender Louis Crevier. They flipped the 45th pick alongside forward prospect Anton Wahlberg to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Olen Zellweger, who will look to solidify himself as an impact NHLer in Buffalo.

All that to say that they’ve been busy since their season ended in the second round of the playoffs. They’ll be looking to see some bigger impacts from their younger players as they give them more opportunities this coming season.

Headlining the group of young players likely to get more opportunities is Konsta Helenius. He should be slotted into a top-six role to start the year. Helenius likely should have played a bit more in the playoffs because he was solid in his brief NHL stint. Next season is going to be a big one for Buffalo as they look to show that last year wasn’t a flash in the pan, and Helenius is going to be a big part of that.

Prokhor Poltapov could potentially see action at the tail end of this season when his season in Russia comes to an end, but in all likelihood, the Sabres will be adding the 23-year-old a year from now. They’ve expressed that they view him as a plug-and-play middle-six left winger who is a dual-threat offensive presence, blending power and skill. He would be coming to Buffalo ready to go at 24 years old, so there isn’t much room for improvement as he enters the NHL in his prime.

Brodie Ziemer had a pretty solid season at the University of Minnesota, putting up 23 goals and 36 points in as many games. This is a guy who has captained the American World Junior and U-18 teams. He’s got a heavy shot, and he isn’t the kind of player who needs the puck on his stick a ton. He’s happy to play give-and-go, tactical hockey.

The Sabres have some very intriguing defenders in their system. Radim Mrtka is a 6-foot-6 defender who plays a very sound defensive game. He went back to the WHL after starting the year in the AHL, where he struggled a bit. He has all of the tools you want from a two-way defender at the NHL level. He just has to figure out how to bring it all together.

Luke Osburn is a very mobile defender who had a really solid freshman season at Wisconsin, putting up 21 points in 33 games and playing some sound defense. He’s the kind of guy who defends with his feet and his brain because he’s not the biggest blueliner. His quickness is his best asset at both ends of the ice.

Turning pro at the tail end of last season and joining Rochester in the AHL, Maxim Strbak is the kind of physical defender who could see NHL games this year if they need someone. He is coming off three strong seasons with Michigan State, where he was relied upon to be an important piece on the backend. He’s not going to shy away from getting in the opponent’s face, which is an element Buffalo could use.

Konsta Helenius (C/W), Noah Ostlund (C/W), Zach Benson (LW), Jiri Kulich (C/W)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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