The Sabres drafted Keohane 173rd overall in the 2023 NHL Draft
The Sabres drafted Keohane 173rd overall in the 2023 NHL Draft
The Buffalo Sabres are considered one of the best deepest prospect pools in the NHL, not only because of their selecting high in recent drafts but also due to their eye for talent and their organizational choices of either leaving players to develop in their home countries or bringing them to North America. Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club’s top 40 prospects. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals and have played less than 40 NHL games.
38. Sean Keohane – Defense (Tri-City – USHL/West Kelowna - BCHL)
Keohane is a long-range prospect with impressive physical tools who was selected in the sixth round of the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville. A native of the Boston area, the 19-year-old blueliner played at Dexter Southfield Prep in Massachusetts and was slated to play a full season in the USHL with Tri-City before heading to Harvard, but after 16 games he shifted to West Kelowna in the BCHL, where he has 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 25 games.
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The 6’4”, 183 lb. defenseman has excellent skating ability, but there are holes in his game at both ends of the ice that could be honed with four years playing for an excellent Crimson program that has traditionally done a good job at developing prospects.
The Hockey Prospect Black Book says “Keohane plays a sound two-way game with few mistakes, but also with few dynamic offensive plays. He has good size and range with his size and reach, makes a consistent first pass on the tape, and showed the ability to stretch the ice up the middle and spring teammates for breakaways with his ability to quickly read and react.”
Elite Prospects indicates that Keohane “flashes nuanced defensive skating, allowing him to push an absurd amount of aggression defending the rush. He's physical, jumping off the net front to punish attackers on the end boards and tries to clog lanes with anticipation-based reads, pushing nastiness after the whistle.”
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