Here is a quick update on Buffalo Sabres prospects 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 51 games with the Voltigeurs, the 19-year-old has already doubled his 2023-24 offensive totals, with 30 points (6 goals, 24 assists).
Patrick Geary – D – 172nd overall
The Sabres selected Geary 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 with the Spartans. This season, he has six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 32 games.
Vasily Zelenov – RW – 204th overall
The Moscow-born winger has been playing in various lower-level youth leagues in Austria since 2021. Last season, he posted an impressive 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 40 games for the Salzburg RB Hockey Juniors. This season, he switched to the USHL and has 24 points (10 goals, 24 assists) in 39 games for Green Bay. According to Elite Prospects, the 19-year-old has committed to the University of Wisconsin Badgers.
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 has an impressive 24-12-3 record, 3.17 GAA and .908 save %.
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