22-year-old Russian is entering his third pro season with the Rochester Americans
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, and the organization’s developmental model has begun to yield results, with 2023 first rounder Zach Benson making an impact in the playoffs, and 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius appearing as one of the AHL’s top prospects the last two seasons.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. These players are all 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 82 NHL games.
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14. Vsevolod Komarov – Defense (Rochester - AHL)
Komarov was the Sabres fifth-round pick (134th overall) at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal. The native of Chelyabinsk played his minor hockey in the Metallurg Magnitogorsk system but came to North America to play for the Quebec Remparts after being selected in the CHL Import Draft.
In his first season, the 6’3”, 188 lb. blueliner focused more on being conscientious in his own zone and had 19 points (2 goals, 17 assists) in 60 QMJHL games, but made offensive strides in the sophomore campaign (12 goals, 27 assists) and scoring the game-winning goal for Quebec in the Memorial Cup final.
Buffalo locked up Komarov on an entry-level contract in June 2023, and in his third QMJHL season, and he led all QMJHL blueliners with 69 points (14 goals, 55 assists) in 60 games with Quebec and Drummondville and was named the league’s top defenseman and First Team All-Star.
“You could see right from the start that the hockey sense was there, the compete was there, and the poise. He just needed to get stronger and get his legs under him, move quicker. And he had the size as well,” Drummondville GM Yanick Lemay said about Komarov in The Athletic. “So it was just a matter of time for him I think to mature physically and get more powerful and that’s what he did the last two years.”
In his first professional season, Komarov’s offensive game struggled to translate from junior (18 points in 69 games), but the 22-year-old showed off a high-level of physicality, leading the Amerks with 85 penalty minutes. Last season, he took a step back on all fronts, putting up 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in 55 games, with 60 penalty minutes.
The Sabres have a number of young defenseman in their pipeline, including 2025 first rounder Radim Mrtka, and 2023 second-rounder Maxim Strbak. Komarov will need to step up and take advantage of his pro experience next season to continue to be regarded as a promising prospect, otherwise he will fall victim to the numbers game.
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