Kleber, Ziemer, and Osburn selected for Team USA's Pre-WJC camp
A trio of Buffalo Sabres prospects from the 2024 NHL Draft class were selected by USA Hockey for the upcoming 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships in Minnesota later this month. Forward Brodie Ziemer, and defensemen Adam Kleber and Luke Osburn were all invited by Team USA to the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase in July.
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) was named the USHL’s Defenseman of the Year.
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Kleber is a sophomore at Minnesota-Duluth, and has three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 16 games for the Bulldogs, but the big righty is being relied on more for his defensive abilities and large wingspan. Ziemer had seven points in the WJC, and well on his way to eclipsing his freshman offensive totals at the University of Minnesota, with 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) in 17 games for the Golden Gophers.
Osburn was considered a longshot before this summer, but was a standout at the Summer Showcase and has continued to impress as a freshman at Wisconsin, with six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 10 games with the Badgers. The Sabres are expected to also have at least two more prospects play in Minnesota, as 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius will likely be on the top line for Finland, and 2025 first rounder Radim Mrtka will play for Czechia.
Helenius, who had 35 points for the Rochester Americans last season and was named to the AHL’s Top Prospects Team has 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) in 21 games for the Amerks this season. Mrtka, 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 12 points (1 goal, 11 assists) in 12 games.
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