The Buffalo Sabres will be selecting ninth overall at the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles next month. [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/6cf2a60f-b615-4eae-9679-a7d18a87490e.jpeg] The Buffalo Sabres will be selecting ninth overall at the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles next month. The NHL held its Draft Lottery before the opening of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday, and the Buffalo Sabres, because of two teams below them in the standings moving up into the top four, will be selecting ninth overall at the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles in late June. After the balls were drawn by Commissioner Gary Bettman, the New York Islanders, who finished 23rd overall and had a 3.5% chance, will be selecting first overall, while the Utah Hockey Club, who missed the playoffs by seven points (19th overall) move up from the 14th to the fourth overall pick. The Sabres, who had a 6.5% chance at winning the lottery and were in the seventh slot, moved down two spots to the ninth overall pick. Other Sabres Stories Is Peterka In Prime Position For Big Payday? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/is-peterka-in-prime-position-for-big-payday] Sabres Ownership Ranked Worst In NHL By Survey In The Athletic [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/sabres-ownership-ranked-worst-in-nhl-by-survey-in-the-athletic] Sabres Facing An Off-Season Of Change [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres/latest-news/sabres-facing-an-off-season-of-change] The San Jose Sharks, who won the Draft Lottery one year ago and selected Macklin Celebrini at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas last June, had the top odds (18.5%) but moved down to the second overall pick, with the Chicago Blackhawks moving down from the second slot to third overall. The big losers were the Nashville Predators, who slipped from potentially the third overall pick to fifth, the Philadelphia Flyers dropping from fourth to sixth, and the Boston Bruins dropping from fifth to the seventh overall pick. The late winning streak by the Sabres cost them better odds of finishing in the top five, where they would have been in the mix for Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schafer, Saginaw’s Michael Misa, Mississauga’s Porter Martone, James Hagens of Boston College, or Swedish center Anton Frondell. At ninth overall, players who Buffalo could be in the mix for are Roger McQueen of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, Frondell’s teammate Victor Eklund of Djurgardens IF, Brantford Bulldogs C Jake O’Brien, and Jackson Smith of the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. Follow Michael on X, Instagram and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo [https://twitter.com/MikeInBuffalo]
