Sabres Prospect Pool 2025-26

[DarthEbriate]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Now that we are into the season,  which prospects do you consider future NHL players.

I think this is a pretty good list of who in our system has a chance (some more than others) of becoming an everyday NHL player.  That said, who do you think will actually make it.  I'm feeling better about Rosen and Levi. Mrtka looks like a future star, and I like Kozak as a long-term depth NHLer.  Anyone else?

Goalies?  Levi, Ratzlaff, Leenders, Leinonen

Defense?  Mrtka, Novikiov, Komarov, Strbak, Kleber, Osburn. McCarthy, Bedkowski?

Forwards?  Kozak, Rosen, Östlund, Helenius, Wahlberg, Zeimer, Neuchev. Richard

Levi will make it in Buffalo or elsewhere. He's not going to be a legend, but a solid tandem guy is within reach. Leenders maybe. As long as Adams is GM, Leinonen will get a fair (or unfair) look in Sabreland. 

Mrtka, Novikov, Strbak. And I think Osburn: the kid sees the game well. Kleber is the one I don't know, but I assume he will because of his draft status and size. He'll get chances.

I do think Poltapov will arrive as a 3W. How long he's in Buffalo I don't know, but I think he gets a full season in the bottom 6 and acquits himself fine which leads him to a good little 2-3 years at minimum.

Kozak is already in if can stay healthy. 

Rosén, Östlund, Helenius, Wahlberg, Zeimer, and Richard make it for me. They all can fit on a roster if it's constructed well.

[LGR4GM]

57 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Levi will make it in Buffalo or elsewhere. He's not going to be a legend, but a solid tandem guy is within reach. Leenders maybe. As long as Adams is GM, Leinonen will get a fair (or unfair) look in Sabreland. 

Mrtka, Novikov, Strbak. And I think Osburn: the kid sees the game well. Kleber is the one I don't know, but I assume he will because of his draft status and size. He'll get chances.

I do think Poltapov will arrive as a 3W. How long he's in Buffalo I don't know, but I think he gets a full season in the bottom 6 and acquits himself fine which leads him to a good little 2-3 years at minimum.

Kozak is already in if can stay healthy. 

Rosén, Östlund, Helenius, Wahlberg, Zeimer, and Richard make it for me. They all can fit on a roster if it's constructed well.

[LGR4GM]

Side note, Luke Osburn is such an interesting prospect for me. He's 6 days shy of being 2025 draft eligible, so he goes late in the 2024 draft. Plays great as a D+1 in the USHL and is now doing well? At college. Haven't seen any games of his this season but stats look okay. 

If you treat last year as his dy and this year as his d+1, he's tracking like a top 4 lhd. Should be fun to watch but we're talking 3yrs in college, another 1 or 2 in Rochester before we even start to think about him. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

15 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Levi will make it in Buffalo or elsewhere. He's not going to be a legend, but a solid tandem guy is within reach. Leenders maybe. As long as Adams is GM, Leinonen will get a fair (or unfair) look in Sabreland. 

Mrtka, Novikov, Strbak. And I think Osburn: the kid sees the game well. Kleber is the one I don't know, but I assume he will because of his draft status and size. He'll get chances.

I do think Poltapov will arrive as a 3W. How long he's in Buffalo I don't know, but I think he gets a full season in the bottom 6 and acquits himself fine which leads him to a good little 2-3 years at minimum.

Kozak is already in if can stay healthy. 

Rosén, Östlund, Helenius, Wahlberg, Zeimer, and Richard make it for me. They all can fit on a roster if it's constructed well.

The Sabres don’t seem to be inclined to give Komarov or Novikov much of an opportunity in the NHL.  Novikov has been the Amerks best defensive for the last 2 seasons plus and hasn’t sniffed the NHL.  I know his skating is a concern, but to keep playing Bryson or Johnson or Jones or Metsa and not give this guy a chance doesn’t make much sense at this point.  S

As to Wahlberg, are we seeing any progress?  2 goals (and only 2 pts) in 8 AHL games ytd isn’t a great start to his sophomore NA prop campaign, but he is only 20.

As to Poltapov, I doubted he’d come to NA when drafted and nothing has happened to alter that opinion.  
 

Richard and Neuchev are my sleepers.  Both seem to be improving each season.  

[Porous Five Hole]

4 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The Sabres don’t seem to be inclined to give Komarov or Novikov much of an opportunity in the NHL.  Novikov has been the Amerks best defensive for the last 2 seasons plus and hasn’t sniffed the NHL.  I know his skating is a concern, but to keep playing Bryson or Johnson or Jones or Metsa and not give this guy a chance doesn’t make much sense at this point.  S

As to Wahlberg, are we seeing any progress?  2 goals (and only 2 pts) in 8 AHL games ytd isn’t a great start to his sophomore NA prop campaign, but he is only 20.

As to Poltapov, I doubted he’d come to NA when drafted and nothing has happened to alter that opinion.  
 

Richard and Neuchev are my sleepers.  Both seem to be improving each season.  

We are not seeing any progress with Wahlberg. I don’t know what else to say. He’s just not good enough. 

The Russian kids on the blue line have not outperformed Ryan Johnson, just as an fyi.  

They are fine where they are. The Sabres need to get older, not younger (age 22 & 21). Neither are regularly on the top pair yet in ROC.  If you trust Leone, that should tell you something.  It’s also about time the Sabres played the long game with their blue line prospects. 
 

Edited November 3 by Porous Five Hole

[DarthEbriate]

Ziemer and the Golden Gophers take game 1 hosting McKenna and Pegula State U. Ziemer with a TNT-dot rocket on the PP and would've added an ENG except for the defender just getting a slight deflection on it to send the puck off the crossbar and out of play. Ziemer finished the night with a tackle and misconduct after PSU crashed the net as time expired.

[LGR4GM]

Ryan Rucinski, idk much about him but he's doing stuff in the ushl.