Welcome to the 2026 xB Buffalo Sabres Draft Guide! The draft guide has been broken down into four parts so that it can be loaded on your mobile device and consumed in multiple readings, allowing you to prepare for the 2026 NHL draft through a week-long deep dive into 23 players that the Sabres could select.

Each player has a BlueSky link with three clips that summarize their projection.

If this is the first time you’ve read my draft guide, let me break down how each section will go:

– Each draft pick the Sabres have will be given five players, which I think are reasonable selections for the Sabres. They are broken down as Dream Scenarios (two given for each draft pick), Realistic Selections (two given for each draft pick), and a Wildcard Selection (one given for each draft pick). The first round pick, I will expand to 3 Dream Scenarios, 3 Realistic players, and 2 Wildcards.

– Dream Scenarios are based on my evaluation of the player, and where I believe they are most likely going to go in the draft. They are based on my draft philosophies and don’t take into account the Sabres’ past draft philosophies. They will usually consist of one forward and one defenseman, but depending on the round or the players who might be available, they could deviate from that structure.

– Realistic Scenarios are based on studying the Sabres’ and Kekalainen’s previous draft philosophies, current prospect pool depth, needs, and players that I think the organization may go with the draft pick, and not necessarily who I would pick.

– The Wildcard Scenario is a draft pick that doesn’t fall directly into the two categories above and is a player that I think would go slightly later than the current selection (or undrafted in the later rounds), but I believe would make an interesting selection for the Sabres.

Last year I struck out in the later rounds and only Radim Mrtka was guessed right. The previous year, this draft guide included Luke Osburn in a Dream Scenario, Adam Kleber in the Realistic Scenarios, and Konsta Helenius in a Wildcard Scenario. Hopefully, this guide will get lucky again and provide insight for some of the players the Sabres draft. If not, then I encourage you to go to my draft rankings article to see if I had any notes about the player in that article before the recap article I will write.

As for Kekalainen’s draft philosophy, my belief is that he will rely heavily on the work of the Sabres scouting staff to build the board, and that staff has remained unchanged from the Kevyn Adams regime. However, if you look at Kekalainen’s previous drafts before he was let go in Columbus, his selections align closely with many of my own philosophies. His selections of Denton Mateychuk, Gavin Brindley(!!), Luca Pinelli, Luca Marrelli, and William Whitelaw are all players who I was a big fan of in 2023 and 2024.

The Sabres currently have the 156th pick.

Dream Scenarios

1. Julien Maze, LW, WHL

DOB: 12/7/07

5’9, 170 lbs

68gp, 38g, 78pts

25th Percentile: AHL scoring winger in the mold of Trey Fix-Wolansky

75th percentile: Poor man’s Nic Ehlers 

The most electrifying player in the draft that no one talks about because of his size and some off-ice rumors

Julien Maze plays hockey like he shotguns energy drinks before puck drop. Everything is sudden, aggressive, and constantly attacking. His skating is ridiculous, not just because of his top speed, but because of how violently he changes direction and creates separation in tight spaces. Defenders look comfortable against him for half a second, and then suddenly he’s cut back underneath them, and the puck is in the slot. He’s one of the rare players in this class who can manufacture offense completely on his own. Give him a loose puck in transition, and he can take it end-to-end. Give him a broken play along the wall, and he’ll somehow spin out of it into a dangerous chance. The passing vision is elite, too. He throws pucks into space before teammates even realize they’re open and consistently manipulates defenders with his feet to create lanes. The tracking data absolutely adored him. One of the best transition profiles I tracked all season, absurd passing efficiency, dangerous shot generation, the whole thing. He controls games offensively in a way very few players in this class can.

The only thing holding him back from being a near no-doubt projection offensively is the lack of size and strength through contact. Bigger defenders can absolutely launch him along the wall and there are moments where you can see him trying to avoid heavy contact instead of driving directly through it. That’s really the swing skill here because the offensive talent is undeniable. I’d also like a little more consistency defensively, because he can drift into fly-by habits away from the puck. But unlike some smaller offensive players, I actually think the compete level is there. He wants the puck constantly, works back into plays after mistakes, and plays with an attacking mindset every shift. Honestly, he’s my favorite player in this class to watch because every time he jumps over the boards something happens. If the off-ice concerns aren’t serious to the culture that the Sabres are trying to build, then he’s a lottery ticket worth acquiring.

No new faves emerged the first 13 days of scouting the 25/26 season. I've fallen in love today, though.All hail Julien Maze

— Austin Garret (@austin716.bsky.social) 2025-10-01T17:09:44.138Z

2. Bode Layin, RHD, USHL

DOB: 11/7/07

6’0, 185 lbs

55gp, 11g, 38pts

25th percentile: 4-year NCAA defenseman, earns a PTO in AHL/ECHL 

75th percentile: Bottom-four NHL defenseman, cowboy hockey (to start), PP2 potential

Strong profile to become an offensive defenseman in college that could translate to the NHL if his defense becomes NHL passable

Bode Laylin is one of the more offense-first defensemen in this class, and I mean that as both a compliment and a concern. What I like about his offensive game is that it isn’t built around standing at the blue line and hammering pucks into shin pads. He’s constantly looking for ways to get involved closer to the net. He’ll activate into the slot, slide down the wall, stay low in the offensive zone, and generally make himself a problem for defenders to account for. The shot is the headline trait, but there’s more playmaking here than he gets credit for. He’s a slick passer, sees options developing quickly, and is comfortable carrying pucks through the neutral zone when he sees an opening. The tracking data backs up what shows up on tape: Laylin is one of the most involved offensive transition defensemen in the class and one of the more efficient ones as well. If you’re betting on offensive production, there’s a lot to like here, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if his numbers explode in the WHL at Everett next season.

The problem is that the defensive side of the puck often looks like an afterthought. There were games in which he simply refused to challenge entries at the blue line, backing off attackers and giving them all the space they needed to operate. In-zone coverage can be equally frustrating. He’ll lose track of assignments around the net, get caught puck watching, or make an unnecessarily risky play that immediately turns into a scoring chance against. The frustrating part is that there are flashes of a capable defender. He’ll step up in the neutral zone and throw a big hit, win a battle along the wall, or make an aggressive pinch that kills a possession before it starts. That’s what makes him such an interesting projection. At his size, I need to see more defensive reliability than what he’s shown so far. The offensive profile is good enough that I’m comfortable with a second-round grade, but I struggle to grade him as anything other than a mid-late round pick because the gap between his offensive impact and defensive impact is still too large. The offense is NHL-caliber. The question is whether the defense ever gets there too.

Bode Laylin is one of more fun offensive defensemen in the 2026 NHL draft. He activates into the rush a lot, and has a good shot from medium-distance to beat goalies from distance.

— Austin Garret (@austin716.bsky.social) 2026-06-21T21:09:17.464Z

Realistic Scenarios

1. Landon Nycz, LHD, NCAA

DOB: 10/4/07

6’2, 209 lbs

35gp, 1g, 3pts

25th percentile: Four-year NCAA defender and earns an AHL/ECHL contract after

75th percentile: Bottom-four NHL LHD, strong defender and offensive exit transition player, PK specialist

Has the size, mobility, defensive ability and skill to be a middle-pairing defender but has to make more consistent transition decisions to be an NHL player.

Landon Nycz feels like one of the safer bets among the defensemen outside the top tiers of this class. The foundation of his game is built on mobility, defensive reliability, and the ability to move pucks effectively to keep play flowing in the right direction. For a bigger defender, he pivots well, closes space effectively, and does a nice job separating opponents from the puck. I thought his work defending entries was the strongest part of his game. Attackers rarely gained the line cleanly when he was set, and when he engaged physically, he was generally able to end possessions quickly. There’s enough puck skill here to be more than a stay-at-home defenseman as well. He can retrieve pucks under pressure, carry them out himself when necessary, and show flashes of joining the rush or activating along the wall to create offense. The tracking data paints a similar picture: reasonably involved in transition with strong defensive results that support what shows up on film.

The question is whether there’s enough offensive upside to become more than a dependable middle-pairing option. Nycz has moments when he looks comfortable with the puck, but I didn’t see a player who consistently solved problems under pressure. The passing can get erratic, particularly through the neutral zone, and there were games when turnovers completely overshadowed his positive puck-moving ability. He’s at his best when making simple plays and keeping possession moving rather than trying to create something on his own. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does limit the ceiling. I liked that he looked to dangerous areas when he activated offensively, but the overall offensive profile still feels secondary to the defensive one. That’s why I keep coming back to a middle-pairing projection. The mobility, defensive instincts, and transition ability give him a strong foundation, and if the puck decisions become more consistent, there’s enough here to carve out a long professional career. For me, he’s a solid mid-round target whose value comes from how many boxes he already checks defensively.

Landon Nycz (13 in clips) is a mobile, big LHD who played in the NCAA this year and held his own defensively. The big question is going to be his transition game. When it looks good, he looks like a 2nd round pick who projects to a shutdown role on in your middle-pairing

— Austin Garret (@austin716.bsky.social) 2026-06-21T21:29:01.949Z

2. Braidy Wassilyn, LW, OHL

DOB: 5/28/08

5’11, 194 lbs

62gp, 19g, 46pts

25th percentile: Four-year college player

75th percentile: Middle six NHL winger, secondary transition, facilitator

Flashes skill but has not given any indication that he can be an NHL player yet. A bet on traits and development.

Braidy Wassilyn might have the biggest gap between talent and impact of any forward I’ve watched this year. He has good hands, sees the ice well, and there are flashes of creativity that suggest there’s more offense here than the box score might indicate. When he gets the puck in the offensive zone, he can make plays that catch your attention. The tracked data reinforces that idea, with nearly 20% of his passes finding dangerous areas of the ice and a respectable shot volume to accompany them. Defensively, I thought he was perfectly fine. He understands his responsibilities, competes well enough, and generally doesn’t put himself in poor positions. There are enough individual tools here to show why teams will be interested.

What I struggled with was how infrequently those tools impacted the game. Wassilyn was surprisingly uninvolved in transition for a player of his skill level, and that lack of involvement limits both his puck touches and his offensive influence. It’s one of the stranger evaluations in the class because I actually think he has the ability to be more of a transition player than he currently shows. Instead, there were too many games where he faded into the background for long stretches, waiting for the game to come to him rather than forcing his way into it. One viewing in particular was especially difficult, as he barely touched the puck and struggled to do much with it when he did. The efficiency numbers aren’t bad, but they’re also not strong enough to offset the lack of involvement. That’s ultimately where I land on Wassilyn. The flashes are good, the skill is real, and the creativity is there, but I need to see him become far more active in driving play if he’s going to maximize his talent and justify a higher draft slot.

Braidy Wassilyn (66) is going to be one of the more interesting players to follow over the course of the next few years. He flashes some really good skill, but the puck touches are too few and far between. He has the skill to drive more, and I like his 200 foot game, but he needs more puck touches.

— Austin Garret (@austin716.bsky.social) 2026-06-21T21:41:46.974Z

Wildcard Scenario

Ryder Fetterolf, G, OHL

DOB: 1/5/08

6’0, 185 lbs

41gp, 2.07 GAA, .923 SV%

I don’t pretend to know goalie evaluation the way I do skaters, but I know a good one when I see one, and Fetterolf impressed me every time I watched Ottawa. He stole multiple games with his athleticism, quick reads, and aggressive style, yet rarely left dangerous rebounds despite not having the biggest frame. His movement is controlled, he tracks the puck well, and he consistently gives his team a chance to win even when they are being outplayed. Before arriving in the OHL he was virtually unbeatable at Gilmour Academy, and that success has translated seamlessly against much stronger competition, with one of the better save percentages among CHL draft-eligible goaltenders. Goalies are always difficult to project, but based on what I saw, I’d have no problem using a late-round pick on him and seeing where the development takes him.