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Draft Collaboration: Sabres options in the second round of the NHL Draft

by Chad DeDominicis - 0

The first-round pick of the NHL Draft gets most of the attention during draft talk and rightfully so. However, the Buffalo Sabres second-round pick at 38 overall is an important pick as well. It has been rare for them to get any impact outside of their top of the draft picks.

They need to get in players that can be good roster players on entry-level contracts to help balance out the salary cap moving forward. It’s time for the Sabres to start hitting on these picks.

To give fans some names to think about at pick 38, I got a few members of Sabres twitter together that have studied these prospects to give their favorite options. Below, you’ll see ideas from Curtis of The Charging Buffalo, Tim of Die By The Blade, and Zack a key member of Sabres draft twitter. I’ll also throw out a few ideas of my own.

I’ll start with my two options to get it out of the way.

1. Tyson Foerster | RW | Barrie Colts (OHL)

Foerster had a strong draft year scoring 36 and 80 points in 62 games for the Colts. I gravitate to players that have a strong shot and that’s the case here with the Canadian-born winger.

The interesting thing about his game is players with the big shot often lack in other areas of the game. Foerster is a player that is known for his two-way game as well. It’s possible he’s off the board before the Sabres pick at 38.

2. Emil Andrae | LD | HV71 (SHL)

Before you start yelling “no more defenseman” at your screen, just hear me out. I’m high on the game of Andrae. He’s not a big defender at 5’9″, but he plays bigger than his size. He reminds me a lot of Lawrence Pilut, all the way down to coming out of the same team in Sweden.

The Sabres made two picks on the left side of the defense the last two years in the top 32 of the draft, but they’re not high ceiling players in Mattias Samuelsson and Ryan Johnson. Andrae has offensive potential, moves the puck well, and is solid in his own end.

I prefer they go forward, but if they want to consider defense, Andrae is the guy for me.

Austin | Die By The Blade (@BrassMaster418)

1. Ozzy Wiesblatt | RW | Prince Albert (WHL)

I thought about just writing: His name is Ozzy, and his story growing up with a deaf single mother with 5 brothers should be enough for me to convince you. Alas, let me sell you on the hockey player. He’s oft listed as a right-winger but I actually loved what I saw from him at center this past year, and in a draft devoid of high impact centers in the first round, he could sneak higher than the Sabres draft pick.

His motor is one of the tops of the class, and he is physical and borderline wreckless given his frame with the number of hits he gives on the forecheck. His speed is insanely good as well, he transitions the puck very well, and he has an above-average grade from me with his shot and playmaking ability.

His best weapons are his speed, physicality, and his ability to move the puck up the ice. I think his shot is dangerous with his release and his passing is very good as well. Ozzy is the classic example of an undersized, highly skilled player falling to the second round because of size and position. However, if you take the sample size at center and let him develop there could be a really interesting prospect as well. He’s the perfect player to draft after taking a player like Marco Rossi in the first.

2. Daniil Gushchin | RW | Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)

Three certainties in life: Death, Taxes, and me falling in love with undersized skilled wingers in the NHL draft. The second round, in my opinion, if we’re taking a forward, should be used to take a high upside player that has slipped out of the first round.

For Guschin, he has everything you’d want from a talent perspective in a first-round pick. He’s super quick and agile, a tenacious two-way player, leaves opponents’ jockstraps all over the ice with his skill, and can rip it as well. His glaring negative is his size, however, he is one of the few undersized players in this draft who will be able to make up with his size with his speed.

In my viewings, he can also try to do way too much with the puck and turnover the puck in unnecessary (sometimes catastrophic) ways. This last point was mitigated going back over his tape during the pandemic and seeing just how pedestrian his linemates were in helping him. He has the ability to transition with the puck on his own stick (something only Eichel and Dahlin can do on the current team), and he can create opportunities with his ridiculous stick-handling and passing skills.

If he hits his potential he can run the offense on a second line…something this team desperately needs as we look to separate Skinner and/or Reinhart from Eichel to balance the scoring. He moves to the OHL this upcoming year, and gets my vote for a player to do the DY+1 imitation of Nic Robertson: undersized, boatloads of skill, shot generators and puts up over 1.8 pts/game.

Outside of players I think will go in the first but could drop (Gunler, Khusnutdinov, Perreault, Mysak, Reichel, Peterka)…I’ll be screaming at my computer at work for us to take him.

Curtis | The Charging Buffalo (@CurtisTCB716)

1. Tyler Tullio | RW | Oshawa Generals (OHL)

Tullio is a player that has a wide range of where he may get selected, most likely in the second to late third round. I can justify taking him as high as 38 though as he brings quite a bit to the table from his skillset and intangibles.

Tullio plays a high-intensity game where he is constantly pushing the pace with the puck and applying pressure without it. Tullio has an excellent and accurate shot which he balances out with great vision as a playmaker.

There’s a creative side to Tullio that shows his excellent hockey IQ I think he is very underrated and has the makings of a second-line winger in the NHL though he has shown some ability to play center as well.  Per Dave Macpherson’s website, Tullio was fifth of all draft year OHL players in Even Strength Primary Points per GP, ranking only behind Byfield, Rossi, Perfetti, and Quinn.

2. Martin Chromiak | RW | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)

Chromiak came over to the OHL halfway through the season from Slovakia and showed very little need to adjust to the North American game. He played quite a bit with Shane Wright (2022 eligible) and while that certainly helped pad his stat line, it was nice to see him keep up with such a high-end talent.

Chromiak is a good goal scorer who I think can score from just about anywhere on the ice because he has such a good shot.  What really was impressive about Chromiak was his play in transition and anticipatory skills to break up plays.  He is just going to become more of an impact player as he gets stronger.

Zack Travis (@zacharymtravis)

1. Thomas Bordeleau | C | U18 US National Development Program

With the Sabres picking 38th I wanted to highlight a couple of players that I thought would be able to make a difference at the offensive end given we have played it safe in the last two drafts with Samuelsson and Johnson.

After watching Point dominate the Stanley Cup playoffs I wanted to highlight a player that I hope can become the next draft steal and that first player is Thomas Bordeleau who stands at 5’9 175 pounds. However, he has a ton of offensive upside and led the US U18 team in scoring. Even though it was the worst U18 in recent memory, Bordeleau was their best offensive player and did the best he could with the linemates he had.

Most years that would lead to a top 10 pick but with team struggles this year he didn’t get the normal attention. He’s one of the quickest players in the draft with elite acceleration and edgework and a good but not great top speed. He also possesses a low center of gravity and is very difficult to knock off the puck.

When I watched him this year I noticed he wins a majority of his puck battles someone I think current Sabres prospects lack and he’s attending the University of Michigan in the fall where he’ll be in good hands. Bordeleau will have time to work on his deficiencies like his inconsistent defensive game and be able to fell out more physically. Thomas can drive play on his own and be a playmaker with better linemates at Michigan. I believe he can take the next step and when we look at him in a year everyone will be saying why didn’t he go higher in the draft last year.

2. Ozzy Wiesblatt | RW | Prince Albert (WHL)

The second player is Ozzy Wiesblatt whose name alone knocks him up at least five spots. Ive seen Ozzy mocked from anywhere from 29 to mid second round, but he fits what I think sabres need in a early second round prospect.  

Ozzy, unlike Bordeleau, is a natural winger with excellent skating abilities that would allow him to play a speed-oriented game and can keep defenders on their toes at all times. Not to mention a good hockey acumen coming from a hockey family with four other brothers who also play.

Sabres lack a high-end right wing prospect that could have the potential to play with Eichel and allow Reinhart to play on the second line and drive that line. Weisblatt is at his best when given time and space. He can exploit defenses with his skating and vision in the offensive zone. In my opinion, he would be a perfect winger for someone like Jack since he’ll actually be able to keep up with Eichel in the skating department.

Ozzy also has a little pest in him which is something the system lacks in minus Pekar who doesn’t have the same offensive ceiling and ability to skate that Wiesblatt does. As for the numbers Ozzy put up 25 goals and 45 assists for 70 points in 65 games and is looking to take that next step with Prince Albert. He already has a Memorial Cup under his belt so he knows how to play an important role on a championship-winning team. That may be something that could help this team as they start to improve.

If the pick isn’t one of the two aforementioned players it needs to be someone whos game is predicated on speed. Just please don’t draft another defensive defenseman. If the Sabres announce Tyler Klevens as the 38th pick I’m becoming a Senators fan.

Photo Credit: Marissa Baecker/Getty Images

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