Buffalo Sabres are No. 11 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

Welcome to Scott Wheelers 2025 rankings of every NHL organizations prospects .

You can find the complete ranking and more information on the project and its criteria here , as we count down daily from No.

32 to No.

1.

The series, which includes in-depth evaluations and insight from sources on nearly 500 prospects, runs from Jan.

8 to Feb.

7.

Advertisement The Sabres have a good pool, with five legit prospects and quantity that runs deep into the teens, plus Zach Benson (who is now considered a graduate after making an exception to include him last year) in the NHL.

But the Matt Savoie trade gives them one less legit prospect and none of their five top guys project to be true top-of-the-lineup types.

Still, this group fits comfortably into the second tier of prospect pools that I have running from 6-12 in this years rankings.

2024 prospect pool rank: No.

1 (change: -10) GO DEEPER NHL prospect pool rankings 2025: Scott Wheeler evaluates all 32 farm systems 1.

Jiri Kulich , C/LW/RW, 20 (Buffalo Sabres/Rochester Americans) A riser in his draft year after a standout showing at U18 worlds, and a continued riser since with his strong play in two and a half seasons in the AHL and some secondary goal-scoring in the NHL this year, Kulich is a sturdy, hard-shooting player who can play all three forward positions and has clear power-play utility.

He can function as the off-puck guy who makes quick plays and decisions with the puck, gets open and can play off talented linemates to free up his extremely dangerous shooting arsenal.

He can carry the puck and function as the primary handler on a line with his good individual puck skill and shot-shaping.

His positioning and timing off the puck offensively is good.

I like the strength, balance and control of his skating stride and how quickly and hard shots come off his stick not just with his world-class one-timer but through a deceptive early release point in stride, too.

Ive seen him come up big in big moments.

Hes got quick hands and semi-regularly flashes skill with the puck on a string one-on-one and under the triangles of defenders sticks.

Hes got good feel around the net.

He plays hard enough.

His skating is noticeable off the puck in his ability to pursue and recapture possession to extend sequences when he needs to.

He stays over pucks and protects them extremely well.

He supports play better than most give him credit for.

Advertisement Theres a lot to like about his makeup.

He just looks like a pro shooter/scorer and has accomplished a lot at an early age at the pro level, which included leading a good Americans team in playoff scoring with seven goals in 12 games as a rookie, and then in regular-season goals with 27 as a sophomore, both as a teenager.

I have no doubt hes going to be a middle-six scoring NHLer and likely a very good one.

I think he can be a perennial 25-goal guy who might touch 30 with the right linemates/power-play usage for his one-timer, too.

2.

Konsta Helenius, C, 18 (Rochester Americans) Helenius put together one of the most productive under-18 seasons in Liiga history last year, entering into similar territory as names like Patrik Laine , Kaapo Kakko and Mikael Granlund without quite chasing down record-holder Aleksander Barkov .

He wasnt just one of the better young players in Liiga, or one of the better players on Jukurit, either.

He became one of the top players in the league, period cemented by an excellent Liiga playoffs.

He did it while sticking at his natural center position as a 5-foot-11 17-year-old, too.

At years end, he was also excellent in his debut with the Finnish mens team, earning a spot on their senior world championships roster (though his mens worlds was a little up and down).

He was also Finlands top player at U18s, though he didnt completely take over in the way many expected and hoped he would.

All this, after impressing at world under-17s and a prior U18 worlds; after playing 33 Liiga games as a 16-year-old two seasons ago as the leagues youngest player and still registering 11 points; after impressing at the World Junior Summer Showcase two summers ago, months after his 17th birthday and still as the youngest player invited; and after centering a top-six line as an underager at his first World Juniors, where he wasnt a star but I thought played better than his two points in seven games indicated.

This season hasnt represented a step forward, though.

While hes a good player in the AHL and was a top point-producer for the silver medal-winning Finns at his second World Juniors, I dont think he has impressed in either and the quiet showing in Ottawa marked a second consecutive international event like that after last springs U18 worlds.

Helenius is going to have a long NHL career and you have to remind yourself of his age when contextualizing what hes accomplished and also his at times mediocre play in the AHL this year, but there are some things in Helenius profile that do give me pause about a true top-six projection he may end up as more of a middle-six type.

Advertisement There were some who wondered for a time if hed be a center or winger at the NHL level, but hes solid enough in the faceoff circle and aware enough defensively it was a real strength of his game pre-draft because of his reads, positioning, tracking and puck-winning on the forecheck, but there have also been times post-draft where Ive found hes not engaged as much as he was last year that I project him as an NHL center.

Helenius is enjoyable to watch navigate, manipulate and pass the puck with his smarts and intuition.

Hes crafty in traffic and does a great job finding ways through the neutral zone and across the line on entries.

Hes got an ability to find his teammates in space and then get pucks to them with the perfect weight and timing, even while hes well covered.

He can also stir the drink through his effort level, though again Ive found it to be more inconsistent this year, and can come up with pucks when you dont expect him to (hes good on steals and lifts) while quietly and efficiently affecting play at both ends of the rink.

Hes capable of being a driver, though he may need to play with more pace to be one in the NHL, and a playmaker.

He does such a good job identifying lanes and taking what the defense gives him.

Hell look for his own look when its there or play in a quick give-and-go when spacing tightens up.

He seems to create constantly for his linemates with his poise and passing play.

Hes a good though not above-average skater who anticipates the play at a very high level off the puck the puck just seems to find him again and again inside the offensive zone.

He shields pucks extremely well for a player his size and can play keep-away to wait for his options to open up.

Hes got a sixth sense for timing and spacing.

Hes usually in good support positions (sometimes to his detriment offensively, kind of like Shane Wright ) and always seems to make the right decisions with the puck.

Hes got vision and finesse and a real east-west game.

Hes a problem-solver.

Hell be an interesting case study in how far smarts can take a player without a defining/dynamic trait to complement the IQ.

I thought about ranking him No.

1 here but am a little lower on him today than I was at the draft.

3.

Devon Levi, G, 23 (Rochester Americans/Buffalo Sabres) Levis numbers as a rookie in the NHL last season (.899 save percentage) didnt live up to the pedigree that preceded them and have looked much the same this year, but his play in the AHL has matched his track record (.927 and a hugely winning record last season, and a save percentage around .915 this year).

And while Im in the minority, I still believe hes got more upside than Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen .

This is still a kid who had two seasons for the ages at Northeastern, winning the Mike Richter Award as college hockeys top goalie in back-to-back years as a freshman and sophomore, and finished his college career with a .942 save percentage (while mixing in three appearances at three different levels for Hockey Canada).

His journey from the CCHL to the World Juniors and then the Olympics , all during the pandemic, was one of the best stories in hockey for a little while there.

And hes still young by goalie standards and has played well in the AHL.

He still has pretty much exactly the skills smaller goalies (hes listed at 6 feet and 192 pounds) need to be successful.

Impressive control on his inside and outside edges, and the patience to hold them.

Quick feet on his shuffles so that he can stick with dekes and go post-to-post or low-to-high to get to tough pucks.

Good hands.

Excellent reads on shooters.

Excellent tracking through and under traffic.

And a battlers mentality in the net, which keeps him in plays even when he looks like hes down and out.

There arent a ton of 6-foot goalies in todays NHL, at least not starting ones, but I still believe that Levi can follow Calgary s Dustin Wolf to become one though I dont think hes at Wolfs level.

4.

Isak Rosen, LW, 21 (Rochester Americans) Rosens a slippery goal-scoring winger who just looks talented in possession.

On the attack, hes a crafty handler who sneaks through traffic to navigate in and out of space in control, drawing attention as he goes.

A lot of the tools he hones are also the ones required of average- or slightly below-average-sized players (hes now listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds, which is up an inch and 12 pounds over the last two years) in todays game.

Advertisement Hes inventive.

Hes a light, fluid skater who changes directions in an instant and beats defenders off cuts, and his ability as a marksman really cant be overstated.

Both his one-timer and his wrister are pinpoint accurate and he makes a ton of quick adjustments before he releases the puck to catch goalies and defenders off-guard.

Though his first instinct is to look to attack the slot to score, hes also got great touch with the puck when play breaks down and he has to improvise or make a play to a linemate.

He has been a top scorer in Rochester the last two seasons, playing to just below a point per game and learning to find ways to get to the heart of the offensive zone to create more for his shot.

I think hes got what it takes to inject skill into an NHL top nine and threaten on the power play, but theres also a risk that he just becomes a AAAA scorer blocked by the wing depth in Buffalo.

Hes got the threatening transition game, nifty release, perimeter speed and control and shot shaping to become a 20-goal scorer complementary middle-six finisher.

5.

Noah Ostlund, C, 20 (Rochester Americans) Ostlunds calling card is his airy, agile skating stride, excellent hands, cleverness and committed two-way game.

The skating and defensive aptitude (including on faceoffs) make him an able penalty killer and the rest give him clear tools of play creation at five-on-five and on the flank on the power play.

He wins a ton of short races, creates quickly as soon as hes in possession and darts around the ice in control to get into scoring areas or facilitate from the perimeter.

His lack of size and strength (hes a lean 5-foot-11 and 171 pounds) has been an impediment at times at the pro level and in his transition to the AHL this year, although I thought itd make his jump to the SHL last year a little more challenging than it was.

But he wasnt helped by a fall hand injury in his rookie season in the AHL and has looked better and more involved in offense in my viewings than his modest stats indicate with Rochester.

Hes also got the benefit of time, his skating and the fondness coaches have for him to fall back on.

Hes silky smooth in possession and a superb puck transporter through neutral ice.

Hes got a slippery quality that few players have, the puck just sticks to him in tight coverage and he is a catalyst on his line in a variety of ways.

Hes a nifty little player.

Some scouts worry about whether hell be able to get to the inside/hold his own physically along the wall in the NHL (he has never scored a ton) but his approach and skating should help mitigate against that.

The flow, the work ethic, the ability to hang onto it or play in quick give-and-goes, his stick on steals, the changes of directions and cutbacks: theres a lot to like.

He has and holds the puck a lot, hes so shifty in possession side-stepping defenders or turning them on angles, and even though he doesnt always produce something out of his natural playmaking game because hes still missing that finishing strength, hes noticeable and making plays nonetheless.

The stops and starts and how quickly and tightly he turns really make him hard to get a handle on and have helped him escape the cycle well against bigger competition.

Hes got skill and he can be a driver.

Im fascinated to see if hell figure it out and find his way into the NHL full-time.

If he can continue to add some muscle without slowing down, theres real appeal there as a potential top-nine secondary play-creator.

6.

Nikita Novikov, LHD, 21 (Rochester Americans) I didnt go to the pandemic U18 worlds in Texas, so I havent seen Novikov live in person as much as I have most players on this list, but he impressed me in the brief World Juniors in Edmonton prior to cancellation and then really grabbed my attention the last two Septembers in Buffalo at the Prospects Challenge, racking up assists and driving two-way results.

After playing 109 games in the KHL at ages 18 and 19 (not a common thing for defensemen), he looked the part of a good two-way defenseman as the youngest D in Rochester last season as well, contributing at both ends and playing to the best goal differential results on the team while averaging just over 15 minutes per game.

This season, those excellent results have continued as he distinguishes himself with Rochester in an increased role, playing 19-20 minutes per game that theyve stood up in an increased role is a big deal, too.

Advertisement Hes a pro-built (6-foot-4, about 200 pounds) defender who keeps his head up, has good feet and mobility for his size and plays a heady and efficient game.

Offensively he advances and supports play, and he defends well against the cycle and the rush with a good stick, a willingness to engage and to get in the way of shots.

I think he sees the ice well even if his game offensively doesnt have a ton of dimension.

I believe hes got what it takes to be a third-pairing defenseman in the NHL and without a doubt a No.

7/8.

His on-ice impacts in the AHL have truly been excellent for a defender his age.

7.

Vsevolod Komarov, RHD, 21 (Rochester Americans) Two years ago, Komarov averaged 23 minutes per game on the best team in junior hockey, playing to strong on-ice results for the Quebec Remparts as they won the QMJHL title and the Memorial Cup.

Last year, after a trade from the Remparts to the contending Voltigeurs, he played an even bigger role, logging 25 minutes per game in the regular season and 30 in the playoffs and into a second QMJHL title and Memorial Cup appearance, leading all QMJHL D in points (69 in 60) and winning both the leagues defenseman of the year award and playoff MVP while playing huge minutes in all situations and stepping up big in the absence of teammate Maveric Lamoureux, who missed the second half due to injury.

Komarovs a two-way defender who makes life hard on opposing forwards.

He plays physically, makes a lot of stops and has shown improved offense and comfort on the puck beyond his big point shot (hes got a mean clapper) over the last couple of years.

He can look a little stilted in his posture and heavy over his feet at times, but hes a good enough skater and he handles his gaps and coverage/assignments very well.

He puts a lot of pucks through to the net, will jump off the line when he can and then knows how to position himself to win engagements on pucks.

Hes got size (6-foot-4, 208 pounds), competitiveness, smarts, hard skills, some soft skills, some vision, some poise, a good stick and a willingness to block shots.

As a rookie in the AHL this year, he has also gone from playing 11-15 minutes per game in the first couple of months to 18-22 of late and has handled the increased role well.

I think he becomes a call-up option pretty comfortably and that progress in his skating will determine whether or not he becomes a full-time NHLer.

There are also only so many D jobs to win and theres a crowd in Buffalo, which complicates things.

8.

Anton Wahlberg, C, 19 (Rochester Americans) Wahlbergs a big kid with good hands and average skating though he can lack coordination and look a little clunky when hes in a hurry, he actually moves well once he settles into his stride.

Hes got some presence on the puck and a hard shot/comfortable one-timer.

He can beat defenders and make plays in and out of traffic with uncharacteristic comfort for a bigger player.

He also possesses a quick, hard release, protects the puck well and uses his size effectively in control.

I like him at the net-front on the power play and hell block shots and commit to defense at the other end.

For a 6-foot-4 forward, he shows comfort carrying pucks into and through coverage and making soft-area plays to his linemates.

The sum of those things makes him interesting by default.

Add in that he has a summer birthday, that he can play center or wing, and that he hasnt looked out of place in the SHL at 18 (where he played 18-19 minutes for much of the second half of last season with Malmo) or in the AHL at 19 playing 15-16 minutes per game, and theres reason for optimism that he has NHL upside if he continues to develop.

I viewed him as more of a late second/early third rather than an early second in his draft year, but hes a legit prospect who likely becomes an AHL call-up option at minimum and may have a decent NHL career as a bottom-sixer if developed properly.

9.

Brodie Ziemer, RW, 18 (University of Minnesota) Ziemer is, to use a tired cliche, just a hockey player.

Hes just good.

Wherever he goes, whoever he plays with, he plays well.

Every game.

Every shift.

Advertisement He was the 06 captain at the NTDP and head coach Nick Fohrs everyman, has become an effective 18-year-old freshman at Minnesota and was good again for Team USA as an 18-year-old middle-sixer at the World Juniors.

Ziemer is a competitor who seems to make his linemates better regardless of who he has played with.

Hes committed to the details.

Hell block shots.

He sticks with the play.

Hes opportunistic.

He makes the right decision more often than the wrong one.

Hes capable of opening up his hips to go heel-to-heel around the offensive zone to widen his plane of sight.

Hes a good athlete who skates well and plays a strong 200-foot, three-zone game for a 5-foot-11 winger.

And hes got some offense.

Ive seen him make plays from the wall and below the goal line.

Ive seen him make plays off the rush.

Those tools arent going to define him, but nobody will be surprised if he finds a way to become an NHL role player with some secondary offense.

Hes by all accounts committed to getting better and will take his career as far as it will go.

Hes not promised to be an NHLer but if he makes it, itll be as a likeable third-liner who plays honest, and plays the right way, and plays hard, and all of those other cliches.

He just finds ways to contribute at five-on-five, is better on the cycle and in the dirty areas than you expect for a player his size, and gets the most out of his game.

10.

Adam Kleber, RHD, 18 (University of Minnesota-Duluth) Kleber is a 6-foot-6, 210ish-pound right-shot who had a good season in the USHL last year and even showed a little bit of offense, but Ive felt he has really struggled under pressure at the NCAA and World Juniors levels this year.

He has played fairly big minutes for the Bulldogs but has treaded water in them in my viewings.

He makes a good first pass when theres a direct play to be made.

Hell hold and skate pucks occasionally.

His offense isnt natural but he puts pucks through and on net.

Hes got a good stick and snuffs out his fair share of plays.

I worry about his boots and his control and poise against pressure, though.

He can look a little heavy and sloppy at times out there he moves well within a pattern but less well in a rush and itll have to improve for him to progress up levels to the NHL someday.

With proper patience and a number of checkpoints in his development along the way, there might be an interesting defenseman there.

Hes also a decent athlete, which bodes well for his mobility improving from a standstill.

Hes got work to do but I see the appeal of what youre working toward with him.

11.

Maxim Strbak, RHD, 19 (Michigan State University) A steadying defender, Strbaks game is all about killing plays, blocking shots, winning battles, efficiency and effectiveness.

He has been relied upon across age groups with Slovakias national team and made the move to North American ice by working his way into big all-situations minutes in the USHL with Sioux Falls before joining the Spartans last season, where he averaged about 18 minutes per game on a good team to positive defensive results.

This year, after the Spartans lost their two top D, Strbaks role has expanded to 20 minutes per game and his defensive results have held pretty firm.

Strbaks a pro-built, stocky and physically strong defender who can play hard minutes.

His game doesnt have a ton of soft skill and his skating can look a little heavy (though powerful as well) at times, but he compensates with hard work, staunch and sturdy posture, timely pinches and effective closeouts to rub players off the puck.

And while hes really strong in physical engagements, hes also good with his stick on the puck so he doesnt have to always rely on his physical advantage to defend.

He has also shown some offense internationally in his ability to push down ice and join in transition, and a willingness to activate off the line and get hard shots on target.

Ive seen him really impose his defensive will and competitiveness in all four corners of the rink in games.

His style occasionally comes with some mistakes trying to step up and make a stop, but hes a rock-solid defender on the whole.

The Sabres are likely hoping he can be the kind of player who balances out a more natural offensive defenseman on a pairing as a no-fuss No.

6/7/8 D.

Advertisement 12.

Topias Leinonen, G, 21 (Mora IK) Leinonen is a massive 6-foot-5 and 230ish-pound goalie who would be among the biggest goalies in the NHL today.

He was the first goalie picked in the 2022 draft and then dealt with injury troubles in each of the two seasons that followed, missing his training camps twice and limiting him to just 12 games played across three levels in Finland last year after an ankle injury derailed the start of his season.

He has bounced back nicely this year, though, and he and countryman Jani Lampinen have formed a nice tandem for Mora in Swedens second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, which encouraged me to put him on the list and has helped his case for a potential contract.

I believed he needed a stronger track record of success to warrant the second-round selection as a blocking-style goalie at the time of the draft and had red flags about his fitness, but he has apparently put in the effort to get into better shape.

He may still work out under the right guidance, but his movement and quickness are an issue and his game can break down against good shooters and at higher paces.

He does have good hands, he reads the play well enough and he covers a lot of the net, so theres a foundation there to continue to build upon.

13.

Tyson Kozak , C, 22 (Rochester Americans/Buffalo Sabres) I didnt expect Kozak to become an NHL player when he was in junior, so his two call-ups this season are a nice nod to the progress he has made as a pro.

Hes a 5-foot-11 center without high-end skill and a very vanilla statistical profile, including in the AHL, where he has played 14 minutes per game this year for Rochester and has yet to produce above half a point per game.

Those guys normally dont get NHL opportunities.

But hes also a good skater and active worker, and sometimes that can be enough to go out there and hold your own.

He gets to a lot of pucks first, keeps his feet moving on and off the puck and plays with pace and intention even if the finishing plays arent always there.

I think he also just is what he is, though, and dont expect him to become more than a guy.

Still, any time a seventh-rounder plays in NHL games for you, thats a scouting and development success.

14.

Prokhor Poltapov, LW/RW, 21 (CSKA Moskva) Poltapovs a 2021 second-round pick who will turn 22 in a couple of days and has had a positive season for CSKA, comfortably sitting third on the team in scoring and leading in five-on-five goal differential despite averaging just shy of 14 minutes per game.

Poltapov plays a tenacious, driven style that complements a decent skill package.

He can take the play at the opposition and attack the slot.

Hes the heartbeat of whatever line he usually plays on.

He plays fast hes a strong, balanced skater and he makes decisions quickly works hard off the puck to get open and applies pressure defensively.

He thrives in the guts of the ice and has enough skill to get to the net and fight through traffic with control to score around the home plate area.

He can also involve his linemates and is the kind of player who is always in the mix and making something happen when hes on the ice.

His skill isnt high-end for a 5-foot-11/6-foot player and Ive often told people over the years that I can come away from watching him play thinking hes good and effective, but is he NHL good? And he is one Id be trying to sign and get over if Im the Sabres, but the expectation should be that hell be a solid AHLer and maybe become a call-up option who gives it a go, rather than a surefire NHLer.

Advertisement 15.

Viktor Neuchev, LW, 21 (Rochester Americans) Before the 2022 draft, I wrote that Neuchev reminds me a lot of 2021 Sabres second-round pick Alexander Kisakov.

So it didnt come as a huge surprise to me when Buffalo picked him.

They look and play a lot alike, with slight builds and individual skill that can manifest into impressive sequences.

Neuchev, though, is a year younger, a few inches taller and has proven a quicker learner in terms of how to best apply their pretty unique games in the AHL.

Hes a midrange marksman with a slick, effortlessly quick release.

But the finesse required to shoot like he does (from anywhere on his body, with the ability to let it go off toe-to-heel or heel-to-toe) is layered throughout his catches, carries and handles, too.

Hes dangerous off the rush because of his lightning-quick hands and quicker release.

Hes the kind of player who projects as a power-play threat who can pop with the right linemates/usage at the AHL level but may not ever get the opportunity to play in that kind of a role in the NHL.

Hes also a player that Ive always thought was going to take some patience the kind of guy who I could imagine lighting it up at the AHL level at 24 or 25 and getting an NHL look that way if he and the Sabres were willing to stick with it in Rochester.

He torched the junior-level MHL three years ago and has been productive for his age, experience level and usage (12 minutes per game last year and 15 minutes per game this year) in the AHL.

While I think theres a good chance he tops out as a AAAA offensive guy in the AHL who never quite makes it as an offensive NHL winger, hes got some talent, hes fun to watch and I felt he deserved a continued mention here.

The Tiers As always, each prospect pool ranking is broken down into team-specific tiers in order to give you a better sense of the proximity from one player or group of players to the next.

The Sabres pool is divided into four tiers: 1-2, 3-5, 6-12, 13-15+.

Also considered but not ranked were CHL goalies Ryerson Leenders and Scott Ratzlaff, Boston University defenseman Gavin McCarthy, UConn forward Jake Richard, Kingston Frontenacs forward Ethan Miedema, skilled but tiny Rochester forward Alexander Kisakov, Michigan Tech standout transfer Stiven Sardaryan and stay-at-home MSU defenseman Patrick Geary.

(Photo of Konsta Helenius: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.