The Buffalo Sabres are again doing the NHL draft with different leadership in the room, but new associate general manager Jason Karmanos has a little bit more on his resume than others who have been in his chair in previous seasons.
Karmanos is a three-time Stanley Cup winner in the front office of the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins. He has been brought in to be General Manager Kevyn Adams' right-hand man, instantly becoming one of the most prominent names in the organization.
Karmanos and director of scouting Jerry Forton will be leading the draft and, as much as Sabres fans don't want to hear it, the only way to approach the annual shopping spree of amateur talent is with a long-term approach. A key reminder: This is not the NFL. No one the Sabres take outside of the first round will play for the team next season, and even presumed No. 1 overall pick Owen Power may return to the University of Michigan for more seasoning rather than head to the foot of Washington Street.
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"Projection is key. It's not a race to see who gets there first," Karmanos said Thursday during a news conference in the KeyBank Center pavilion. "It's very much a marathon for these kids to have a career. And a successful career and being a part of a winning organization is the goal."
The Sabres' draft history in the first round is a good one since 2012, save for Alex Nylander in 2016. It's in later rounds where the team has suffered.
Since 2010, the Sabres have had just three players drafted outside the first round play at least 70 games for them: Victor Olofsson (7, 2014), Jake McCabe (2, 2012) and Linus Ullmark (6, 2012). It is a trend the organization has tried and failed to reverse in recent years and again will try when Round 2 kicks off Saturday morning.
Just last month, the Sabres opted not to sign 2017 second-rounder Marcus Davidsson, who has struggled with injuries in Sweden. In fairness, however, Jason Botterill's first draft as GM looks good, as the Class of '17 includes center Casey Mittelstadt, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, defensemen Oksari Laaksonsen and Jacob Bryson and winger Linus Weissbach. That's the kind of draft depth the team needs to replicate.
'We're looking and trying to take a clear focus and throughout the draft," Karmanos said. "In the beginning, the middle and the end, in free agency, in trades, every way we have to acquire players. (The goal is) to find players that fit into what we perceive to be our timeline for when we're going to be a good team."
The second day of the draft is where the Sabres have been habitual failures. Some players have been traded (Cliff Pu, Brendan Guhle, J.T. Compher, Brendan Lemieux). Not signing 2016 sixth-rounder Brandon Hagel proved to be a mistake, as he now plays with Chicago. And goalie Cal Petersen (5, 2013) didn't sign and went to Los Angeles in free agency.
And then there were busts like Davidsson, the double second-round miss in 2014 (Eric Cornel, Vaclav Karabacek) or 2013 second-rounder Connor Hurley.
"I'm not going to pretend that I've got all the answers. I think that would be a presumptuous point of view," Karmanos said. "But I think what people try to do, myself included, is take a very difficult aspect of our business trying to project these very, very young kids into the NHL at some uncertain point in the future. I think there's a tendency sometimes to pick apart these players as we analyze and overanalyze. And, quite frankly, we have to concentrate on the things that we see in these players both as players and as people that we think are special qualities that do project to the National Hockey League."
Adams declined to provide much update on potential trade talks for Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart or Rasmus Ristolainen. The GM said there was "a tremendous amount of conversations going on" leading into the trade freeze that expired Thursday afternoon. It is believed the Sabres' goal continues to be to try to get another Top 10 pick in Friday's first round.
Adams didn't confirm that naturally, other than to say he's listening to all possibilities.
Said the GM: "If it's the right idea that we think makes sense for us, as we look to build around a young core of players, then we would do that."
