If they stay put in their current slot at No. 9, the Buffalo Sabres will have their lowest first-round pick since 2012 when they select next Thursday night in Montreal. But the team is still mocking out what could be a wild first round, as if it was picking in the top two like it has in four of the last eight years.
"We do it the same every year. We spend a lot of time – and it doesn't matter where we are – on our list," amateur scouting director Jerry Forton said in a draft briefing with reporters Thursday morning in KeyBank Center. "We spend an awful lot of time getting the players in order on our list. And the reason we do that is we're going to stick with that list certainly through the first three, four, five rounds, I would think. Now it is unique this year, in that we have a lot of draft capital with the three first-round picks, and the 11 picks total."
The Sabres have not made three first-round picks in a draft since 1983 (Tom Barrasso, Normand Lacombe, Adam Creighton) but are slated to pick at Nos. 9, 16 and 28 in this opening round. They had three in 2015, but then-general manager Tim Murray traded the No. 21 pick for Robin Lehner and No. 25 went to Winnipeg for Evander Kane. Current GM Kevyn Adams has repeatedly said he expects to make all three picks, but Forton said his group is aware that Adams can quickly change their course if he makes trades.
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Adams suddenly picked up an extra first-round pick at No. 14 last year from Philadelphia for Rasmus Ristolainen that became Swedish forward Isak Rosen. Two years ago, Adams moved up in the second round to snag JJ Peterka at No. 34.
"In any year, and it happened last year, something can change a day or two before the draft and you end up with an extra pick or end up in a slot that you weren't ever anticipating you were going to be picking in," Forton said. "So the last thing you want to do is to be caught off guard and not be prepared to take a pick at a certain range in the first, second or third round."
The GM on Kim Pegula
Adams said the Sabres continue to operate as normal organizationally in the absence of team president Kim Pegula, who is recovering in Florida after a medical episode of undisclosed origin a couple of weeks ago.
"We're all thinking about Kim. She means the world to us as a human being in our organization," Adams said. "There's great people in this organization that are leading their areas. We're going to continue to work together, help each other.
"And ultimately, this is the Pegulas' organization. As always, they're going to have the final say on all decisions from hockey to business. And that's the way it should be. So nothing's changed in that respect. But I know sitting here, I feel good about the people in this organization that lead their departments on the business side, and we're all going to work together to help this along."
A statement released by the Buffalo Bills and Sabres on Wednesday said that Kim Pegula is "progressing well and is resting and rehabilitating." Citing medical privacy, neither the teams nor the family have offered specifics on her situation.
Pegula has traditionally been a part of the Sabres' team at the draft and has hosted draftees and their families in the club's suite.
Decisions to come on Russians
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said at the Stanley Cup Final the league has issued no directives to teams about avoiding Russian players in the draft in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, and the Sabres, who took four Russians in last year's draft, continue to evaluate all prospects.
"Obviously, the world's changed a little bit since a year ago, even," Adams said. "But what we've talked about, and we've asked our staff to do is, 'Let's evaluate them as hockey players first. Let's put our list together, let's not worry about where players are from. Let's put together a list and then we can put a little asterisk, look at it and have a conversation.' "
In last year's draft, the Sabres took Russian forwards Prokhar Poltapov and Alexander Kisakov in the second round, forward Stiven Sardarian in the third round and defenseman Nikita Novikov in the sixth round. Kisakov has signed his entry-level deal and Sardaryan will play this year at the University of New Hampshire. Poltapov and Novikov spent part of last season in the KHL and remain in Russia.
D-camp roster will be strong
Adams said he's greatly looking forward to summer development camp, which was canceled the last two years due to the pandemic. Draftees from the last two years that couldn't come to Buffalo will attend – and so will key organizational prospects such as Peterka, Owen Power, Peyton Krebs, Mattias Samuelsson and Jack Quinn.
"From a culture standpoint, amongst the young players, these guys are leaders. They've played National Hockey League games," Adams said. "And these are going to be people that are going to be in this organization for a long time. We want that culture where these guys are all getting together.
"For me, development camp is really exciting because it brings the new players in that haven't been even been to Buffalo before. They get to learn about the organization, They get to meet people, how we do things. ... It's less about the on-ice. It will be more skill based, but more about having those players together and growing together, and that, to me, is exciting."
Camp workouts run July 13-15, and the annual French Connection Tournament will held on Saturday, July 16 at 9:15 a.m. All events are in LECOM Harborcenter.
Preseason opens Sept. 25
The Sabres announced they will open a six-game preseason schedule Sept. 25 on the road against Washington Capitals. The slate features five opponents, with Buffalo meeting Pittsburgh twice. The regular season schedule is expected to be released next week and will open Oct. 11.
Buffalo's preseason schedule: Sunday, Sept. 25, at Washington, 2 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 27, Philadelphia, 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 28, at Columbus, 7 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 1, Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 4, Carolina, 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 7, at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
