Buffalo Sabres Draft Picks: Top Pick From Each Round
By Tim Redinger
The top first round pick ever drafted by the Buffalo Sabres is none other than first ever pick of the Buffalo Sabres, the number one overall pick in the 1970 NHL Entry Draft – Gilbert Perreault.
He doesn’t have a Stanley Cup ring, but he is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and he has his number in the Rafter’s Club at First Niagara Center.
There will always be only one number 11 in Buffalo Sabres franchise history – and that makes him the best first overall draft pick in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft.
There are plenty of great first round draft picks in the annals of the Buffalo Sabres media guide. There are eleven first round draft picks that have never laced up skates in an NHL game (most of them from the supplemental draft era), but some of them have yet to play a game for the Buffalo Sabres who could.
The list of great players taken with the first pick for the Buffalo Sabres includes Rick Martin, Phil Housley, and Dave Andreychuk – is there a future first round draft pick that will rate among the greatest to ever wear blue and gold – and possibly supplant Gilbert Perreault on one of the many records he holds?
The first round was a no-brainer pick, despite a solid cast of runner-ups who could easily be called a great pick in their own right – but that is what makes them first rounders right?
The second round draft picks of the Buffalo Sabres lists several great players as well.
More From SabreNoise – Buffalo Sabres Second Round Draft Busts
Craig Ramsay has the most NHL games played of all second round draft picks selected by the Buffalo Sabres, but Danny Gare has his number retired by the team. There are plenty of decent players selected in the second round that could carry the weight of the best second round draft pick in Bufalo Sabres history.
My vote here is once again for a member of the Rafter Elite – Danny Gare, the Buffalo Sabres 29th overall draft selection in the 1974 draft. Gare had two 50 goals seasons, and is the scrappy goal scorer that the city of Buffalo loved to have wearing their blue and gold uniform. Unlike Perreault, Gare would only start his career in Buffalo, before moving on to stops with the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers.
Next: Rounds 3 and 4