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Buffalo Sabres Draft Picks: Top Pick From Each Round

By Tim Redinger

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The third round – the part of the NHL draft where you start looking for diamonds in the rough – or guys that are going to start filling out your AHL roster.  Guys can make it to the NHL from all rounds, but your odds off a lasting career start to drop off as you enter into the deeper parts of the draft.

A few names stood out to me when looking over the list of guys taken in the third round of the draft.  Bill Hajt played his entire career with the Buffalo Sabres.  I have a soft spot in my heart for goaltenders, so Jacques Cloutier jumped out at me.

Bob Corkum played with the Buffalo Sabres twice, book-ending a career that also spanned six other franchises.

For the best third round draft choice by the Buffalo Sabres, I am going to go with a modern era player however, and tap number 61, Maxim Afinogenov as the Buffalo Sabres best third round draft pick.

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    • Afinogenov was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres 69th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft.  He played nine seasons with the Buffalo Sabres before a stop in Atlanta before returning home to Russia to play in the KHL.

    From the fourth round there were a couple of names that stood out as well, as the Buffalo Sabres were still pretty adept at finding talent in the later rounds.  I am going to go with a goaltender in the fourth round, however, I almost went with the US born Keith Carney – or I could have gone with fan favorite Matt Barnaby.

    Instead I am going with the 74th overall selection in the 1983 NHL Draft – Darren Puppa.  Puppa played in 16 NHL seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning.  In 429 NHL games he he was 179-161-54 all time.

    Next: Rounds 5 and 6

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