Buffalo Sabres: 3 potential first-round picks in 2022 NHL Draft – Pre Lottery

We are counting down to the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, which means we will be making plenty of draft day predictions for the Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres can never have too many draft picks. Nor can any NHL team. While the Sabres made a lot of strides in 2021-22, juxtaposed by their young roster slated to get even younger come October, they can always afford to add fresh faces to their organization.

In a perfect world, the Sabres would hold onto all their young puzzle pieces like Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson, and Peyton Krebs, to name a few. However, salary cap restraints will eventually cause issues. Instead, the Sabres will, long-term, most likely build around a Big Three and shed the remainder. It’s just a fact of NHL life.

So the Sabres will eventually need some help, and none of us are quite interested in seeing another fully-blown rebuild any time soon. That said, general manager Kevyn Adams has, so far, looked to keep all three projected first-round picks so he can add fresh talent into the organization.

The second of which remains up in the air, depending on where the Vegas Golden Knights select. If the Knights land the 11th through 16th pick, the Sabres will keep all three first-rounders for 2022. However, if the Knights select in top ten, Buffalo will get the former’s draft pick in 2023, leaving them with just two first-round picks this season.

For the purposes of this article, we are assuming the Sabres hold onto all three picks. But we will know how things play out for sure following tomorrow’s draft lottery.

This slideshow is also not a mock draft. Instead, it shows us three logical first round draft picks for the Sabres. Future slideshows will provide actual mocks since we will know exactly where the Sabres are selecting, barring a trade. You may see the same names on those slideshows, or you may see something different, depending on where the Sabres ultimately select.