Buffalo Sabres: What made Jacob Bryson so intriguing in 2021-22?

The Buffalo Sabres have four remarkable defensemen who could man the first two pairings for the next half-decade, if not longer. 

Perhaps no other defenseman on the Buffalo Sabres faded into obscurity like Jacob Bryson. Not because he was no good, but because of factors beyond his control. First, Rasmus Dahlin developed into an all star. He also paired well with Henri Jokiharju for most of the season.

Then, Owen Power debuted and played better than anyone would have thought in an eight-game sample size. Power’s debut put Jokiharju onto the second line, where he proved to be just as good of a complement as he was to Dahlin.

But Mattias Samuelsson looked like an even better complement to Dahlin on the first line. A fifth defenseman, Casey Fitzgerald, also made his presence felt as an enforcer slash agitator. Like the other four, he carved out an identity. And that sort of left Bryson in the background.

Jacob Bryson was an intriguing defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres

This isn’t to say the others outperformed Bryson. They just put up numbers that look glamorous on the stat sheet. Samuelsson and Fitzgerald were sledgehammers while Power and Dahlin displayed two-way prowess. Meanwhile, Jokiharju was a jack of all trades, meaning he also flashed at times.

Bryson played in 111 career games and already, he has 116 blocks, showing excellent defensive awareness. Even more impressive was his ability to create turnovers. In 73 games this past season, Bryson recorded 25 takeaways, compared to just two in 38 contests in 2020-21.

It would be understandable if general manager Kevyn Adams traded the young defenseman as part of a package for a veteran to pair with Power. But the recent trade for Ben Bishop’s contract indicates otherwise.

Picking up Bishop’s contract most likely means there are no blockbuster trades or free agents coming to town. Instead, it appears Adams is looking to reach the salary cap floor this season, implying he wants to re-sign his own players and add more young talent via the draft with his three first-round picks. And if this is the case, expect to see Bryson back in the blue and gold next season.

And it makes sense, considering the leap that Bryson took in 2021-22. No, he will never score often, with just 19 points in 111 games. But who cares? He will create turnovers and prevent would-be goals from finding twine given his stellar awareness on the ice.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)