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3 forwards the Buffalo Sabres will target at ninth overall

By Sion Fawkes

KITCHENER, ONTARIO - MARCH 23: Conor Geekie #28 of Team White skates against Team Red in the 2022 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on March 23, 2022 in Kitchener, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
KITCHENER, ONTARIO - MARCH 23: Conor Geekie #28 of Team White skates against Team Red in the 2022 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at Kitchener Memorial Auditorium on March 23, 2022 in Kitchener, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images) /
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LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – JANUARY 22: #9 Cutter Gauthier of United States battles for the puck with #9 Danil Grigoriev of Russian Federation during Men’s 6-Team Tournament Gold Medal Game between Russia and United States of the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympics on January 22, 2021 in Lausanne, Switzerland. (Photo by RvS.Media/Monika Majer/Getty Images) /

Cutter Gauthier, LW

Both Kimelman and Mike Morreale have Gauthier going sixth to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ditto for Austin. This indicates he won’t fall past Columbus. However, Given his NHL-ready shot, pro-caliber build, and outstanding skating ability, Gauthier is the type of player the Buffalo Sabres will snag without question if he falls to ninth overall.

Right now, it is hard to envision Gauthier falling past Columbus. But this article is not a mock draft, we are instead outlining prospects the Sabres can realistically target with the ninth pick, and that includes Gauthier. Other mocks have Gauthier falling between fifth and eighth overall, so there is an outside chance he does fall to nine.

Scouts cite Gauthier’s ability to play the power forward role given his size. But the Boston College commit scored 65 times in just 54 contests while playing for the NTDP in 2021-22. This gives Gauthier a rare blend of size and off the charts productivity for such a young player.

So how would he fall anywhere near the Sabres considering his credentials? One knock on players like Gauthier is that some scouts may feel they have already seen his ceiling. That may entice teams picking ahead of the Sabres to select prospects with more untapped potential than Gauthier.

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