3 right-handed defensemen for the Buffalo Sabres at 28th overall
By Sion Fawkes
While the consensus from many is that the Buffalo Sabres will go with a forward in Thursday’s draft, they will still be in the market for a defenseman.
Don’t be surprised if the Buffalo Sabres go with the best available prospect with the ninth and 16th overall picks, despite many fans believing those first two picks will be at forward. Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, for example, projected they would go with Keven Korchinski at nine, so let’s not rule out defense just yet.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they went as far as to snag Denton Mateychuk at nine since he is right up there with, if not ranked higher by some, than Korchinskii. But general manager Kevyn Adams may be thinking differently, so there is that. And yes, I am noting the possibility the Sabres go D at nine and 28 – and let’s not forget about the possibility of doing so at 16.
But why would the Sabres potentially jump on two defensemen in the first round? Mainly because those closest to the Sabres are projecting Adams will pick the best available, regardless of position or handedness. Smart move.
The Buffalo Sabres may potentially go defense-heavy during the first round
Some fans have said they need to hop on an RHD, if anything. But the Sabres are picking in a spot where, per TCB’s 2022 NHL Draft Guide’s rankings, the top RHDs are projected to be long gone by the time they select at nine.
That said, it makes absolutely no sense to reach for an RHD at nine or 16. Especially if there are highly-ranked LHD available like Mateychuk, Korchinski, Calle Odelius, and Pavel Mintyukov.
Per the 2022 TCB NHL Draft Guide, the only two RHD prospects ranked between ninth and 28th are Seamus Casey, an ultra raw prospect with a lot of upside, and Ryan Chesley. I wouldn’t even consider Casey unless he fell to the second round, though Chesley is high on my radar.
There are two other RHD prospects I would also like to see fall to the Buffalo Sabres with the 28th overall pick, one of whom is Tristan Luneau. So to start things off, let’s talk a bit about Chesley before we shift gears to Luneau and finally, one more RHD that has caught my eye.