Kevyn Adams is right in his approach to build the Buffalo Sabres
By Sion Fawkes
2022 NHL Draft, Day 1
The Buffalo Sabres, as of 2:00pm on Thursday, July 7th, own three picks in the first round. Those three picks, if everyone signs and there are no perennial busts, will eventually cross paths, most likely in the AHL. At worst, they are already familiar, to some degree with the system and with one another. That beats signing a big-name free agent or making a big trade for someone with no familiarity here.
You can say the same for those drafted in Rounds 2 through 7. No, they won’t begin their career as Buffalo Sabres. Most won’t begin as Rochester Americans. But it doesn’t matter. These prospects are at least in the system and they know who they will most likely be teaming up with. There is at least some familiarity here.
Not that prize free agents don’t work – but when they are perennial busts, teams just wasted money on them. Luckily, Hall was just a one-year mistake, but imagine if the Sabres signed him to a long-term deal.
If a prospect ends up as a perennial bust, it’s not the end of the world. That’s why entry-level contracts exist. Wasting a pick is never fun, but unless you trade it away, you get to try again next season.
Better yet, unless teams traded away their picks, they typically get seven of them every year, which creates an incredible pool of prospects, signed and unsigned. The likelihood of hitting is much greater and at a much cheaper price than blockbuster trades or free agency.