Buffalo Sabres Draft: 4 late-round sleepers to bolster the team
By Sion Fawkes
The 2022 NHL Draft is underway, and the Buffalo Sabres can snag plenty of talent on Day 2 of the draft, especially in those late rounds.
The following picks are all projected to fall to the later rounds, so odds are you did not see the Buffalo Sabres or any of the 32 NHL teams give them much thought on Day One of the 2022 Draft. But as the draft creeps closer to the later rounds, the following players would be ringers for the Sabres or any NHL team seeking to take a chance on them.
These prospects are laden with potential. Some are versatile players who display tremendous upside in one or two areas of the game. However, they remain a work in progress and likely won’t see NHL or even AHL action any time soon. Let’s meet them.
4 late-round sleepers for the Buffalo Sabres: Sleeper #1 – Hudson Thornton, LHD/Prince George Cougars (WHL)
At 5’11, 181lb, Thornton isn’t a player who possesses ideal size, which may explain is fall to a fourth round projection. However, his ability to play hockey as an offensive-minded defenseman is bar none one of the best in the draft class. So let’s overlook his lack of size and instead focus on his 14 goals, 31 assists, and 45 points in 65 games with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars.
He is remarkable at spreading the puck around to the point where he is the go-to for creating opportunities in the offensive zone. The reason he’s ranked so low in the 2022 NHL Draft is the fact that his defensive skills need to improve.
Thornton rarely plays his assigned gaps well, he is incapable of disrupting plays, and opposing players will often catch him out of position. That said, he is the ultimate work in progress from a defensive standpoint.
Thornton has potential to be an incredible asset on the power play and a third pairing at the NHL level unless he figures out his defensive game. If he can, then the Buffalo Sabres or anyone willing to take a chance on him may have just found a tremendous sleeper.