Buffalo Sabres Season Preview: Breaking down the defensemen – 2022

The Buffalo Sabres are loaded with young defensive talent. So much, their projected top AHL pairing has solid NHL experience. So who will pair with who?

There is a growing debate over who will pair with who on the lower pairings of the Buffalo Sabres defensive rotation. And Zach Rohde of The Hockey Writers may have it figured out. Like most of us Rohde sees Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson manning the first pairing, but things get murky behind them.

Unless you count Owen Power, of course, who is slated to slide in behind Samuelsson and Dahlin. But who will line up beside him, and which players will wind up jumping in behind Power? So far, there are about five players who can fill those pairings. Let’s explore the likeliest scenario.

How will the Buffalo Sabres figure out their logjam at defenseman?

Pairing #1: Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin

The Samuelsson-Dahlin pairing is slowly becoming the consensus here. The duo proved dynamic during the final eight games of the season. They are a complementary pairing, with Samuelsson acting as the stay-at-home piece while Dahlin’s two-way game always gives the Sabres a chance to score from the blue line.

One interesting fact about this pairing is that they are both LHD, indicating that a dynamic pairing does not need one LHD and one RHD, one of the more overrated concepts in the game today. These are two solid defensemen with superstar potential, and that’s why they will man the first pairing.

Pairing #2: Owen Power – Ilya Lyubushkin

I’ve heard many fans state with conviction that Jokiharju and not Lyubushkin would pair with Power. Even I flip-flopped numerous times before ultimately going with the experienced veteran general manager Kevyn Adams wanted to pair with Power the entire time. And like Samuelsson-Dahlin, Lyubushkin and Power are complementary, with the latter showing a two-way game.

This isn’t to underestimate Power’s defensive prowess, as we saw last season just how effective he was with six takeaways and a tendency to force opponents to change direction. His speed also made him effective in transition and to contribute when the Buffalo Sabres reached the offensive zone.

Pairing #3: Jacob Bryson – Henri Jokiharju

Talk about two solid, yet unspectacular players. Jokiharju and Bryson were serviceable when they saw time on the first and second pairing in 2021-22, especially Jokiharju. But in hindsight, neither are built for the top two lines, given the limited skill-sets they have shown.

But that doesn’t mean they need to go to the wayside. Especially Jokiharju. Instead, the duo will flourish if they see no more than 16 to 18 minutes per game on the third pairing.

Rotational: Casey Fitzgerald 

Fitzgerald is a solid, physical defenseman who can rotate with either Jokiharju or Bryson when the Sabres need a hitter against some of the more hard-nosed NHL teams. While I believe Fitzgerald boasts talent, he is also the odd-man-out in this talent-laden rotation.

Overall, I am impressed with the potential on these three defensive pairings. Dahlin and Samuelsson, in time, can become one of the better pairings in hockey while Power can develop into one of the most dominant second-pairing defensemen as early as this season.

Article Source: Predicting the Sabres’ Defense Pairs for the 2022-23 Season by Zach Rohde