Top 3 most intriguing players on the Buffalo Sabres in 2022

The Buffalo Sabres have their high-output players like Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson. But they are not the most intriguing on the 2022-23 roster.

Make no mistake, Dahlin and Tage are the cornerstones to a Buffalo Sabres franchise that spent the entire 2010s and the early 2020s lacking them. Yeah, you can say Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart held such roles in the late 2010s, but Eichel’s toxic personality is a 180 from what you see from Dahlin and Tage.

Meanwhile, Reinhart was never a great player in Buffalo, despite being a second overall pick. His best season came with a 65-point outing in 2018-19, where he scored 22 goals and 43 assists in 82 games.

But today, I don’t want to talk about the two best players on the roster. Or arguably the best. Instead, this article is for three players who, at worst, have found unique niches in their game that will help the Sabres win.

Their statistics were not impressive, but their presence was nonetheless an integral part of the Sabres in 2021-22. Let’s meet them.

The 3 most intriguing players on the Buffalo Sabres 2022-23 roster: Player #1 – Dylan Cozens

On February 9th, 2022, Cozens turned 21, yet he already displayed the leadership ability of a 31-year-old. If you turned on a Buffalo Sabres game for the first time and watched Cozens, the on-ice tenacity and vocal personality would make you think he was a 12-year veteran, not a kid in his second NHL season.

It’s this vocal nature and work ethic that puts Cozens at #1 on my list of most intriguing Sabres. Yes, his statistics were sketchy over his first two seasons, but they also showed noticeable improvement. As for his goal-scoring drought during the latter half of the 2021-22 season? You didn’t need to inform Cozens about it.

He is the classic definition of a workhorse. And perhaps his skills aren’t as good as the Sabres thought when they drafted him at seventh overall in 2019. But his ability to outwork even the most seasoned veterans is why you will see further statistical improvement from him in 2022-23 and beyond.

Rasmus Asplund

To appreciate Asplund’s game, you need to look beyond his statistics, where he scored just 27 times in 80 contests. You really need to look beyond everything and watch film of his play from last season. One that ended with him snagging a few Selke votes, and it shows you how good of a defensive forward he really is.

An excellent player on the forecheck, when Asplund is on the ice, the Sabres are often in scoring position, evidenced by his 52.8% Corsi For and 52.9% Fenwick For at even strength. This may not seem like a huge advantage, but it is both an 8.2% and 9.1% increase, respectively, from 2020-21. Further, 51.2% of all face-offs occurred in the offensive zone with Asplund, an 8.9% increase.

And finally, opponents are far more erratic with the puck at Asplund’s presence, shooting just 89.9% at even strength. No, Asplund isn’t the kind of player you want on the top two scoring lines, but his defensive nature makes him a remarkable puzzle piece for the third line, which he should play in 2022-23.