Last season, the Buffalo Sabres had a top ten pick in the NHL draft. This year, they snagged pick #13, further showing us this franchise is trending north.
The Buffalo Sabres weren’t going to land Connor Bedard. Not that it mattered, because for one, as I said earlier today, they got a potential franchise goaltender in Devon Levi who is capable of beating Bedard. And for another, the Sabres have already built a team, and although we now know Bedard is heading to the Chicago Blackhawks, they still need to build around him, and that could take a while.
But let’s sit here and look closer at this latter point for a second. The Blue and Gold already have a team built to win…when was the last time we could claim that?
We know this because when you were projected to have the 13th pick in the draft and you subsequently landed the 13th pick, it meant you had no chance to snag the first pick anyway, since you can only move up a maximum of 10 slots.
And that alone shows us how far the Buffalo Sabres have come
Two years ago in 2021, they had the first pick, which they used to select Owen Power, who has since become a pivotal part of the team’s success this past season.
In 2021-22, the Blue and Gold finished with 75 points, and it landed them the ninth pick in the 2022 draft, which they used on Matt Savoie. And though the Sabres were better, they still weren’t good enough to “graduate” from the top ten.
This year, that lucky 13th pick symbolizes a graduation from being perpetually stuck in the top ten year in and year out. It shows that, though it’s still a lottery selection, that our Sabres are no longer the hopeless team toiling toward the bottom of the NHL power rankings.
I know some of you wanted another top ten pick. As for me, I was perfectly okay with anything between 11th and 16th. And next season, I’ll be perfectly okay with anything 17th overall or higher.