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Will the Buffalo Sabres have a new thorn in their side for 2023-24?

By Sion Fawkes

Jan 25, 2023; Langley, BC, CANADA; CHL Top Prospects team red forward Connor Bedard (98) skates during the second period in the 2023 CHL Top Prospects ice hockey game at Langley Events Centre. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2023; Langley, BC, CANADA; CHL Top Prospects team red forward Connor Bedard (98) skates during the second period in the 2023 CHL Top Prospects ice hockey game at Langley Events Centre. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tonight at 8 pm is the NHL Draft Lottery. While the Buffalo Sabres can’t land the first pick, a few division rivals might. And that means Connor Bedard.

You might remember the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres season and scoff at it. That year, the Blue and Gold accumulated just 54 points, and they were undoubtedly on a quest to land none other than Connor McDavid, one of those generational prospects who was the consensus number one pick for the upcoming 2015 NHL Draft.

You know what happened: The Sabres lost the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery, and ended up picking second to the Edmonton Oilers, who snagged McDavid. This season, another Connor is the consensus top pick, this one being Connor Bedard, and whoever wins the top pick tonight will also win the sweepstakes, barring something completely unforeseen.

As it stands, the Sabres, who have the 13th-best odds of winning the lottery, can only move up 10 spots, so they are therefore already out of the running. But the Montreal Canadiens have an 8.5% chance to win the top prize, while the Yzerman-built Detroit Red Wings have a 5.0% chance to take it.

But you know what? We, as Sabres fans, have just four words for Montreal, Detroit, and anyone else in the East who may land Bedard: WE HAVE DEVON LEVI.

Connor Bedard won’t be a thorn in the Buffalo Sabres side

Many ideally want to see Bedard go to a team out west, like the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, or Arizona Coyotes. But when you have a brewing goaltender like Devon Levi, who as it stands, appears to be good enough to defy the AHL ranks thanks to his performance this past season, you’re not worried.

Yeah, if Levi comes into training camp, flops, and shows us he needs to hone his game in the AHL for a year, then I’ll be worried since it likely means the Sabres will be turning to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Eric Comrie to face someone like Bedard. But honestly, with Levi in the net, there’s not a single team I think the Buffalo Sabres can’t beat.

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So yeah, go ahead and win your draft lottery, Montreal. Shock the world, Detroit – Though in all honesty, I wouldn’t be totally shocked if Yzerman won the pick, then traded it in some massive blockbuster since we all know his style these days. But if Bedard lands with either one of you, or anyone else in the East, it won’t matter. We got Devon Levi, and he will likely beat Bedard far more than Bedard will beat him. How you like that for a prediction?

Source: Inside the NHL: Where do the Sabres want Connor Bedard to land (or not land)? by Mike Harrington, BuffaloNews.com

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