Buffalo Sabres prospect Olivier Nadeau is worth watching

The Buffalo Sabres roster and prospect pipeline is jammed, but Olivier Nadeau brings a few traits the Blue and Gold NEED at the top level. 

When the Buffalo Sabres assigned Olivier Nadeau to the Rochester Americans, I grinned, knowing the Blue and Gold would have a prospect who could, in time, take the ice wearing their uniform just a few years from today. Even with a jam-packed lineup of quality forwards that Buffalo will still have even when Nadeau is ready for the NHL, I’m convinced that this is one player who may be worth making room for.

Why? Simple. The Sabres are inconsistent with scoring the so-called “dirty goal,” and Nadeau happens to specialize in that particular skill.

Now, let’s be reasonable for a second. Nadeau isn’t playing in the NHL next season, or even the year after, barring some serious off-the-charts production with the Amerks. Further, the Sabres could have fixed their “dirty goal” issues by the time Nadeau is ready to make the jump, but it’s more than worth having someone like this in the system who is more than cool with forgoing the clean, “highlight reel” goals.

Will there be room on the Buffalo Sabres roster for Nadeau?

Let’s give Nadeau time to develop in the AHL. So three years from today, in 2026, assuming he’s still in the system, will we see room in the Buffalo Sabres lineup for a potential power forward in Nadeau?

We know that at this point, Kyle Okposo and Zemgus Girgensons will be long gone. Things remain a mystery for Tyson Jost, Casey Mittelstadt (though I’m leaning toward long-term with him), Victor Olofsson (leaning toward moving him), Jordan Greenway, and Peyton Krebs.

While I foresee Jost staying, I still don’t believe he will be there when Nadeau is ready to move up. I’ll assume Mittelstadt is there, and Olofsson and Greenway are both out – the latter of which could disappoint fans, but at the moment, he’s given me little reason to get excited. Krebs is the wild card, but I’m going to say he sticks around since he’s found his niche with the team.

We also need to account for Matt Savoie, Jiri Kulich, Lukas Rousek, and potentially at this point, Noah Ostlund. If you do the math, we opened five slots at forward, and here, we have up to four slots taken. So, assuming Nadeau is still around, and general manager Kevyn Adams doesn’t add anyone from the outside, then Nadeau has a chance here.

He will compete with other prospects, obviously, but if he can beat them out, I do foresee room on the roster starting with the 2025-26 season assuming he re-signs. Of course, the future is always murky in these situations, and this is one of THOUSANDS of potential scenarios, but given Nadeau’s style of play and the likelihood there will be an opening when he’s ready, he’s more than worth keeping tabs on.

Source: Following injury, trade, Sabres prospect Olivier Nadeau enjoying stellar season by Bill Hoppe, BuffaloHockeyBeat.com

(Data also provided by Cap Friendly)