Buffalo Sabres: 13th Overall Scenarios for the 2023 Draft
The NHL Draft lottery happened this past week and the Buffalo Sabres will be picking 13th overall this season. Here are a few scenarios regarding the pick.
Connor Bedard is almost guaranteed to go to the Chicago Blackhawks unless their GM somehow messes it all up. Not that the Sabres had a chance at 1st overall, but moving up to 3rd overall would have been fantastic.
The 2023 NHL Draft is said to be very Forward heavy. With the Sabres having an abundance of elite young talent on Forward, it’s tough to tell if Adams should draft another Forward or go the defensive route at this draft.
Right now, the Buffalo Sabres sit at 13th Overall. Close to the top 10, yet thankfully not in the bottom 16. There’s a lot of potential to draft a solid player who could play in the NHL full-time with the Sabres. However, they could also turn out to be a bust.
The Buffalo Sabres have selected 13th overall six times in Franchise history. Let’s take a look at who was drafted:
- 1978 – Larry Playfair (Defense)
- 1988 – Joel Savage (Right Wing)
- 1991 – Philippe Boucher (Defense)
- 2004 – Drew Stafford (Right Wing)
- 2005 – Marek Zagrapan (Center)
- 2009 – Zack Kassian (Right Wing)
Buffalo Sabres have a history of drafting 13th overall
Not too shabby. One of my favorite things about the draft is the gamble you take when drafting a player. We could select someone with the 13th overall and they may never play an NHL game in their career. Then in the 7th round we can select someone who becomes a Sabres legend and plays their whole career here.
Fellow writer, Zach Jezioro, typically hosts a draft party at his house each year. We’ve been doing it since Owen Power was taken 1st overall in 2021. Last year we had a ton of fun watching Kevyn Adams select players at #9, #16, and #28.
Typically each of us select a player or two that we want to be drafted by the Sabres, then a player or two of who we think the Sabres will take. I take pride in wanting and predicting the Sabres to take Matthew Savoie #9th overall last draft. I did the same thing in 2017 with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
With our current roster, prospects, and rookies, the Sabres have a lot of options on what they can do with the 13th overall pick. Let’s look at a couple potential scenarios:
Scenario 1: Draft a player
I bet no one was able to guess this one. While it seems it’s the most likely decision for Adams and Co. it’s still only a possibility. We know Bedard will go 1st overall. Fantilli should definitely go 2nd overall. After that, it’s just up in the air.
It would be least logical for the Sabres to take a Goalie with #13. My personal preference would be to take a Defenseman with that pick. With how random and unpredictable the draft will be, do the Buffalo Sabres target a defenseman to take? Or do they take the best available forward?
If right-handed defenseman David Reinbacher is available, I’d like us to acquire him. He is believed by many to be the top Defenseman in this draft. Standing 6’2 and 187 lbs, Reinbacher could be a potential partner for Owen Power.
It’s likely he’d play a season or two in Rochester before coming to the NHL. If Adams follows the philosophy of the fans and acquires a veteran RHD for this season and potentially next, it would be perfect for Reinbacher to slot into that spot after the veteran retires.
Some Mock Drafts have us taking Right Winger Matthew Wood or Right-Handed Defenseman Axel Sandin Pellikka. It wouldn’t make sense to me to draft another winger, as it seems we have an abundance of elite wing prospects, especially at Right Wing.
The Sabres could stand pat at 13th overall and draft the best available
I’d be happy with Pellikka. Another good RHD with potential. Assuming Reinbacher was taken and Pellikka was available, I’d still be happy taking the Swedish defenseman.
The Samuelsson and Dahlin pairing seems set in stone. Though what’s great about Samuelsson is he can play anywhere in the defensive lineup. It’s going to be amazing to see Owen Power take the next step in his development, so it’s possible that he could eventually move into the top pairing with Dahlin.
Outside of unsigned prospect Ryan Johnson, the Sabres look a little light in the defensive prospect category. Adding in another high end defensive prospect from the first round would be good for the Sabres.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is only 24 years old and still has potential to be an NHL starter, but it’s looking more like he’ll be a good backup. Devon Levi is only 21 years old and has already impressed everyone. He will likely be our starter soon enough.
Eric Comrie hasn’t impressed, but the defense playing in front of him was horrible. He’s only 27, which seems to be prime time for many goaltenders, so there’s still a chance he’ll turn things around. Lastly, we have unsigned goaltender Topias Leinonen who is 19 years old. His stats don’t look the greatest but a 19 year old playing in Finland’s top league for a bad team is impressive within itself.
Who would you like the Sabres to draft 13th overall?
Scenario 2: Trade the pick
If neither Reinbacher or Pellikka are available at 13th overall, I’d like to see the Sabres trade the pick. This pick will have some good value to it. Not top 5 or top 10 value, but still a good chance for a good player.
We have some options with what we could do. We could trade up, trade down, or trade for a player. I don’t think trading for a better pick makes much sense. 1st and 2nd overall are likely off limits so outside of that I don’t think it’s worth it to give up assets for a better pick. Though I wouldn’t mind trading the 13th overall for more picks, prospects, or roster players.
Trading pick for picks:
- St. Louis acquires: 2023 1st (13th overall)
- Buffalo acquires: 2023 1st (25th overall), 2023 1st (30th overall), 2024 5th round pick
Before you sharpen those pitchforks and come at me, it was just an idea. I think a player at 13th overall will be a lot more valuable than a player at 25 and 30. It’s just an example. Acquiring more draft capital could be a good thing to add to our outstanding prospects pool. We could draft a Forward and Defenseman with each pick, go for two Defensemen, or even two Forwards. Then we’d get a 5th rounder next year to sweeten the deal a bit.
Maybe adding more assets would benefit us greater in the long run. I remember Adams and the crew mentioning that they were going to take Kulich at #16 but instead went with Ostlund.
They were expecting him to be gone by #28, but were surprised when he was available. Trading for a later pick could result in something similar to this. I’m sure there will be a few hidden gems still available later in the first round.
Trading pick for player
We also have the option of trading the 13th overall for a roster player of some sort. There will be defensemen like Radko Gudas, John Klingberg, Matt Dumba, Damon Severson, and some other potential candidates that will be available in Free Agency. We have the cap space for it but a lot of them might be looking for multi-year deals. If we went the Free Agency route, I’d like to go for Severson or Gudas.
Potential trade targets for this position could be Connor Murphy, Cam Fowler, Neal Pionk, or Rasmus Andersson. I think we could get more for each player with the 13th overall involved, but it’s the start of something.
It’s possible to acquire a roster player, later pick, and maybe even a prospect for the 13th overall. There are teams like the Florida Panthers who do not have a 1st round pick in this draft that we can use to our advantage. Though Florida is doing good right now in the playoffs so I’m sure they’ll make minimal changes to their roster.
There are several teams who are right up against the cap as well, who will need to get rid of a few contracts in order to resign players. Maybe we could talk to our good friends in Vegas and pry Shea Theodore from them with their 1st rounder for the 13th overall.
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There are many options to pursue in this scenario with the pick. I feel all options would benefit us, as long as Adams doesn’t trade the 13th overall for someone like Rasmus Ristolainen straight up. Adams won’t make the same mistakes that past GMs did. What would you like to see the Sabres do with the 13th overall pick in this draft?