Buffalo Sabres: Top 5 draft picks in Kevyn Adams’ first three seasons
Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams proved he has an incredible eye for talent, judging from his first three seasons on the job.
Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams has been on the job for just three seasons. Yet he’s displayed such an incredible eye for young talent, it was hard to create a list of his five top players and prospects since his first draft in 2020.
Below, you will meet those five players and why I think so highly of them. But first, let’s give a shoutout to some honorable mentions, including Matt Savoie, Noah Ostlund, Nikita Novikov, and Tyson Kozak.
So who made the top five? Let’s meet them.
5 best draft picks in Buffalo Sabres general manager’s first three seasons
5 – Isak Rosen
Had I concocted this list last year, Isak Rosen would have been closer to draft bust than top draft pick. He was injury-prone, and he saw little ice time in Sweden’s top professional hockey league.
I remember that when Rosen signed his entry-level, I was excited, but in actuality, I had more than a few reservations regarding the Swede. And if you wanted my true thoughts at the time, it was that he’d be buried in Rochester’s lineup.
But by the time the playoffs rolled around-before, really-Rosen adapted to the North American game and became one of the most exciting players on the ice. When he needed to disrupt a play, he disrupted it, when he needed to be in scoring position, he was there.
His on-ice awareness and hockey IQ were incredible. And it wouldn’t surprise me if he earned a cameo for the upcoming season.
4 – Jiri Kulich
“We just drafted a steal.” Those were the words I said to myself Adams turned in the draft card with Jiri Kulich’s name on it. I liked the pick so much that soon after, I speculated he’d be playing in Rochester for 2022-23, even when the topic at the time was debatable.
And like J.J. Peterka and Jack Quinn before him, Kulich enjoyed an incredible rookie season, leading the team with 31 goals in the regular season and playoffs combined. He also improved his defensive game, and that could be the deciding factor in him potentially replacing Victor Olofsson in the Buffalo Sabres lineup this season.
3 – J.J. Peterka
One year before Jiri Kulich made his mark, J.J. Peterka scored 35 goals during his first and only regular season and playoffs with the Amerks. His efforts landed him a promotion to the Sabres lineup for 2022-23, and while he made his rookie mistakes, Peterka also improved as the season wore on, setting the stage for an even more exciting 2023-24 campaign.
Peterka also recently competed in the IIHF World Championships, where he led Team Germany to a silver medal and flat out dominated in each game he played in, ending the event with 12 points (six goals) in 10 contests. Once again, he’s setting the stage here.
2 – Jack Quinn
Jack Quinn holds the honor of being Kevyn Adams’ first draft pick, and he has not disappointed since entering the Buffalo Sabres system. Like Peterka, Quinn dominated in his only full season with the Rochester Americans, scoring 61 points in just 45 games.
While he tailed off in the playoffs, Quinn’s performance throughout the summer, training camp, and preseason showed us he was more than capable of playing in the NHL. Like Peterka, Quinn saw his respective struggles, but he also came on strong as the 2022-23 season wore on. Look for the soon-to-be second-year winger to make a leap this season.
1 – Owen Power
The 2021 first overall pick played like a first overall pick over his rookie season this past year. A true workhorse, Owen Power showed time and again that the demands of an 82-game season weren’t too big for him-and he did all of this while logging 23:48 of average total ice time, an incredible number for a rookie.
Power had some issues with his overall positioning early, but then again, even the best players commit rookie mistakes. Yet with the Sabres boasting an on-ice save percentage of 90.8 at even strength and 91.5% at 5-on-5, respectively when Power was on the ice, it shows you how valuable he was in the defensive zone.
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Offensively, he scored 35 points, four goals, and 31 assists, which further helped catapult him into becoming a finalist for the Calder Trophy. Yeah, you can expect Power to dominate the Buffalo Sabres blue line for years the minute he inks that new contract.
Source: Inside the Sabres: Kevyn Adams’ three drafts as GM dotted with early success stories by Lance Lysowski, BuffaloNews.com
(Statistics provided by Elite Prospects and Hockey-Reference)