Breaking down the worst draft class in Buffalo Sabres history
By Sion Fawkes
Over 50-plus seasons, the Buffalo Sabres had their fair share of terrible draft classes. But one jumps out more than the rest.
The Buffalo Sabres have had some pretty bad draft classes across their 50-plus-year history, and they also had several near-misses. Take 1999, for example. If it wasn’t for Ryan Miller, the class would have been nothing more than a speck in the organization’s history books.
The 2000 class was worse, but at least Paul Gaustad was able to salvage something out of this class. But there were two draft classes that were particularly unkind to the Blue and Gold – the 2010 and 2011 classes, which saw Mark Pysyk emerge as the only serviceable player in either class.
So after much vetting, my list dwindled to the 2010 and 2011 classes. But like I said, at least Pysyk did something with the Sabres. That left the 2011 class, which only saw Joel Armia, Daniel Catenacci, and Nathan Lieuwen suit up for NHL games, a combined 19 for the Sabres.
The 2011 draft class is the worst in Buffalo Sabres history
Joel Armia played in just one game for the Buffalo Sabres, before he was traded in a blockbuster to the Winnipeg Jets in a move that also sent Brendan Lemieux, Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, and a first north of the border. In return, Buffalo got Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, and Jason Kasdorf, none of whom helped the Blue and Gold return to the playoffs.
Daniel Catenacci played in just 11 games for the Sabres, averaging just 8:44 of average time on ice per contest. He spent most of his time in Rochester until Buffalo traded him in 2017 to the New York Rangers for Mat Bodie, who never appeared in an NHL game.
Finally, there was Nathan Lieuwen, a sixth-round pick who appeared in seven games for the Blue and Gold. He spent his entire professional career bouncing around from the AHL and the ECHL.
light. Related Story. Breaking down the best draft class in Sabres history
Overall, there were plenty of draft classes to choose from the 2010 and 2011 classes, particularly 2011, saw the Sabres get little in return. The class also made minimal impact in the NHL, with Armia being the best, in his 439 overall contests since his debut in the 2014-15 season.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)