With NHL training camp now roughly one month away, there will be several prospects seeking to find a spot in the Buffalo Sabres lineup.
A few months back, I noted that prospect Brett Murray could be a darkhorse to land a spot on the Buffalo Sabres in 2023-24. Murray has potential to be a physical, defensive forward, but as it stands, Jordan Greenway can easily fill that role in the Queen City. This implies there may not be a place in the lineup for Murray, though there are a few reasons you don’t want to rule him out.
But Murray isn’t the only potential darkhorse looking to land a spot with the Sabres. Sure, the glamour goes for players like Matt Savoie, Lukas Rousek, and Jiri Kulich, to name a few, but there are a pair of other prospects you don’t want to count out.
2 darkhorse Buffalo Sabres prospects to keep an eye on
1 – Linus Weissbach
Very quietly, Linus Weissbach has put together a pair of respectable campaigns with the Amerks, but in the NHL, the bottom-six is his destination. For Weissbach to make the lineup, he needs to enjoy another strong camp, Casey Mittelstadt needs to be Jack Quinn’s fill-in, Peyton Krebs must take over Mittelstadt’s spot on the third line, and ideally, Zemgus Girgensons kicks inside to play center.
This would let Weissbach rotate in on the wing along with Kyle Okposo and Tyson Jost. Weissbach has been an outstanding scorer and clutch player at the AHL level, as I have previously noted. However, he plays with intensity, has a knack for getting in front of pucks to block shots, and he’s also done a good job killing off penalties – this makes him a small, yet ideal, fourth liner.
2 – Brandon Biro
Just two days ago, I handed out a bold prediction involving Brandon Biro IF he finds a place on the Sabres roster. It projected that, if Biro forced his way into the lineup, he would outperform winger Victor Olofsson, leading to Buffalo into trading the latter as the deadline neared.
I bring this up because Biro was outstanding last season until injuries struck, so his upside is clear. Another plus is that he can also play center and winger. Had Biro remained healthy all season, I would have gone even bolder in the above prediction and claimed he’s a shoo-in to make the roster this season.
You can see the obvious risk, however – the Buffalo Sabres already lost Jack Quinn most likely until December. Do you roll with an injury-prone skater that is Brandon Biro? Sure, the upside is there, but so is the obvious risk.
Source: Which Sabres prospect will earn the roster spot created by Jack Quinn’s injury? by Lance Lysowski, Buffalo News