Another day, another set of new Buffalo Sabres prospect rankings ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season, but this release yielded a few unexpected results.
Corey Pronman of The Athletic placed the Sabres' system at No. 13 overall, which is in the same range as most of the other rankings released this offseason, but some of his player placements varied quite a bit from other prospect analysts.
Pronman also uses slightly different criteria (any player 22 or younger, regardless of NHL experience), so defenseman Owen Power is No. 1 on the list despite already playing over three full seasons in Buffalo.
Power's ranking is no shock, but let's check out a few of the unanticipated outcomes.
Radim Mrtka ranked higher than Zach Benson
The Sabres obviously have a lot of confidence in Mrtka's long-term projection after selecting him with the ninth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. That said, seeing him above Benson, who's tracking toward stardom after two seasons in Buffalo, is quite a surprise.
Benson has recorded 58 points (21 goals and 37 assists) in 146 games for the Sabres. Yes, he's a bit undersized (5'10''), but he plays far bigger than his frame and his underlying numbers suggest he's on his way toward being a high-impact two-way player.
There's far less certainty when it comes to Mrtka. His 6-foot-6 frame combined with improving offensive skill set give him top-pair upside, but he's at least one year away from making a serious push for a full-time role in Buffalo.
In fact, it feels like you could make a stronger case for Benson being No. 1 on this list than No. 3. That says more about the winger's potential than anything negative about the defenseman, though.
Topias Leinonen cracks top 10
The Sabres always knew it would be a long development path for Leinonen when they selected the goalie in the second round of the 2022 draft. It was more about betting on his intriguing combination of a 6-foot-5 frame and impressive athleticism than on-ice results.
Three years later, the story hasn't really changed. The 21-year-old Finnish netminder put together a solid season with Swedish side Mora IK last year (2.31 goals against average and .910 save percentage in 25 games) but the sample size was small and his play remained inconsistent.
Now the question is where he'll play in 2025-26. He signed his three-year entry-level contract, which suggests Buffalo will probably try to keep him in North America, either with the AHL's Rochester Americans or ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen.
Beating out Scott Ratzlaff for the Amerks' backup job behind Devon Levi would be a good sign, but he's still at least a couple years away from a possible NHL role.
Isak Rosen fails to make top 10
Although Rosen isn't a surefire prospect because of his middling size and average skating ability, it's starting to feel like he's becoming underappreciated on a league-wide scale.
The 22-year-old winger recorded 55 points (28 goals and 27 assists) across 61 appearances for the Amerks last season. After that nearly point-per-game production in the regular season, the Swede netted five goals in eight playoff contests.
He also has pedigree as a first-round pick in 2021. Players drafted that high tend to receive the benefit of a doubt, even if their production isn't meeting initial expectations, but that simply hasn't been the case for Rosen as he's slid down most rankings.
He should have a chance to see double-digit appearances for the Sabres this season once injuries arise, so it'll be interesting to see whether he can prove the doubters wrong.