The Buffalo Sabres head into the 2025 NHL Draft with the ninth overall pick. Having a top-10 pick is nothing to sneeze at. It provides teams with an opportunity to land a potential franchise player.
In the Sabres’ case this season, the ninth-overall pick could solve a crucial issue: The center curse. In recent draft history, the Sabres have used their first-round picks to draft potential franchise centers, but have come up short.
The biggest swing-and-miss was Jack Eichel back in 2015. The Sabres narrowly missed out on Connor McDavid, taking Eichel second overall. Eichel was a good player but just somehow didn’t quite fit in Buffalo. He’s gone on to play well in Vegas, winning a Stanley Cup in 2023.
Other notable misses include Dylan Cozens in 2019, Casey Mittelstadt in 2017, and a major bust, Alex Nylander, in 2016.
If all of these picks had panned out, the Sabres’ center depth would be the envy of the NHL. But that hasn’t been the case, and, well, there’s nothing left to do but look forward.
That brings us to the 2025 NHL Draft
The Sabres have a chance to end the dreaded center curse by taking a solid player who can bolster the team’s depth and potentially support Josh Norris and Jiri Kulich.
According to NHL Draft prospect rankings, Michael Misa and James Hagens are ranked No. 2 and No. 2, respectively, putting them out of the Sabres’ reach. But beyond those two highly coveted prospects, things get interesting for the Sabres.
Specifically, I have my eye on Anton Frondell. Frondell is the top-ranked international player. He’s a center out of Sweden, playing with Djurgardens this past season. Given how other North American centers like Jake O’Brien, Caleb Desnoyers, and Roger McQueen are poised to go in the top 10, there’s a good chance Frondell could be available at No. 9.
If that’s the case, the Buffalo Sabres could have a wonderful option to fill out the team’s middle six in the not-too-distant future.
Buffalo Sabres must do their homework heading into 2025 NHL Draft
The Buffalo Sabres must do their homework heading into the 2025 NHL Draft. The combine this past week has given teams an opportunity to see what players can do, and, most importantly, see if their personalities are a fit for the team.
That’s where the Sabres must be especially careful.
The thing is that there is no shortage of talent on display at the combine. There are plenty of talented young players who could make any team instantly better. The issue lies in which players are a better organizational fit than others.
That’s something I cannot elaborate on as it’s virtually impossible to know the details of every conversation that happens during events like the combine.
But one thing is certain. The Sabres must figure out the best player they can take based on the team’s ethos and the player’s attitude and personality. If the two mesh, there’s a good chance that the Buffalo Sabres’ 2025 first-round pick could finally yield the sort of center the organization has been looking for.