A lot of hockey will be played in 2026 but University of Minnesota forward Brodie Ziemer, a rapidly rising Buffalo Sabres prospect, secured his place on some year-end highlight reels with his goal against the eighth-ranked University of Wisconsin on Saturday night.
Ziemer got a step on his defender after a battle for the puck at the blue line, accepted a pass from Brody Lamb and went between the legs to beat Badgers goalie Daniel Hauser.
ADD THAT TO THE HIGHLIGHT REEL 🎥
— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) February 1, 2026
📺: FOX9 & B1G+ pic.twitter.com/UwCe5H2eun
The impressive 19-year-old winger finished the game with two goals and one assist as the Golden Gophers came out on top in a wild conference game, 8-4.
Ziemer now leads Minnesota in scoring at 27 points (18 goals and nine helpers) in 27 games, and he's lit the lamp 10 times on the power play, an area the Sabres have struggled mightily at times this season.
Buffalo fans hoping to check out the 2024 third-round selection will have some high-profile opportunities in the coming weeks as the Golden Gophers have two-game sets against Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Michigan State before the Big Ten Tournament in mid-March.
Buffalo Sabres' prospect pool continues to climb up the NHL rankings
The Sabres prospects didn't generate much hype coming into the 2025-26 season, but a strong first half of the campaign from several young players in the system is starting to garner attention.
Nick Iacoban of Watch The Stats released his update prospect pool rankings on Monday, which saw Buffalo move up seven spots to No. 9 overall in the NHL:
Watch The Stats Prospect Pool Rankings - Winter 2026 Edition
— Nick (@nickiacoban) February 2, 2026
Here they are, my prospect pool rankings for this winter! I don't have time to make full write-ups like in the past, so this will do. I'll be taking requests for individual team cards later today, so stay tuned for… pic.twitter.com/G0I2joP4Vm
The Blue and Gold also own the fifth-best U-23 core based on Iacoban's ratings.
Buffalo's jump in the rankings come as the NHL club has received key impacts from several rookies this season, including Noah Ostlund, Isak Rosen and Konsta Helenius.
Among those still making their way toward the Sabres, defenseman Radim Mrtka continues to turn heads with his development and is now being viewed as one of the league's top 10 prospects.
When you combine those positive developments on the prospect side with Buffalo's recent success, highlighted by a 20-4-1 record over its past 25 games, it's easy to see why there's a feeling the long-suffering franchise may finally be turning a corner.
Among the players on the Blue and Gold's active roster, only winger Jason Zucker (34) and goalie Alex Lyon (33) are over 30 years old.
So, the Sabres are finally in position to not only end their 14-year playoff drought, but also start building some sustained success that could ultimately land the team in Stanley Cup contention.
That's probably still a few years away but, once the likes of Helenius and Mrtka become full-time NHLers, the organization has some real upside. That'll be especially true if it also strikes gold with some middle-round draft choices like Ziemer.
No matter how you slice it, things are finally looking up in Buffalo.