With the NHL Draft this Monday, the Sabres are once again in the running for the number one overall pick. They have a 6.5% chance at the number one pick and the seventh-best odds overall.
If there is one player that the Sabres should target, it should be Caleb Desnoyers. The 18-year-old currently plays for the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Desnoyers joined the Wildcats last year at the age of 16 and took off running.
In 60 games, the Wildcats' center had 20 goals and 36 assists, and a positive plus-minus of +2. He struggled in the playoffs in just a few games, but came back the following year with a vengeance. In just 56 games this year, Desnoyers tallied 84 points, with 35 goals and 49 assists.
The improvement from the year before is phenomenal, as he averaged 1.5 points per game. But wait, it gets better. He finished with a plus-minus of +51 on the season. Putting him Top-70 all-time in a single season for plus-minus in the QMJHL.
For the first time since 2010, Moncton earned a spot in the QMJHL Championship series and will compete for the Gilles-Courteau trophy. That has a lot to do with Desnoyers, as he has amassed 24 points in just 13 games. Averaging nearly two points per game, he has the Wildcats in a spot that they haven't been in in over a decade.
Desnoyers is one of the most well rounded picks in the draft. Not only can he score and create offensive at will, but he is solid defensively and is fantastic on the faceoff dot. Winning an impressive 69% of his faceoffs this season.
Desnoyers current player comparison is Jack Eichel, who happened to be another franchise star that the Sabres took in the first round back in 2015. Not only that, but Eichel is one of the top players in the league now. I don’t think it will take long for Desnoyers to find his way to the NHL, and if the Sabres make a run at the playoffs next year, don’t be shocked if he earns himself a call-up.