Leading up to the NHL Draft, players start to get an idea of where they might end up being drafted and by which teams. However, any hunches that Daxon Rudolph had in the weeks leading up to the NHL Draft went out the window on the day of the first round, after the Buffalo Sabres had acquired a Top 5 pick and were looking to talk to Rudolph.
Rudolph now joins a blueline that not only is a strength of the Sabres' roster but has some top prospects waiting for their chance, like Radim Mrtka. For Rudolph, he is not rushing to the NHL and will be spending this upcoming season at the University of Denver.
Recently, Marco D'Amico of RG.org interviewed Rudolph to discuss several topics. One of those topics was what Rudolph is working on to get better as a player and, hopefully, eventually be in a position to play for the Buffalo Sabres.
“Just defending the rush, a little bit of habits, zone exits and blue-line exits from the offensive zone, and kind of starting my defense from there,” Rudolph said. “So I spend less time in my own zone.”
Daxon Rudolph has a chance to play meaningful games that should help him in the NHL
Rudolph had a productive season in the WHL last season with the Prince Albert Raiders, with 78 points in 68 regular-season games and another 27 points in 19 playoff games. This upcoming season, he should once again be playing meaningful games, as the University of Denver is one of the best teams in the NCAA.
Denver in the history of their program has 20 Frozen Four appearances, with one vacated, and made it four of the past five seasons. They went on to win the national championship in three of those years, including this past season.
For the Sabres, it will be worth watching how Rudolph does in these pressure situations. They ended their playoff drought last season, and the expectation is that they are going to be playing a lot of playoff hockey moving forward.
What is interesting is that by the time Rudolph is ready to make the jump to the NHL, the Sabres' blueline could look very similar to what it has now. Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, and Owen Power are all under contract for at least the next four seasons and Olen Zellweger is under contract for the next three.
The expectations were always going to be high for Daxon Rudolph being a Top 5 pick but unfortunately for him he will also be compared to how Bowen Byram does with the Chicago Blackhawks. However, he knows what he needs to work on and will be a key part of the Sabres' blueline in the coming seasons.
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