Ranking the Sabres defenseman from worst to first for the 2024-25 season
The Sabres will, without a doubt, boast a young defensive rotation for the 2024-25 season, but where do they currently rank a few months out from the season?
The Buffalo Sabres defensive rotation may concern some fans since there won’t be a player on it over age 29, while the bulk of them are in their early-to-mid-20s. It’s not only fueled with high potential, but also a lot of talent, starting with who is arguably the best player on the entire team.
So, how does the Sabres rotation rank overall? I’m taking the top eight players in the system and finding out for myself, starting with a fringe NHL talent who I thought would be elsewhere at the moment.
8 - Jacob Bryson
Jacob Bryson was one player I was surprised to see get another year in the system, but I’ll also admit that he didn’t look half-bad last season. As organizational depth, Bryson only saw time in 36 contests, but he also put up eight points, just one shy of what he finished the 2022-23 season with, but in 59 games.
While Bryson recorded a less-than-stellar 14:41 of average total ice time, something that was similar to what he saw in 2022-23, he still wound up blocking over one shot per game, and his possession metrics at even strength were encouraging - 14 on-ice goals against and a 93.8 on-ice save percentage.
7 - Henri Jokiharju
I was less surprised to see Henri Jokiharju return, and part of me wanted to rank him over the No. 6 and No. 5 players on the list. But one figured things out relatively quickly and put together a solid campaign, while the other improved as the season wore on.
Jokiharju finished the season with a career-best 74 games, and he also logged 20 points for the first time. Add in his hitting the century mark in blocked shots and nearing it in body checks, and we can understand why Kevyn Adams didn’t hesitate to bring him back to Buffalo.
6 - Ryan Johnson
While I didn’t rank most AHLers from last season, Ryan Johnson serves as an exception since he saw 41 games with the Sabres. And if the Blue and Gold enjoyed a stint in playoff contention in the same way as the Rochester Americans, Johnson may have never finished the year with the Amerks.
Still, he acclimated well in those 41 games, even if his overall numbers look more forgettable than Jacob Bryson’s. But he wasn’t on the ice for many on-ice goals against at even strength, a number that totaled just 18, adjusting to 36 across 82 outings. If he plays for the Sabres all year, a more physical team around him could warrant even better output as far as possession metrics go.
5 - Connor Clifton
It should serve as no surprise that Connor Clifton landed in the middle of these rankings, as he can go either way here. If the player who showed up later in the season arrives in October, the Sabres will be better off. But he can’t let opponents catch him out of position so much as they did early on in 2023-24.
Still, 45 on-ice goals against at even strength isn’t terrible, though he did have one of the league’s better goaltenders playing behind him amidst just 16:33 of average total ice time, over an entire minute below the 17:51 he attained during his final season with the Boston Bruins.
4 - Mattias Samuelsson
For Mattias Samuelsson, finding a way to stay on the ice long-term is key, and injuries have resulted in him appearing in just 96 games over the last two years. You could argue that lesser ice time would benefit, but through 41 games last season, Samuelsson averaged just 20:30 of average total ice time per game, over a minute-and-a-half less than what he logged in 2022-23.
But even amidst what you may have called a down season, Samuelsson has been good at finding ways to get the puck up the ice, as shown in his 50.3 Corsi For last year. If that number keeps trending north this season and Samuelsson can stay healthy long-term, look for the Sabres to enjoy a plethora more scoring opportunities.
3 - Owen Power
I’m still in the “unpopular opinion” category here with Owen Power, and if you ask me, his sophomore season was better than a contingent of fans advertised last year. He finished 2023-24 with two fewer points and two more goals; he was more physical, he blocked 115 shots, and his number of giveaways decreased by 16 - 52 in 2022-23 to just 36 in 2023-24.
While he played in three fewer games in 2023-24 than he did the previous season, Power saw seven fewer goals allowed at even strength, and the Blue and Gold’s on-ice shooting percentage sat at 11.2, which was the best of his career. I’ll concede and say that Power should have seen more of a jump in production, but he didn’t regress.
2 - Bowen Byram
Three goals and nine points across 18 games was a good way to make a first impression following the Casey Mittelstadt trade, and Bowen Byram also looked great in the defensive zone. His hard-hitting style added yet more physicality for the Sabres, and after a full offseason with the team, expect him to make a respectable jump in 2024-25.
Sure, injuries are a concern, and that will be something to look out for this season, but a healthy Byram could easily end the year with between 40 and 50 points. He will log top-four minutes, and there’s a good chance Byram will excel on the first or second pairing.
1 - Rasmus Dahlin
Nobody else would grace the top spot other than the Sabres highest-paid player, and Dahlin could set legendary numbers for the Sabres this season as he leads this young rotation. If the Sabres rediscover what made them such a hot team in 2022-23 - and it could happen with an edgier identity coming to town, career-highs in points and goals are to be expected here.
Dahlin, who spent the previous two seasons as an alternate captain, could also hear his name called to lead the Blue and Gold as a captain this season, but we won’t get too far ahead of ourselves just yet.
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