Rookie sensation tops Tier III in the Sabres Top 24 and under rankings
The Buffalo Sabres have a few dynamic players listed in Tier III of the Top 24 and under rankings, so which rookie sensation is pacing the field?
Wow, we’re over halfway through these Top 24 Sabres Aged 24 and Under rankings, and so far, it’s been fun to see where each of the team’s youngest players and prospects currently sit before the eventful offseason begins.
But things get far more interesting as we dive into Tier III of the rankings, which contains two full-time NHLers and a pair of prospects hoping 2024-25 will be their year to join the big club - or if general manager Kevyn Adams makes blockbuster roster transactions, another big club.
The first player on this list may be a bit of a shocker, as he was viewed as a top-tier up-and-comer last season before a rough year awaited him in 2023-24. The next two could be the most exciting forward prospects currently in Rochester, and as the headline in this article implied, a rookie sensation takes ninth place.
12: Mattias Samuelsson, D/Sabres
If Mattias Samuelsson stayed healthy and enjoyed the same impact he had in 2022-23, he’d be in Tier I. Unfortunately, had we made a list like this last season, nobody would have dropped more than Samuelsson in these rankings.
Yeah, when he’s healthy, he helps the Sabres win games. Or at least that was the case in 2022-23, as last season was a different story. When Samuelsson played, the Sabres finished 15-23-3, good for just 33 points and a pace of 66 points when adjusted to 82 matchups.
Samuelsson, known for crushing plays, big hits, and denying shots, still put up excellent basic statistics - 87 blocks and 106 hits, and he was also on the ice for just 30 goals at even strength, or 0.731 per game and a significant improvement from 0.927 per game last year. That said, the numbers say he improved, especially when you add that he was in the game for almost one goal fewer than expected.
But he’s so injury-prone we need to ask ourselves whether he will be a decent long-term asset heading into the summer of 2024. As one of the players who signed a long-term deal about a year-and-a-half ago, Kevyn Adams and the Sabres organization will be hoping Samuelsson can finally play a full season.
11: Jiri Kulich, F/Rochester/Sabres
Jiri Kulich saw just one game in Buffalo, but don’t let that one-off appearance lead you to believe he took a step back or stagnated and, therefore, belonged in Rochester. Kulich is yet another player in these rankings who could find themselves on the team full-time in October, or as mentioned in previous pieces, he could be another trade asset.
But when you look at his overall scope of work, he ranks higher than the likes of Matthew Savoie and Isak Rosen, among others. And yes, in case you’re wondering, I finally made my decision on which forward I felt should be ranked ahead of the other.
Kulich was once again phenomenal at the World Juniors and played as Team Czechia’s captain. He also handled the part well, scoring six goals and 12 points in seven games, but Kulich also made his mark with the Amerks with an outstanding 27 goals.
Overall, he could be the front-runner of all prospects battling for a spot for the upcoming season if Kevyn Adams leaves a few forward spots open on the big club. But there is one more prospect who may have even more upside. They won’t likely beat out Kulich in the preseason, but there is a good chance they ultimately win out in the long run.
10: Noah Ostlund, F/Vaxjo/Rochester
It’s not impossible, but it would be surprising to see Noah Ostlund win a spot with the big club with such limited experience in North America. More likely, the former 16th overall pick will spend most if not all of next season playing alongside Matt Savoie in Rochester - this is again assuming no trades happen - and dominating the competition in the AHL.
But Ostlund is someone who could, through the AHL Playoffs, a full offseason, and a successful camp, entice the staff enough to give him a recall at some point. That said, he would have had a much better chance at making it and playing more at the NHL level in 2024-25 under Don Granato as opposed to Lindy Ruff, who will rightfully be in win-now mode.
Once again, this is why I cannot stress enough that even if we can write up scenarios while assuming no trade will happen, we still shouldn’t be surprised if Ostlund, a player who has the highest upside of the forward prospects in these rankings, is part of that big deal.
He has extensive pro hockey experience at Sweden’s highest level, he more than held his own, and to be frank, his numbers in the SHL indicate he’s gone from more of a passer to a scorer. That will be huge for front offices fielding teams with little to no chance of making the 2025 playoffs to make some calls and offer established talents for prospects.
9: Zach Benson, W/Sabres
Okay, so if Zach Benson played in junior hockey this past season and made his AHL debut - the Wenatchee Wild found themselves eliminated in the first round of the postseason - he would still carry a higher ranking than Ostlund, Kulich, and the others. Therefore, that makes him the highest-rated Sabres draft pick with a year or less of experience in the NHL.
But Benson deserves this ranking for simply lasting an entire season at the NHL level and playing relatively well for someone who we all thought would spend at least another year in the WHL.
If you’re looking at just points, you’ll be disappointed, as Benson scored just 11 goals and 30 points in 71 games. But no one showed more compete and was such a willing participant in the chaos along the boards, during overall puck battles, and even in front of the blue paint.
At even strength, he was on the ice for 40 goals, he saw moderate work on the power play and penalty kill units, and his possession quality at even strength sat at plus-3.2. And best yet, he started to excel when the Blue and Gold possessed the puck toward the end of the year, meaning we shouldn’t be surprised if Benson breaks out from a points perspective in 2024-25.
I won’t get so ambitious as to say Benson enjoyed a great year, but he was a good player, and there were stretches when you could argue he was one of the team’s better forwards. That said, maybe I ranked him too low, and if you believe that’s the case, you’re probably right.
feed
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)