Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has stressed the importance of an elite compete level since taking over the team's front office in December, and it's fair to imagine that's one of the key traits he'll be seeking in prospects for his first draft class with the organization.
Kekalainen and the Sabres are set to host the 2026 NHL Draft, which is scheduled to take place beginning June 26 at the KeyBank Center. So, there will be a lot of pomp and circumstance when they're finally on the clock at No. 27 overall (assuming they don't trade up).
One prospect fitting the veteran GM's vision is United States National Team Development Program forward Casey Mutryn, who Corey Pronman of The Athletic projected Buffalo to select in the first round in his latest 2026 NHL mock draft on Monday.
"Buffalo adds some much-needed heaviness and jam to its prospect pool with Mutryn to complement all the skill it has drafted recently," Pronman wrote. "He's a hardworking, physical 6-foot-3 winger who plays at an NHL tempo and has some offensive touch, too."
Mutryn served as captain of the U.S.' U-18 squad throughout the 2025-26 season, including a solid individual showing at the IIHF U-18 World Championships, where he tallied five points (two goals and three assists) in five games, though the Americans were upset by Latvia in the quarterfinals.
The 17-year-old winger has tallied 33 points (18 goals and 15 helpers) in 58 USHL appearances with the USNTDP club over the past two seasons.
Casey Mutryn would feel like a slight reach by the Buffalo Sabres in Round 1 of the 2026 NHL Draft
Mutryn projects as a future middle-six winger capable of playing in every situation along with bringing impressive leadership traits to the organization. He wouldn't be a poor selection.
Yet, the Sabres already have a similar player in the system: Brodie Ziemer. The University of Minnesota standout recorded 36 points (23 goals and 13 assists) in 36 games for the Golden Gophers this season while earning the captain's 'C' for the U.S. at the 2026 World Juniors.
Ziemer will probably sign his entry-level contract with Buffalo after next college hockey season, putting him a couple years ahead of Mutryn's development path.
Mutryn made an NCAA commitment to Boston College for 2026-27, and he's probably going to spend at least two (if not three) years with the Eagles.
It's going to take some time to see how the Massachusetts native's offensive game evolves against a higher level of competition. There have been some promising stretches over the past few years, but he hasn't truly taken a major leap.
Mutryn, the son of former NFL quarterback Scott Mutryn (who also played collegiately at Boston College), has a high floor because of his size (6'3'', 201 pounds), work ethic and role versatility, but his ceiling is capped barring an offensive breakout.
Meanwhile, it feels like the Sabres may be better served taking a boom-or-bust prospect with a higher chance to eventually emerge as a game-changer.
Buffalo already has a strong roster foundation in place and it'll spend the summer trying to lock up more members of that promising core to long-term extensions, including Zach Benson and Bowen Byram. The franchise also has a rock-solid prospect pool.
Now's the time for the Sabres to take a little more risk in the opening round of the draft for a few years to see if they can strike gold on a future top-line scorer or elite two-way defenseman.
It's a lot harder to find those type of prospects late in Round 1, compared to the lottery selections the Blue and Gold have been making for over a decade, so you often have to accept a little more risk in the equation as part of that pursuit.
That said, Mutryn would be a decent selection if Buffalo did go in that direction, though his overall profile feels more like a mid-Round 2 choice.
But Kekalainen is always willing to bet on compete level, and the Boston College commit surely has no shortage of that with several years of development runway still on the horizon.
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