Radim Mrtka has yet to take the significant leap the Buffalo Sabres were hoping for when they selected him with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, but the organization remains bullish on the 19-year-old defenseman's long-term upside.
Tim Kennedy, the club's director of player development, spoke with Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com about what comes next for Mrtka as he gets prepared to likely join the AHL's Rochester Americans for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
"We see him as a top-four (defenseman), first-pass ability, shutdown defender, and that's going to be with him growing into his body," Kennedy said. "We're very excited for him this year.'
Mrtka was quite impressive in the aftermath of last year's draft. He was the top standout at the team's development camp and parlayed that into a strong showing at Sabres training camp. His progress was relatively muted from that point forward, though.
He failed to make a significant impact after opening the 2025-26 campaign with the Amerks, which led the franchise to send him back to junior hockey with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds. He didn't dominate the WHL competition the way you'd expect from a 6-foot-6, 218-pound defender, finishing with 34 points (one goal and 33 assists) in 43 appearances.
Mrtka then returned to Rochester for the final stretch of the season but didn't impress. He ended up with no goals and one assist in eight contests across the two AHL stints.
Although it's far too soon to lose faith in the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship silver medalist, his development timetable to reach the NHL looks longer now than it did when he wrapped up camp with the Sabres last September.
It's one of the reasons, along with Buffalo's organizational depth on the blue line, that the prized prospect has popped up in trade rumors over the past handful of months.
For now, it appears Mrtka will remain in the Sabres' pipeline to open the new campaign, but he'll need a breakthrough for the hype train to start picking up steam again.
Sabres' Tim Kennedy speaks highly of Buffalo forward prospect Brodie Ziemer
While there was some thought winger Brodie Ziemer would sign his entry-level contract with the Sabres this summer, he ultimately decided to play another season at the University of Minnesota.
Ziemer, 20, made substantial strides during his second year with the Golden Gophers, posting 36 points (23 goals and 13 assists) in 36 games while earning meaningful ice time in all three phases (even strength, power play and penalty kill).
"We've really seen (him) improve in the 200-foot game," Kennedy told Benjamin. "He's got an elite release and hockey sense ... but we've really seen his game improve in the D-zone the last two years. Brodie is a player at Minnesota that plays in all situations — PK, PP — and that's what we see moving forward too in pro hockey. He can fit that mold too for us, and we're really excited about him."
The 5-foot-11 forward isn't going to blow you away with his skating ability, but he's displayed a high hockey IQ, which allows him to make smart positional decisions consistently. He's also willing to do the dirty work along the boards and in front of net to help create scoring chances.
Buffalo likely won't want him to play his senior year at Minnesota, which would give the winger the option to become an unrestricted free agent during the 2028 offseason, so there's a high probability the front office will make every effort to sign the 2024 third-round pick once the Gophers' season ends next spring.
Ziemer projects as a middle-six forward who earns a key power-play role at the peak of his career. The Sabres feature a lot of depth in that area right now, which is probably why giving him another season of college hockey, where he'll play huge minutes, was the right development decision.
He'll also gain valuable experience as a leader while serving as Minnesota's captain, a role he previously filled for Team USA at the 2026 World Juniors.
All told, Ziemer remains on a path to carve out a long, successful NHL career, even if he never becomes a point-per-game scorer at hockey's top level.
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