Jake Richard headlined a group of under-the-radar Buffalo Sabres draft picks who cracked a new list of the top 200 NHL-affiliated prospects ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Sound of Hockey's Curtis Isacke released the ranking, which is based on a "data score" approach that relies solely on a player's statistical performance over the past three years rather than the more traditional eye-test driven scouting analysis of young players.
It came as no surprise to see Isak Rosen (No. 34 overall), Noah Ostlund (No. 38), Konsta Helenius (No. 43) and Anton Wahlberg (No. 111) on the top 200 list, but a couple other members of the Sabres organization also made it despite otherwise generating limited attention this offseason.
Jake Richard (No. 104)
The 2022 sixth-round pick struggled during his freshman season at the University of Connecticut in 2023-24 with just 18 points (seven goals and 11 assists) in 36 games. It was a disappointing start to his college hockey career after a successful three-year stint in the USHL.
Richard bounced back in a major way as a sophomore, though. The 6-foot-1 forward tallied 15 goals and 28 assists across 34 appearances. His 1.26 points per game ranked 11th among all qualified NCAA skaters. He also posted a plus-26 rating.
"I love hockey. I love getting better," Richard told reporters in July. "It's all I ever want to do and all I ever think about. And I have such amazing resources, whether it's at school or here in Buffalo, that I have everything I need to make it to the next level. It just comes down to me putting the work in and taking advantage of those resources. So, I feel very good about the spot I'm in right now."
The Florida native will spend another season at UConn, and the Sabres hope he continues his rapid upward trajectory with the Huskies. A 50-point season — only nine college hockey players reached that mark in 2024-25 — would be a terrific sign of further progress.
If Richard does put together that type of season, it's possible he could start his pro career by joining the AHL's Rochester Americans during the latter stages of the campaign.
Viktor Neuchev (No. 147)
Neuchev was the most surprising Sabres inclusion on the list. He made only a modest improvement in his per-game scoring from 2023-24 (0.49) to 2024-25 (0.56) with the Amerks, and his lack of consistency is a serious concern despite his occasional burst of brilliance.
The Russian winger is also recovering from shoulder surgery in March that brought a premature end to his campaign and forced him to miss Rochester's playoff run. It's another hurdle he'll have to overcome as he tries to ramp up his production in North America.
Neuchev does possess some intriguing offensive upside, as he displayed with a 40-goal season while playing junior hockey in Russia, but right now he feels like a long shot to eventually become a full-time member of the Sabres lineup.
Prokhor Poltapov (No. 177)
Poltapov took a major step forward with CSKA Moscow in the KHL last season. He posted 40 points (17 goals and 23 assists) in 68 regular-season games, which represented much-needed improvement after scoring only 13 points in 56 contests the previous year.
The 2021 second-rounder really began to improve his all-around game, including his compete level, and he finally started to look like a future middle-six forward. Backing it up with another strong season to show the breakout wasn't a fluke is important, though.
Meanwhile, the bigger question may be whether Poltapov ever decides to make the move to North America. He's already 22 and signed an extension last season to remain with CSKA through at least 2026-27. Getting him to come over after that deal ends will be essential.