As it seems the best 4 or 5 players are pretty much engrained at this point in their slotting, and out of reach for the Sabres, for the coming 2025 NHL draft I started with a rising player that may be right their at spot #9 where they draft.
It seems the consensus top 4 are likely:
Matthew Schaefer
Michael Misa
James Hagens
Porter Martone
The next grouping includes players like Anton Frondell, Roger McQueen, Jake O'Brien, Brady Martin and Victor Eklund. The next best defenseman, after Schaefer, is commonly Radim Mrtka who could also sneak into the top 10 picks. One player that is also on the top 10 list, but is creeping upward with his recent play is Caleb Desnoyers. He is 6' 2" French-Canadian from the Quebec area. I site an article who claims he will be better than two other high-ceiling French Canadians: Pierre Luc Dubois and Alexis Lafreniere. He is a centerman with skills. Hard forechecker, which the Sabres desperately need.
Only one player (Misa) in the top 12 or 13 scored more goals than Desnoyers. See LINK. His 1.55 points per game were 3rd in the top-ranked 25 players this year (Misa & Martone). So, he scores, he forechecks, he has good size. Elite prospects has him sitting right at #9 right now, where the Sabres pick, but other mocks have him going as high as #3 because his game is peaking in the QMJHL play-offs. If he goes that high, then he only pushes another good player into the Sabres laps.
