At No. 71, Sabres select Owen Sound defenseman David Bedkowski
Bedkowski is a 6-foot-5, 221-pound right-hander who had three goals and four assists with 73 penalty minutes in 35 games for Owen Sound after being acquired from Oshawa.
Continuing to add size and snarl to their defense pipeline, the Buffalo Sabres selected Owen Sound blueliner David Bedkowski at pick No. 71 in the third round of Saturday's NHL draft.
Bedkowski is a 6-foot-5, 221-pound right-hander who had three goals and four assists with 73 penalty minutes in 35 games for Owen Sound after being acquired from Oshawa in a blockbuster trade that saw the former Winnipeg first-round pick Colby Barlow go to Oshawa, where Bedkowski had played 125 games over parts of three seasons.
"I'm a heart and soul guy, loyal to the soil," Bedkowski said on a video call from Los Angeles. "Just compete is the name of the game, to me. Sacrificing, blocking shots, whatever it takes."
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams reacts during a press conference at the Buffalo Bills' training facility in Orchard Park on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Joed Viera/Buffalo News)
It was the Sabres' first choice on Day 2 of the draft. Buffalo was scheduled to pick at No. 39 in the second round, but traded that choice to Pittsburgh, along with defenseman Connor Clifton, in a deal for defensemen Conor Timmins and Isaac Bealliveau.
Bedkowski battled injuries last season − a wrist injury early in the campaign and a broken hand that cost him nearly six weeks later in the year after blocking a shot.
Bedkowski said he thoroughly enjoyed his experience at the NHL scouting combine earlier this month in LECOM Harborcenter and was thrilled to join the organization, even in the face of its 14-year playoff drought.
"It's truly like an out of body experience for me. I'm super excited to go to Buffalo," he said. "I had a great time there. ... I love that challenge (of breaking the drought). Nothing lasts forever. It's bound to happen, eventually."
The selection of Bedkowski was announced by Greg Manzi, a 16-year-old from Lancaster injured on the ice in October during a Jr. Sabres game.
Manzi was joined at the Bills' facility in Orchard Park by general manager Kevyn Adams and owner Terry Pegula. He was originally slated to announce the second-round pick, but was moved to Round 3 when the trade of No. 39 took place.
Fourth round: The Sabres continued to opt for size in the draft, and selected Matous Jan Kucharcik, a 6-foot-4 center from Czechia's HC Slavia Praha U20, at No. 103.
Kucharcik scored six goals with 10 assists in 25 games with HC Slavia Praha’s U20 team this season.
Born in Vipiteno Italy, he’s been lauded as a developing two-way center, and played for Czechia in the IIHF U-18 World Championship in Texas earlier this year. Kucharcik was also teammates with defenseman Radim Mrtka, the Sabres' first-round pick Friday at No. 9, on Czechia’s national team.
At No. 116, the Sabres took what is essentially their annual goaltender by tabbing Samuel Meloche of Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec League. He went 30-14-6 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .900 save percentage for the Huskies, and then had a standout run in the playoffs (8-3-2, 2.06/.911)
Fifth round: The seats around Noah Laberge emptied at Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, but the defenseman from Acadie-Bathurst of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League stayed in his seat.
He knew he was going to hear his name called Saturday at the NHL Draft. He got the call from the Sabres at No. 135.
“At the end, it was all worth it,” said Laberge, a 6-foot-1 defenseman.
Laberge scored 12 goals and 23 assists in 63 games this season, and describes himself as a two-way defenseman who has a strong skating ability, and can pick his spots on being a defenseman with offensive productivity. He prefers to carry the puck into the zone, but is both productive and choosy when he finds opportunities to pass.
“I bring a smart d-man that makes the right decision with the puck,” Laberge said. “I don’t do a lot of turnovers, and I make the right play when I’m in my zone. I can bring a lot of offensive punch at the blueline and bring a lot of skating power.”
He admitted he needs to work on the physical side of his game. He wants to be a more significant hitter, even as part of a Sabres draft class that, in the first five rounds, has been defined by size and toughness.
Sixth round: Chicago Steel center Ashton Schultz was the choice at No. 167. The 5-11, 180-pounder had 14 goals and 25 assists in 57 games for his USHL club. The University of North Dakota commit scored the game-winning goal in the third period to give Minnetonka a 2-1 win over Edina in the 2023 Minnesota Class AA state championship game. It was played at XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, home of the Wild.
Seventh round: Melvin Novotny will head to the United States to continue playing hockey, and will likely head to Muskegon of the USHL before joining the Sabres’ organization. The Sabres selected Novotny at No. 195, out of Sweden.
He’s a 6-foot-1 forward who can play at either center or wing, and scored 12 goals and 26 assists and was a plus-10 in 41 games for Leksands IF J20 of Sweden. He also played for Sweden’s U-18 team in the IIHF World Championships.
The Sabres went east with the second of three seventh-round picks, selecting their second goalie of this year’s draft. Yevgeni Prokhorov, a goalie from Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruysk in Russia went at No. 199, and is originally from Belarus.
Prokhorov was 16-7-3 in 28 games, with four shutouts, a .903 saves percentage and a 2.19 goals-against average.
At pick 219, the Sabres wrapped up their selections by taking Ryan Rucinski, a center from Youngstown, Ohio, of the USHL. The 5-10, 176-pounder had 19 goals and 23 assists in 49 games and will play next season at Ohio State.
