The Buffalo Sabres are leaning hard into youth, and the spotlight is squarely on three forwards who could help shape what comes next: Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius.
That’s where the real intrigue sits heading into the season. The Sabres already made some calculated summer moves, including letting winger Alex Tuch go in a sign-and-trade and dealing defenseman Bowen Byram in the summer’s biggest blockbuster. With the draft and free agency now behind them, the attention shifts to how these young pieces fit together in Buffalo.
Kulich is the one who may be easiest to overlook if you’re only glancing at last season’s bigger storylines. Between the rise of Helenius and Ostlund, the Sabres winning the Atlantic Division, and the team coming within one goal of the Eastern Conference Final, Kulich slipped a bit from the center of the conversation.
That’s despite the fact that he already logged a full season in 2024-25, playing 62 games and finishing with 15 goals and 24 points before beginning last season as the team’s No.1 center. He was also dealing with a serious blood clot, but he is ready to return.
Kulich brings speed, a sharp shot and one-on-one skill, and if he gets back to that top-center role sooner rather than later, a 25-goal season and a push past 50 points is in play.
Ostlund’s case is different, but just as compelling. He didn’t look overwhelmed at all in his rookie season, putting up 11 goals and 27 points in 60 games.
Then he came back from injury in the playoffs and made a real impact against the Boston Bruins before getting hurt again. Ostlund plays with edge and purpose, wins battles, and lifts the players around him.
The ceiling is obvious: he could be a top-two center for Buffalo as soon as this season. The question is durability.
He’s been hurt at every level and missed time with a significant injury last season, so staying on the ice is the hurdle. If he can do that for most of the year, 40 assists, more than 50 points, and a role as one of the team’s most important forwards are all within reach.
Helenius might be the most electric of the group, and he’s already shown he can handle big moments. He scored key goals against the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs, then delivered the golden goal for Finland at this summer’s World Championships.
The talent is obvious. The adjustment is the real test.
He thrived quickly in the American Hockey League, but this jump is different, and he has only nine regular season games behind him. There will probably be some rough patches, which is exactly what you’d expect from a 20-year-old in his first full season.
Still, Helenius should be one of the league’s best first-year players, and 20 goals and 45 points feels like a solid starting point. If he finds a home in the top six, those numbers could just be the floor.
The Sabres are also counting on growth from players like Owen Power, but this trio is a huge part of the picture. Buffalo has skill here, but turning that talent into consistent impact will be the challenge. If two of these three take a clear step forward, that would be a meaningful sign for both the team and each player individually.
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Sabres Prospects Just Got A Ranking Treatment Fans Will Hate
Corey Pronmans annual Top Prospects and Players Under 23 list always draws a reaction, and this years version is no different for Buffalo fans. The new ranking spans 156 names, but the wider conversation around it is less about who made the cut than how the cuts were made, with the list once again drawing criticism for what looks like a heavy lean toward recency and reputation over sustained production.
For the Sabres, that means a few familiar frustrations are already bubbling up. Some young players who have put together real NHL or AHL stretches were slotted lower than expected, while others with thinner rsums were placed ahead of them, a mismatch that has fans re-litigating how these lists are built in the first place. The individual placements are the part that will get debated longest, because the rankings seem to leave plenty of room for disagreement before anyone even gets to the names that were left out. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Prospect Could Quietly Change Buffalos Defensive Depth Picture
Simon-Pier Brunet has already given Buffalo something it can always use more of in the system: a defense-first blue line prospect with size, skating and reach. The 20-year-old was a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft after four seasons in the QMJHL, and his profile fits the sort of steady, low-maintenance defender that can quietly become more valuable as a depth chart gets tested.
Brunets next step comes at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, where he will try to translate that defensive foundation into a bigger role against NCAA competition. Buffalo still keeps his NHL rights, which gives the organization some flexibility while it waits to see how much more he can add to his game before the discussion turns from long-term project to real depth option. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Prospects Face A Crossroads Buffalo Cant Afford To Ignore
With the Sabres trying to steady themselves after a wave of departures, the organization is leaning hard on its pipeline to help fill the gap. Daxon Rudolph looks like one of the next young names to keep an eye on, while Radim Mrtka is on a different track altogether, still developing but already giving Buffalo reason to think about what he could become down the road.
The real interest in this group is how many different timelines the Sabres are juggling at once. Some prospects are close enough to force a decision soon, while others are still sorting out where they fit and how fast they can rise, which makes every contract choice and every season of development matter a little more for a team that cannot afford to miss on its next wave. [Read more 🡒]