The Buffalo Sabres’ 2021 and 2022 draft classes still have plenty of names worth tracking, and a handful of prospects outside the NHL are already showing where their development is headed.
Prokhor Poltapov, taken 33rd overall in 2021, has taken the biggest statistical step of the group. The 23-year-old winger spent his first two KHL seasons in a depth role with CSKA Moscow, then broke out in 2025 with 40 points - 17 goals and 23 assists - in 68 games after managing only 13 points in 56 regular-season games the year before. He signed a two-year extension to stay with CSKA and wrapped up last season with nearly the same production, finishing with 16 goals and 24 assists in 68 games.
Topias Leinonen, the Sabres’ 41st overall pick in 2022, finally found real traction after moving to Sweden. The 22-year-old goaltender had bounced around different levels in his home country before settling in with Mora IK, where he posted a 13-10-0 record, a 2.31 goals-against average, a .910 save percentage and four shutouts in 2025.
He then came to North America last season and split time between AHL Rochester and ECHL Jacksonville, but the numbers were not encouraging. With Devon Levi gone, Leinonen had been expected to share the net with Scott Ratzlaff in Rochester, though an off-season training injury has kept him on injured reserve since the start of camp.
Vsevolod Komarov, chosen 134th overall in 2022, is giving Rochester an early look at what his game might become. The right-shot defenseman’s offensive numbers from junior never fully carried into his first two pro seasons, when he produced six goals and 23 assists in 124 games. This season, though, the 22-year-old has opened with three assists in four games for the Amerks.
Jake Richard, the Sabres’ 170th overall pick in 2022, has also made a quick impression at the pro level. The Jacksonville, Florida, native stood out at prospect tournaments and summer development camps, then delivered at the University of Connecticut as a sophomore with 15 goals and 28 assists in 34 games.
His scoring dipped as a junior, when he finished with 27 points, but he signed with the Sabres this summer and has already earned a top-six look with Rochester. In four games, the 22-year-old has one goal and one assist.
The Sabres’ draft pipeline also included Owen Power, Isak Rosen, Matthew Savoie, Noah Ostlund and Jiri Kulich among the club’s 11 picks in both the 2021 and 2022 NHL Drafts.
In Other News...
Sabres Just Added A New Concern To Their Blue Line Depth
The Sabres quietly shuffled their blue line depth on Sunday, striking a trade with the Penguins that sends Ryan Johnson to Pittsburgh and brings Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch into Buffalos organization. All three defensemen are currently assigned to minor league teams, so this is more of an organizational move than a move that changes the NHL roster right away, but it does mark the end of Johnsons time with the Sabres.
Even so, it lands in a part of the roster that has become worth watching. Buffalo has been managing its defense group carefully, and any move that thins out one option while adding two new names naturally draws attention in the system. Jones and Laatsch give the Sabres fresh depth to work with, but the timing adds another layer to a blue line picture that already needed close monitoring. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Still Searching For Answers As Danforth Rejoins The Mix
Justin Danforth is back in the Sabres mix after working his way through a long recovery, and his recent return has given Buffalo at least one welcome piece of stability as it keeps sorting through the early-season picture. He has played in the teams last three games and is already seeing time as a penalty killer, a role that fits the kind of dependable minutes the Sabres have been searching for while juggling their lineup.
Lindy Ruff has been upbeat about what Danforth has brought since rejoining the group, and Buffalo still has a few moving parts to sort out as it looks ahead to the next stretch of games. The Sabres are continuing to adjust both their lines and their goalie usage, which leaves plenty of room for more change even as Danforth settles back into the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers-Sabres Took A Sudden Turn When Dahlin Left
The Sabres' afternoon against Florida took an abrupt turn when captain Rasmus Dahlin was forced out with an upper-body injury, a tough break for a blue line that has leaned heavily on him since opening night. Dahlin had started this season with three points in four games, and he came into it fresh off a standout campaign in which he helped push Buffalo back toward the playoffs and finished third in Norris Trophy voting.
For a team sitting at 2-3-0 and seventh in the Atlantic Division, losing its top defenseman in the middle of a game is the kind of development that can ripple well beyond one result. Buffalo did not have much margin for error already, and Dahlin's absence leaves another question hanging over a roster still trying to find its footing early in the season. [Read more 🡒]