BUFFALO, N.Y. - James Hagens made sure the Sabres spent most of two days chasing the puck.
The 19-year-old Boston Bruins prospect, taken No. 7 in the 2025 NHL Draft, was the clear headliner at the Harborcenter during a pared-down prospects showcase. He opened with two goals in Boston’s 6-2 win Sunday night, then piled up four more Monday afternoon as the Bruins rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory.
“We gave the wrong guy four scoring chances, and he went 4-for-4,” said Michael Leone, the Rochester Americans coach who handled Buffalo’s prospects over the weekend.
For Buffalo, the weekend felt like a snapshot of where the organization is now. There was a time when this event usually belonged to the Sabres, with forwards like Matt Savoie, Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich and Noah Östlund taking turns stealing the show.
That kind of firepower wasn’t there this year. Of the Sabres’ 12 forwards on hand, seven were undrafted, and none was selected higher than the fourth round.
Buffalo’s top forward prospects are already in the NHL, while Isak Rosen and Anton Wahlberg were traded in the last year.
The next group of forwards is mostly parked in college. Brodie Ziemer is coming off a strong season at Minnesota.
Ilia Morozov is headed into his sophomore year at Miami University after the Sabres took him with the No. 20 pick in the first round. Prokhor Poltapov still has one more season on his KHL contract before he can come to North America.
Even so, the system lacks elite scoring punch, and that showed in a weekend that was more useful for a look than a verdict. The Sabres also have a young NHL roster at forward that is preparing for main camp.
The showcase itself has also been trimmed down. Last year it was a multiteam, weekend-long tournament.
This time it was just two teams over two days, with college hockey pulling more players away from deeper prospect pools. Buffalo went 0-2, but the result matters less than the individual takeaways.
Gavin McCarthy was one of the more encouraging stories. The Clarence, N.Y., native got to skate in the rink where he grew up and looked ready for his first pro season.
He delivered a big hit in the opener against Boston and scored Buffalo’s first goal in the second game. McCarthy captained Boston University last season, and that same leadership quality has shown up around his peers at these events.
He’ll likely have some bumps in his first AHL season, but the camp started well.
Jake Richard also has a path to playing a meaningful role in Rochester. The 2022 sixth-round pick signed with the organization in May and should see important minutes for the Amerks.
He spent part of his summer training with Gary Roberts in Toronto before finishing in Buffalo while living with McCarthy and his family. Richard’s smarts and shot helped him produce at the University of Connecticut, but his skating still needs to come along.
He has to get quicker and stronger to handle pro hockey, and he did not score in the tournament.
Max Strbak is another player stepping into pro hockey this year after a strong run at Michigan State. His path is complicated by the Sabres’ growing stockpile of right-handed defensemen.
Daxon Rudolph, the No. 4 pick, was not at the event because he is already at the University of Denver, and he stands as the best right-handed defenseman in the system. Radim Mrtka, McCarthy, Strbak, Vsevolod Komarov, David Bedkowski and Minnesota Duluth’s Adam Kleber all crowd that side of the blue line too.
Strbak settled in after Buffalo opened the event shakily. The games were messy, but he was steady with the puck and handled the physical side well.
Dylan Dumont also caught the eye. The Sabres’ sixth-rounder scored 28 goals in the QMJHL last season and has shown a natural scoring touch at development camp and now at the showcase.
He scored on the power play in the first game by jumping on a loose puck near the net and burying it quickly. He also set up Buffalo’s second goal with a smart pass to 2026 fifth-rounder Doman Szongoth.
He still has a long climb ahead, especially physically, but he made an impact against older competition.
Mrtka remains one of the more interesting names in the group. Buffalo drafted Rudolph and now has plenty of right-handed defensemen, which has made Mrtka a frequent topic in trade speculation.
He was reportedly included in the deadline deal for St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko that fell through.
He has handled all of that calmly. The skating is still the standout trait for his size, and he keeps showing a willingness to jump into the offense.
The next test will be the AHL, where it will be interesting to see whether more bite comes out of his game. He’ll mix it up at times, but he does not naturally play mean or nasty.
In goal, Topias Leinonen was absent with a lower-body injury. Health has been a concern since Buffalo drafted him in the second round in 2022, and the organization’s goalie depth chart has plenty of uncertainty after the summer trade of Devon Levi to the Edmonton Oilers left Rochester thin.
Yevgeni Prokhorov is a promising 19-year-old playing in the MHL and KHL. Scott Ratzlaff could get more AHL action this season, but he posted a 3.44 goals-against average and .878 save percentage in 13 games for Rochester last year, and he gave up five goals in the first two periods Sunday.
Samuel Meloche was better Monday. The 19-year-old still has another junior season ahead of him before he heads to Northeastern.
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