Buffalo Sabres #2: C/RW Mitchell Marner (London Knights – OHL)
Original Pick #2: C Jack Eichel (Boston University – NCAA)
Considering that Jack Eichel is no longer a member of the Buffalo Sabres, it’s reasonable to doubt that they’d draft him again if given a second opportunity to do so. Make no mistake, he’s an unbelievable player, but with the number two overall selection in the 2015 NHL Draft, Mitch Marner proves to be an overqualified candidate.
A superstar for the London Knights in the OHL, Mitch Marner put together a rather impressive performance in his draft year, scoring 126 points in 63-games played for the team while tallying 9 goals and 7 assists in 7 playoff games.
Though Marner would take an extra year to mature for the NHL, he would return to London as their captain and would go on to net 39 goals and 77 assists in 57-games played. He would also score 44 points in just 18 playoff games and would win the Memorial Cup for the Knights in the 2015-16 season.
Today, Mitch Marner is one of the premier playmakers in the NHL and is often found generating highlight-reel dishes to linemate Auston Matthews and William Nylander on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first offensive unit.
While it’s fair to assume that the Buffalo Sabres would botch the development of Marner as well, similar to how they do with every prospect selected by the organization, the potential of this kid is limitless, and in his 6th season with Toronto, he continues to improve in all facets of his game. If we were to do it all over, Mitchell Marner would be a Buffalo Sabre today (barring they don’t chase him out of town).