The Buffalo Sabres are the hot pick to be a surprise playoff team. Many people might not see it as a surprise since they came so close last year but they have the longest drought in the league. With a history like that, nobody can just assume things.
Buffalo is loaded with young superstars who are going to lead the way for a long time. That includes dudes like Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, and Owen Power amongst others. There is a lot more talent coming where that came from.
In fact, the Sabres made a brilliant decision in the 2023 NHL Draft that might help them this year. There was also a little bit of luck with this player falling to them but he did and they are so happy. That player was Zach Benson.
Buffalo selected Benson with the 13th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Honestly, there might be a few teams that regret passing on him more and more as the years go by. It has only been a few months and some teams might be feeling that way already.
The Buffalo Sabres have an incredible player coming in Zach Benson.
At this point in time, it would be a surprise if he didn’t make the opening night roster. He absolutely deserves to based on how he has played in the preseason. Nobody from the 2023 NHL Draft has more points in the preseason than him.
That includes guys like Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli who are near the top of the list but not quite at Benson’s level. He had 7 points during the exhibition season and that led everybody in his class. Clearly, the hype surrounding him was real.
Buffalo deserves a win like this in terms of getting a diamond in the draft. They hit on their first-overall picks but it is the rest of the draft that has hurt them over the years. That all seems to be changing now.
If Benson is able to actually stick with the Sabres this year and produce at a high level, that changes things even more for them. They believed they would be doing a lot of winning as it is but seeing Benson plays so well has to have them even more excited.