Buffalo Sabres 2018 Draft Review

Entering the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Buffalo Sabres’ biggest needs were scoring wingers and goaltending. They left with five defensemen and one center. It’s not cause for alarm, but many are second-guessing general manager Jason Botterill’s master plan. Don’t. At least not yet.

There’s no need to get antsy. Let’s not forget, the Sabres scored the pick of the litter: Rasmus Dahlin. That alone makes this a great draft.

Botterill said there were times during the draft on Saturday when the Sabres had their eye on a forward, only to have him taken before them: “You can never have too many defensemen,” said Botterill. “It’s a scenario where we did talk a lot about trying to add some more defensemen, but we looked at different things throughout the last couple of days and there were some good forwards where we were looking to add to our group, it didn’t materialize.”

Even with Dahlin, Brendan Guhle and others, Botterill stressed the importance of adding defensemen. “We’re very excited about developing a young player like Brendan Guhle and as much as we’re excited about Brendan Guhle, we want to make sure there’s more Brendan Guhle’s coming,” said Botterill.

Here is a recap of the Sabres’ 2018 Draft Class.

Rasmus Dahlin, D

Round 1, Pick 1, Overall 1
Amateur Team: Frolunda (Sweden)
6-foot-2, 185 lbs.

Dahlin is already a legend. He’s the most highly touted defenseman since Denis Potvin was drafted in 1973. He’s only the eleventh defensemen to be drafted No. 1 overall since the Sabres entered the NHL in 1970.