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Welcome to NHL Draft Day 2021 (Update: Ristolainen Traded) |
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(Update: Per Kevin Weekes, the Sabres traded Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers for pick #13 in tonight's draft, along with the Flyers 2023 2nd round pick and defenseman Robert Hägg. This is a truly enormous haul for Sabres GM Kevyn Adams. For clarity, the pick is officially the 14th overall selection but Arizona forfeited their selection this year, effectively making the pick #13.)
Welcome to NHL Draft Day 2021!
The National Hockey League will welcome a new class of first round picks tonight starting at 8 o’clock and the Sabres will be at the front of the line to make their choice (barring any unforeseen trade shenanigans). You can check out all the virtual draft action live on ESPN 2 in the US and Sportsnet in Canada. It was somewhat surprising that the Sabres didn’t make any trade moves yesterday as it was widely assumed that the decision to protect defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was a precursor to a trade once the trade embargo was lifted at 1 pm Thursday.
As for the draft, the Sabres are very, very likely to select Owen Power at 1st overall so there isn’t a terrible amount of intrigue at play today. Perhaps, though, the Sabres are looking at prospective returns in Jack Eichel or Sam Reinhart trades and thinking that they should bolster their forward depth instead. Conversely, the Sabres may view a possible trade of Rasmus Ristolainen coupled with the loss Will Borgen in the expansion draft as the impetus to take Power tonight. It’s pretty hard to make a compelling argument for anyone other than Power at 1 considering the position of the franchise. They need to add as much talent to their roster as possible and Owen Power is widely believed to be a can’t-miss prospect, even if his ceiling might be lower than other higher-risk prospects.
That said, a trade down could be pretty fun if the Sabres have someone else in mind. There haven’t been any whispers in the media that the possibility of a trade involving the first overall pick is even possible so it’s truly not worth spending anymore time discussing, even if it would be incredibly fun.
There is still plenty of time for action between now and 8 pm in order for a deal to take place and it seems likely that there will be at least one trade of either Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart or Rasmus Ristolainen before the draft. Unfortunately, the lack of moves on the trade front means that your regularly scheduled program is airing a 2021 Draft Clip Show due to the lack of trade news. Until such a trade move happens, let’s take a final look at nine prominent draft-eligible figures who will see their names called later tonight:
Owen Power:
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Hank-Balling/2021-NHL-Draft-Class---Owen-Power-Update-Sabres-to-pick-1st-in-the-Draft/290/111808
Matty Beniers:
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Hank-Balling/2021-NHL-Draft-Class--Matthew-Matty-Beniers/290/111865
William Eklund:
https://hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=111979
Luke Hughes:
https://hockeybuzz.com/blog/Hank-Balling/2021-NHL-Draft-Class--Luke-Hughes-Longest-Search-Ever/290/111921
Kent Johnson:
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Hank-Balling/2021-NHL-Draft-Class--Tier-II--Kent-Johnson/290/112231
Jesper Wallstedt:
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Hank-Balling/2021-NHL-Draft-Class--Tier-II--Jesper-Wallstedt/290/112297
Dylan Guenther:
https://hockeybuzz.com/blog/Hank-Balling/2021-NHL-Draft-Class--Tier-II--Dylan-Guenther/290/112074
Mason McTavish:
https://hockeybuzz.com/blog/Hank-Balling/2021-NHL-Draft-Class---Tier-III---Mason-McTavish/290/112370
Brandt Clarke:
https://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Hank-Balling/2021-NHL-Draft-Class--Tier-III--Brandt-Clarke--Eichel-Skating/290/112474
It’s widely believed that the Sabres will select Owen Power at first overall, although they’ve also been said to be fond of Swedish center/winger William Eklund. If it were to be Eklund over Power, though, it would be something of a major surprise. So while the Sabres world awaits any trade activity, sit back, relax and enjoy some stress-free, rerun draft content.
Buffalo Sabres Blogger • 
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