3 underrated prospects the Buffalo Sabers should target with the 11th pick in the NHL Draft

The 2024 NHL Draft is approaching its two-week window, which means speculation about what the Buffalo Sabers will do with their first-round pick is swirling. General manager Kevyn Adams could choose one of a few attractive forwards on June 28, or what’s not to say he doesn’t take a completely different path?

Adams could be that general manager who likes a prospect who is expected to leave later and will therefore look for someone few of us thought would go at No. 11. But that’s not because he could go there. have potential reach that we would. need to criticize the choice.

I’m one of those people who believes in the philosophy “If you like a prospect enough, you take them.” And there are three players in particular who are expected to go later in the draft that I would have no problem with Adams taking No. 11, should he keep the pick.

Every time I mention Cole Hutson, I’m tempted to put an “F” behind his name instead of a “D” because he plays so well in the offensive zone and has such puck control that he looks like an attacker. His 51 points and 15 goals in 51 games with the U.S. U18 national team should tell you that. Hutson also had epic outings in the USHL, with 12 points and three goals in 19 games, and at the World Juniors, with 13 points and four goals in seven games.

His size could scare some Saber fans, especially following the previous two drafts in which Matt Savoie and Zach Benson were the top picks. Drafting someone like Hutson would also potentially mean passing on effective defensemen who have more size, like Carter Yakemchuk, Stian Solberg and Sam Dickinson, if they are available at 11th overall.

If drafted 11th overall, Hutson would join his brother Lane as a prospect in an Atlantic Division team’s system. Lane is currently poised to take the next step in his career with the Montreal Canadiens, and if Cole follows his brother’s career path, it won’t be long before he joins the Sabres’ rotation if they draft him. Well, that’s if they can find a place for him in this rotation, given the young talent they already have.