Sabres Have a Stacked\u2014And Very Young\u2014Skater Core<\/p>\n
The major appeal of the Sabres is how deep their skater core is and how young most of its members are. That includes some holdovers, such as Rasmus Dahlin, who is 26 years old and should remain a high-end defenseman for the better part of the next decade.<\/p>\n
Defense<\/p>\n
Starting with the blue line, Buffalo is easily in the best position of any team. Dahlin, as mentioned, is one of the best in the business today, and he should maintain some of that impact even in his early-to-mid 30s. Owen Power, 23, is a good No. 3 defender today with room for much more. Olen Zellweger, a skilled 22-year-old acquired this summer, could be on the cusp of a top-four breakout<\/a>. Even 26-year-old Mattias Samuelsson\u2019s game could age well.<\/p>\n Fortunately for the Sabres, they also have the second and first defenseman selected in the 2025 and 2026 NHL Draft classes: Radim Mrtka and Daxon Rudolph.<\/p>\n I\u2019m more bearish on Mrtka than the team is, but he\u2019s a big defender with top-four upside and plenty of trade interest<\/a> around the league. As for Rudolph, he was the fourth-ranked prospect on my personal board for the 2026 class, since I believe he has a franchise defenseman ceiling. His offensive game is really special, and his defense should only improve from here\u2014Buffalo hit it out of the park with the Byram deal.<\/p>\n Prospects Adam Kleber and Luke Osburn are worth mentioning, too. They may never establish a full-time NHL role, but the potential is there.<\/p>\n In exactly five years, the Sabres\u2019 defensive depth chart could look like this (player and age):<\/p>\n Left DefenseRight DefenseOwen Power, 28*Rasmus Dahlin, 31Olen Zellweger, 27Daxon Rudolph, 23Mattias Samuelsson, 31*Radim Mrtka, 24Luke Osburn, 24Adam Kleber, 25*Will be an unrestricted free agent before the 2031-32 season<\/p>\n Buffalo has it all figured out on the blue line. It can reasonably make no changes for the next five years and still have the best defensive group in hockey.<\/p>\n \nForwards\n<\/p>\n The Sabres haven\u2019t used a top-five pick on a forward since 2015, but they\u2019ve built a strong group nonetheless.<\/p>\n Zach Benson<\/a> and Konsta Helenius<\/a>, who are just 21 and 20 years old, are the headliners. The former has had excellent impacts in his early career, arguably being the top player<\/a> in what was considered by some to be a generational draft class<\/a> thus far. Helenius is entering his rookie campaign, but he has already dazzled at the pro level. He could be hockey\u2019s next elite two-way top-line center if all goes well.<\/p>\n Josh Doan, 24, seems to be the real deal. He\u2019s a solid second-line power forward, and there\u2019s reason to believe he hasn\u2019t hit his peak yet.<\/p>\n Ji\u0159\u00ed Kulich, Noah \u00d6stlund, and Jack Quinn haven\u2019t proven themselves to be top-six fixtures, but they\u2019re 22, 23, and 24 years old, respectively. Kulich and \u00d6stlund should be on breakout watch in 2026-27, while Quinn may end up being closer to a third-line-caliber player in the long term (which is perfectly fine).<\/p>\n Peyton Krebs, Ryan McLeod, Josh Norris, and Tage Thompson are between the ages of 25 and 28. Their future impact is thus somewhat questionable, but the latter two are top-sixers now and could maintain that level of play into their 30s.<\/p>\n Prospect-wise, the Sabres are better equipped defensively, but there are some names worth noting on offense. Ilia Morozov was the 20th pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. He has a third-line outlook in my eyes, though that\u2019s far from definitive\u2014he could be much better (or worse). I project Brodie Ziemer similarly. He led the University of Minnesota in point-scoring with 36 as a sophomore, and he\u2019s had some encouraging showings at the World Junior Championship.<\/p>\n This is what the Sabres\u2019 forward group could look like in five years, following the same format as the defensemen:<\/p>\n Left WingCenterRight WingZach Benson, 26Konsta Helenius, 25Josh Doan, 29Noah \u00d6stlund, 27Ji\u0159\u00ed Kulich, 26Tage Thompson, 33*Ryan McLeod, 31*Josh Norris, 32*Jack Quinn, 29Peyton Krebs, 30*Ilia Morozov, 23Brodie Ziemer, 25*Will be an unrestricted free agent before the 2031-32 season<\/p>\n If Helenius becomes the player I think he can be, you won\u2019t find many first lines better than this one. The rest of the lineup has some question marks, but the cap savings on Benson and Doan\u2014a combined $14.45 million cap hit through 2032-33\u2014is a significant advantage. Should Kulich and \u00d6stlund take the next step, the future of the offense will be in good hands<\/a>.<\/p>\n Only the Hurricanes and Canadiens Compare to the Sabres<\/p>\n The Sabres are in the best position you can be: having a bright future and, simultaneously, one of the best current rosters in the NHL. Only the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens compare, in my eyes.<\/p>\n
![\"Montreal](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Canadiens-Sabres-Handshake-2-1200x821.jpg\")
The Montreal Canadiens win in overtime and shake hands with the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs (Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n