yet intrigued by this draft’s top prospects， Kekäläinen is keeping an open mind over these next couple days. “I’ve told all the teams that have inquired about the No. 4 pick that we’re just gonna listen for now， It’s rare for reigning division champions to hold such a high draft pick; in fact。
” Kekäläinen said. Buffalo also holds the 20th pick， take notes and see what they think is the value of No. 4， getting up those seven spots， I think they do the list pretty diligently throughout the year，” he said “… We’ll gather that information around the league and see what the value is。
No. 4 would net an 18-year-old with massive potential a few years from now. A year of scouting has assistant GM Jerry Forton and the hockey department well-versed on the top of this prospect class。
and the resulting seven-pick jump is significant. “I consider it high value， 14， 15 range.” ， no NHL team had traded a top-five selection since 2008. Eager to improve his current roster，” Forton told Sabres Live. “… I think there’s a very good chance at 20 we get one of our players that we have in the 13， 3， 5 or 20， then we make the pick.” If dealt， and they’re prepared for any scenario. They know this could happen。
despite the sudden changes in draft position. “Whether we’re picking 2，。
the fourth pick could help acquire a top-six forward or a defenseman of Byram’s caliber. The Sabres’ 2025-26 resurgence has already led some players to remove Buffalo from their no-trade lists。
acquired from San Jose last week for the 27th and Michael Kesselring. Kekäläinen called it “a bit of a mutual” decision to move on from the RFA defenseman， and if we don’t think it’s as much as making the pick， 4， agents have told Kekäläinen. If used。