Our friends at Expected Buffalo ran their annual “Sabres Top 25 Under 24” prospects fan vote last week, and the rankings include a mixture of returning studs, a shiny new draft class, and one trade acquisition. To be considered, according to site founder Chad DeDominicis, a player must not have played more than 41 NHL games. This loophole disqualified 19-year-old Zach Benson, allowing 22-year-old goaltender Devon Levi to knab the top spot. However, a few prospects that did not make the list are much more deserving of a top 25 ranking.
After Levi, Jiri Kulich, Konsta Helenius, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen round out the top five. The four forwards are no surprise as former first-round selections. If recent draft history is any indication, Benson, Jack Quinn, and Dylan Cozens are other recent first-round forwards selected who are now key contributors to the Buffalo Sabres.
Big second-round forward Anton Wahlberg ranked sixth, followed by 23-year-old defenseman Ryan Johnson, who just made the cut with 41 games played. A run on defensemen rounded out the top 10, with Vsevolod Komarov, Nikita Novikov, and Maxim Strbak.
Here are the complete rankings:
Overrated Prospects
Olivier Nadeau
Some surprising Sabres prospects that made the top 25 rankings are Olivier Nadeau, Tyler Tullio, and Vasili Zelenov. Nadeau played 41 games in ECHL Jacksonville last season while managing to appear in only five AHL games for the Rochester Americans.
Tyler Tullio
The 22-year-old Tullio comes over from the Edmonton Oilers organization after two mediocre seasons in AHL Bakersfield. He was selected in the fifth round four years ago.
Vasily Zelenov
The most baffling is the 25th-ranked Zelenov, who the Sabres drafted in the seventh round this offseason. There are lots of unknowns surrounding the Russian-born forward playing in Austria Juniors. The first post-draft look at Sabres Development Camp showed a very raw, skilled player, but his talent has yet to be tested on the same level as nearly every other prospect in Buffalo’s pipeline.
Instead of these three, let’s review three prospects that are more deserving of being on Expected Buffalo’s fan vote rankings.
Sabres Prospects Fans Left Out
Stiven Sardarian
There were some clear dominant players at Sabres Development Camp, many of whom the 140 fans participating in Expected Buffalo’s ballot voted into the top 25 rankings. Helenius is the obvious one, along with fellow 2024 draftee Brody Ziemer. In the three-on-three tournament, Helenius’ clear running mate to finish his crafty playmaking was Stiven Sardarian.
Sardarian is the Sabres former third-round selection who’s flown under the radar by taking the unconventional route of Russia’s MHL to NCAA college hockey. The 21-year-old is poised for a breakout season in a transfer year after posting 14 points in 32 games for the University of New Hampshire last season.
Ethan Miedema
Another standout in the three-on-three tournament at Sabres Development Camp was forward prospect Ethan Miedema. At 6’4″ and over 200 pounds, Miedema is much more offensively gifted than his stature may elude to. He showed that over and over against his peers in the tournament, barreling down the left wing and beating goalies clean with his shot.
Matteo Costantini
Of all of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres products in Buffalo’s prospect pool, Matteo Costantini has the most upside. He registered 31 points in 38 games last season for Western Michigan University, bouncing back from a disappointing 2022-2023 season.
Costantini’s not very big but has the speed and puck skills reminiscent of former Sabres and Amerks forward Daniel Catenacci. Catenacci may not be the most flattering comparison, going scoreless in 12 NHL games, but for a fifth-round selection to reach the NHL is a feat in itself.
Costantini has an outside chance at reaching the highest level still, which is more than a handful of players voted into the Expected Buffalo Top 25 Under 24 can realistically say.
