Buffalo hosts NHL scouting party

The prospects meet with representatives from each of the 32 NHL teams. Each conversation is an opportunity for a player to sell himself to general managers and scouts ahead of the seven-round draft being held at the Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28-29. However, this combination is different from the spectacle the NFL puts on every year in Indianapolis.

Fitness testing will take place off-ice at LECOM Harborcenter on Saturday and will not be televised. The only player in the group expected to be in the NHL next season is Boston University center Macklin Celebrini, who will be drafted first overall by the San Jose Sharks.

Sabers general manager Kevyn Adams and his recruiting team project what these players will be like in three to five years. The project is not the only topic of discussion throughout the week, however. Conversations between general managers and agents often lay the groundwork for the offseason. Business negotiations begin or continue. Contract negotiations take place.

The week’s combine game was crucial for the Sabers in 2022 when they held three first-round selections and last year when they interviewed prospects like their eventual pick, Zach Benson, but this is the first times since Adams took control of the team’s hockey operations four years ago that he might be ready to trade his first-round pick.

The Sabers could use the No. 11 pick as a bargaining chip to help their NHL roster. There are, however, several prospects to watch this week, while we wait to see how Adams handles this crucial offseason.

Tij Iginla, winger, Kelowna Rockets (Western Hockey League): Pedigree could land Iginla a top-10 pick. His father, Jarome, is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and played 20 years in the NHL. Tij is an exceptional talent. He is an excellent skater with good scoring skills, producing 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games during the WHL regular season. The 6-foot winger added 15 points in 11 playoff games and six goals with 12 points in seven games at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship. The Sabers have shown in recent drafts that tournament success weighs heavily in their evaluation of players.

Cole Eiserman, winger, United States National Hockey Team Development Program: Eiserman may have worked his way into the top 10 with nine goals and 10 points in seven games at the under-18 tournament. The 6-foot forward from Newburyport, Mass., was ranked 12th among North American skaters in that category by NHL Central Scouting during a season in which he scored 58 goals and 89 points in 57 games with the development program. He had 20 points in seven games at the World Under-17 Championship last year. Eiserman doesn’t turn 18 until August 29, and he’s committed to Boston University.

Berkly Catton, center, Spokane Chiefs (WHL): Would the Sabers take another slight lead in the draft after taking Benson and Savoie with their first pick the last two years? Catton would be worth the gamble. The 18-year-old was named to the WHL First All-Star Team after totaling 54 goals and 116 points in 68 regular season games. He led his team to a gold medal at the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup. Known as an exceptional playmaker, Catton has been one of the best goal-killers for Spokane this season. He has suffered injuries in the past, including one that kept him out of this year’s under-18 tournament.

Beckett Sennecke, right, Oshawa Generals (Ontario Hockey League): An up-and-down draft-eligible season won’t keep Sennecke from peaking in the draft. He’s a big, savvy winger with soft hands who impressed scouts with his puck handling. Sennecke, the No. 13 North American skater in the category, scored 27 goals with 68 points in 53 regular season games before a stellar playoff performance that included 10 goals with 22 points in 16 games.

Carter Yakemchuk, defenseman, Calgary Hitmen (WHL): A game-changing presence 6-3 on the blue line, Yakemchuk scored 30 goals with 71 points and 120 penalty minutes in 66 games during his second season with Calgary. He was just weeks away from being eligible for the 2023 draft, and his birthday in September kept him from participating in this year’s Under-18 World Championship. The Sabers don’t need to take a high defenseman in this draft. Their pipeline includes Vsevelod Komarov, Nikita Novikov, Ryan Johnson, Max Strbak and Gavin McCarthy. History also tells us that Adams and his team choose the best player available, rather than based on need.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, right winger, Mora IK (Sweden): The 6-foot-1, 198-pound forward was impressive against older competition at the IIHF World Championship last month, as the 18-year-old scored three goals with five points in seven games for the Norway. He also averaged a point per game at the IIHF World Junior Championship earlier this year and scored eight goals with 18 points in 41 games in Sweden’s second division professional league. He’s a physical winger with size and an impressive right-handed shot. The only question is whether there is enough upside in his game for him to be selected in the top half of the first round. Brandsegg-Nygard will play in the Swedish Hockey League next season.

Stian Solberg, defender, Vålerenga (Norway): The 18-year-old has played most of the last four seasons against men, albeit in Norway, and has bolstered his draft pick with two goals and nine points in 17 playoff games. Ranked 6-2, Solberg represented Norway at the junior and men’s world championships. His most recent coach, Fredrik Anderson, was scouted for the Sabers from 2011 to 2016, and that familiarity could help Buffalo scouts as they try to decide whether Solberg deserves to reach that high in the draft after being considered, at best, as a second. selection round earlier this season. He will play for Farjestad BK in the SHL next season. Plus, is he too much of a project for Buffalo given the need for immediate help?

Michael Hage, center, Chicago Steel (United States Hockey League): Hage is ranked 10th among North American skaters in this category after a season in which he recorded 33 goals and 75 points in 54 regular-season games as a first-team USHL all-star. He has the size (6-1) that the Sabers are looking for in a high-end center, a position the Sabers should strengthen in this draft after losing Casey Mittelstadt in a trade to the Colorado Avalanche. Buffalo already has a pair of right-handed centers in Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson, but Hage is an exceptional talent. He will be a freshman at the University of Michigan in the fall and checks all the boxes Adams wants in a high draft pick.

Adam Jiricek, defender, HC Plzen (Czech Republic): The 11th pick is probably too expensive for Jiricek given his recent injuries, but there’s no denying the 6-2 prospect’s talent. He is ranked as the fourth European skater in this category and 14th overall by hockey media legend Bob McKenzie, but Jiricek suffered a lower-body injury that ended his season at the world junior championships in December. One team will face Jiricek in the first round. His older brother, David, is one of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ top prospects, and while Adam doesn’t have the same potential, he is a talented defenseman with a right-handed shot.

Sam O’Reilly, center, London Knights (OHL): The 11th pick is too high for O’Reilly. He might not even be a first-round pick this month. But there is a realistic scenario in which the Sabers trade up in the first round to accrue draft capital or immediate NHL roster help. O’Reilly’s performance in the OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup, aside from London’s loss in the title game, improves his chances of being selected somewhere between the 20th and 32nd picks. O’Reilly is strong in the faceoff spot, a shutdown and competitive defender. He is capable of being more offensive than the 20 goals and 56 points he had in the regular season.

Sacha Boisvert of the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Cole Beaudoin of the Barrie Colts are players to consider in a downside scenario. Boisvert is a 6-2 center headed to the University of North Dakota after totaling 36 goals with 68 points in 61 games. He also has the intangibles the Sabers look for in prospects.

Beaudoin is physically ready for professional hockey, aside from a skating stride that will require work before he can make the jump. It would be a surprise if the 6-2 center isn’t among the top prospects at the combine. He is a fierce competitor and should impress teams during interviews.