Lincoln’s Adam Kleber selected by Buffalo Sabres with 42nd overall pick – The Rink Live

LAS VEGAS — Adam Kleber added an NHL logo next to his name as the right-handed defenseman was selected by the Buffalo Sabers with the 42nd overall pick Saturday morning.

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound defenseman was the 10th pick in the second round and the eighth USHL player in the 2023-24 season to hear his name called in Vegas.

Kleber, a native of Chaska, Minn., will return to his home state this fall and play at Minnesota Duluth after playing 112 games over the past two seasons with the Lincoln Stars.

“Coming back as a sophomore, he was able to step into a bigger role and he really continued to grow with the defensive side of his game,” Lincoln head coach Rocky Russo told The Rink Live last month. “But I thought he was also stepping up more offensively and the tools were all there.”

The second-round selection shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Kleber was considered the USHL’s top non-NTDP prospect on the blue line.

Some even pegged Kleber as the league’s best defensive prospect, even though NTDP’s EJ Emery was ultimately selected in the first round.

Kleber scored his first USHL goal last September and finished the season with a 5-21-26 record, surpassing his 0-8-8 mark as a rookie. Despite finishing the season with a -12 record, he also logged the most ice time on Lincoln’s blue line and found himself on the ice in a number of key situations.