Who is coming, and how likely
Every player in the system who still counts as a rookie, ranked by what he is likely to become: the odds he turns into an NHL regular, and how good the players most like him turned out to be. Draft position starts the estimate; what he does after the draft takes it over.
Prospects and the Sabres' NHL players aged 23 and under, scored on the same scale. A regular's odds are high because he is already there; his score says how good the players like him became.
| # | Player | Age | Drafted | This season | NHL odds | Impact odds | WAR if he sticks | ETA | Score | Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owen PowerD · NHL · NHL | 23 | 2021 · #1 | 8 GP · 2-6-8 | >99% | 71% | +1.0 | Here | 98 | new |
| 2 | Konsta HeleniusC · NHL | 20 | 2024 · #14 | 7 GP · 1-0-1 | 97% | 82% | +1.2 | 2026-27 | 98 | new |
| 3 | Zach BensonL · NHL · NHL | 21 | 2023 · #13 | 8 GP · 0-5-5 | >99% | 61% | +1.1 | Here | 98 | new |
| 4 | Daxon RudolphD · NCAA | 18 | 2026 · #4 | 2 GP · 1-4-5 | 96% | 54% | +0.7 | 2027-28 | 96 | new |
| 5 | Olen ZellwegerD · NHL · NHL | 23 | 2021 · #34 | 7 GP · 2-1-3 | 88% | 42% | +0.6 | Here | 94 | new |
| 6 | Noah OstlundC · NHL · NHL | 22 | 2022 · #16 | 8 GP · 2-4-6 | 89% | 47% | +0.8 | Here | 93 | new |
| 7 | Jiri KulichC · NHL · NHL | 22 | 2022 · #28 | 6 GP · 1-1-2 | 88% | 46% | +0.9 | 2026-27 | 93 | new |
| 8 | Radim MrtkaD · WHL | 19 | 2025 · #9 | 4 GP · 0-0-0 AHL | 83% | 33% | +0.4 | 2028-29 | 91 | new |
| 9 | Ilia MorozovC · NCAA | 18 | 2026 · #20 | 3 GP · 2-0-2 | 51% | 31% | +0.9 | 2029-30 | 87 | new |
| 10 | Topias LeinonenG · HockeyAllsvenskan | 22 | 2022 · #41 | 8 GP · .855 AHL | 32% | 16% | +1.1 | 2029-30 | 81 | new |
| 11 | Brodie ZiemerR · NCAA | 20 | 2024 · #71 | 2 GP · 0-0-0 | 30% | 12% | +0.7 | 2028-29 | 78 | new |
| 12 | David BedkowskiD · OHL | 19 | 2025 · #71 | 8 GP · 0-2-2 | 18% | 9% | +0.6 | — | 71 | new |
| 13 | Adam KleberD · NCAA | 20 | 2024 · #42 | 4 GP · 1-2-3 | 23% | 3% | +0.4 | 2028-29 | 70 | new |
| 14 | Luke OsburnD · NCAA | 20 | 2024 · #108 | 4 GP · 1-1-2 | 12% | 7% | +0.9 | — | 67 | new |
| 15 | Samuel MelocheG · QMJHL | 19 | 2025 · #116 | 6 GP · .907 | 13% | 6% | +1.4 | — | 64 | new |
| 16 | Olivers MurnieksC · NCAA | 18 | 2026 · #124 | 1 GP · 0-0-0 | 12% | 4% | +0.8 | — | 60 | new |
| 17 | Maxim StrbakD · NCAA | 21 | 2023 · #45 | 1 GP · 0-1-1 AHL | 17% | 5% | +0.2 | — | 59 | new |
| 18 | Noah LabergeD · NCAA | 19 | 2025 · #135 | 1 GP · 1-0-1 | 12% | 4% | +0.3 | — | 57 | new |
| 19 | Ryan RucinskiC · NCAA | 19 | 2025 · #219 | 2 GP · 0-1-1 | 9% | 5% | +1.0 | — | 56 | new |
| 20 | Gavin McCarthyD · NCAA | 21 | 2023 · #86 | 3 GP · 0-1-1 AHL | 10% | 5% | +0.6 | — | 56 | new |
| 21 | Scott RatzlaffG · ECHL | 21 | 2023 · #141 | 15 GP · .913 | 10% | 5% | +1.4 | — | 56 | new |
| 22 | Ashton SchultzC · USHL | 19 | 2025 · #167 | 32 GP · 9-13-22 | 9% | 4% | +0.8 | — | 53 | new |
| 23 | Vasily ZelenovR · NCAA | 20 | 2024 · #204 | 4 GP · 1-6-7 | 8% | 4% | +0.8 | — | 51 | new |
| 24 | Tyson KozakC · NHL · NHL | 23 | 2021 · #193 | 2 GP · 0-0-0 | 18% | 2% | +0.5 | Here | 50 | new |
| 25 | Melvin NovotnyL · NCAA | 19 | 2025 · #195 | 4 GP · 0-0-0 | 10% | 2% | +0.6 | — | 50 | new |
| 26 | Doman SzongothC · OHL | 18 | 2026 · #156 | 9 GP · 0-1-1 | 7% | 4% | +0.8 | — | 49 | new |
| 27 | Yevgeni ProkhorovG · MHL | 19 | 2025 · #199 | 1 GP · .812 | 5% | 3% | +1.4 | — | 40 | new |
| 28 | Prokhor PoltapovL · KHL | 23 | 2021 · #33 | 15 GP · 8-4-12 | 5% | 2% | +0.8 | — | 37 | new |
| 29 | Dylan DumontR · QMJHL | 18 | 2026 · #188 | 9 GP · 2-2-4 | 4% | 2% | +0.8 | — | 33 | new |
| 30 | Jake RichardR · NCAA | 22 | 2022 · #170 | 4 GP · 1-1-2 AHL | 4% | 2% | +0.8 | — | 31 | new |
| 31 | Vsevolod KomarovD · AHL | 22 | 2022 · #134 | 4 GP · 0-3-3 | 3% | 2% | +0.6 | — | 30 | new |
| 32 | Matous Jan KucharcikC · NCAA | 19 | 2025 · #103 | 2 GP · 1-1-2 | 3% | 2% | +0.8 | — | 27 | new |
| 33 | Patrick GearyD · NCAA | 22 | 2024 · #172 | 2 GP · 0-0-0 | 2% | 1% | +0.6 | — | 22 | new |
| 34 | Zac FunkR · ECHL | 23 | Undrafted | 1 GP · 0-0-0 AHL | 1% | <1% | +0.8 | — | 13 | new |
| 35 | Norwin PanochaD · DEL | 21 | 2023 · #205 | 32 GP · 0-3-3 | 1% | <1% | +0.6 | — | 13 | new |
| 36 | Sean KeohaneD · NCAA | 21 | 2023 · #173 | 34 GP · 2-1-3 | 1% | <1% | +0.6 | — | 11 | new |
NHL odds are the chance he becomes a full-time NHL player — 200 games by age 26, or 100 by 27 for a goalie. Impact odds are the chance he becomes better than the typical regular at his position. WAR if he sticks is the middle outcome among his comparables who made it. The score is a percentile of the expected outcome across every prospect in the league, so forwards, defensemen and goalies sit on one scale. Goalie projections are the least certain on the page: goaltending develops late and the history behind it is thin. How the rankings work