The Buffalo Sabres have had some success with their top picks in the Kevyn Adams era, with Jack Quinn, Owen Power, Isak Rosen, Jiri Kulich, and Zach Benson all part of the current club’s roster, but part of the indictment of the current Sabres development is that only one player of the 39 selected outside of the first round in the last five drafts (Tyson Kozak) has played an NHL game.
At the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashvile the Sabres appear to have hit it big with Zach Benson 13th overall, but the jury is still out on second rounders Anton Wahlberg, Maxim Strbak, and third rounder Gavin McCarthy. Fourth rounder Ethan Miedema was not signed after two years and is no longer Buffalo property.
Here is a quick update on the remaining players selected in 2023:
Scott Ratzlaff – G – 141st overall
Last season, Ratzlaff finished 23-19-4, with a 3.16 GAA and .910 save % with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. After the Sabres signed veteran Alexandar Georgiev and he accepted an AHL assignment, the club demoted the 20-year-old to the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL, where he has started 3-0, with a 1.29 GAA and ,966 save %.
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Sean Keohane – D – 173rd overall
A physical specimen at 6’4”, 205 lb., Keohane came out of Dexter Southfield Prep in Massachusetts and was slated to play a full season in the USHL with Tri-City before heading to Harvard, but after 16 games, the 20-year-old shifted to West Kelowna in the BCHL to get more playing time. Last season, he played 11 games for the Crimson and finished with two assists, this season he is scoreless in one game.
Norwin Panocha – D – 205th overall
Drafted out of Berlin in the DEL, the 6’2”, 190 lb. defenseman opted to come to North America and play for Chicoutimi in the QMJHL. In 52 QMJHL games, Panocha had 15 assists. The 20-year-old also played for Germany at the WJC in Sweden and in Ottawa last January. After being dropped by the Sagueneens, he was selected by Prince Albert in the CHL Import Draft but played only 3 games for the Raiders before he was dropped again.
After a brief stop playing in the USHL, Panocha returned home to play for Berlin, where he finished with two assists in 16 DEL games. This season, he has two assists in 15 games with the Polar Bears.
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