Mark Pysyk (Defenseman—First Round, 23rd overall)
Jerome Gauthier-Leduc (Defenseman—Third Round, 68th)
Kevin Sundher (Center—Third Round, 75th)
Matt MacKenzie (Defenseman—Third Round, 83rd)
Steven Shipley (Center—Fourth Round, 98th)
Gregg Sutch (Right Wing—Fifth Round, 143rd)
Cedrick Henley (Left Wing—Sixth Round, 173rd)
Christian Isackson (Right Wing—Seventh Round, 203rd)
Riley Boychuk (Left Wing—Seventh Round, 208th)
Well, the 2010 NHL Entry Draft may not have gone how fans had expected, but the Sabres have brought in some serious talent—especially on the blue line.
“Of course we came in looking for some forwards, but we’re real happy with what we got,” Sabres director of amateur scouting Kevin Devine told the Buffalo News on Saturday. “When I went to bed last night, if somebody would have told me we got those three guys I would’ve been pretty happy…We had them higher than they went, so it was a good day.”
If the Sabres were honestly going in with the intention of drafting a group of forwards then this should be considered one of the worst drafts in recent memory, but I can’t take that statement from Devine at face value—especially when the Sabres passed on left-winger Quinton Howden in the first round.
Overall, eight of the nine players drafted are Canadian. Four players play in the Western Hockey League, two players are from the Ontario Hockey League, two are from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and Christian Isackson—the only American player drafted by the Sabres—plays for the Saint Thomas Academy High School in Minnesota.