30. New Jersey Devils : Kasperi Kapanen 29. Los Angeles Kings : Brendan Lemieux 28. Tampa Bay Lightning : Julius Honka 27. Chicago Blackhawks : Conner Bleackley 26. Montreal Canadiens : Nick Schmaltz 25. Boston Bruins : Alex Tuch 24. Anaheim Ducks : Jack Dougherty 23. Colorado Avalanche : Travis Sanheim 22. Pittsburgh Penguins : Nikolay Goldobin 21. St. Louis Blues : Joshua Ho-Sang 20. San Jose Sharks : Brendan Perlini 19. Tampa Bay Lightning : Ivan Barbashev 18. Minnesota Wild : Roland McKeown 17. Philadelphia Flyers : Sonny Milano 16. Columbus Blue Jackets : Jakub Vrà¡na 15. Detroit Red Wings : Adrian Kempe 14. Dallas Stars : Robby Fabbri 13. Washington Capitals : Dylan Larkin 12. Arizona Coyotes : Jake Virtanen 11. The Nashville Predators : William Nylander 10. Anaheim Ducks : Jared McCann 9. Winnipeg Jets : Nikolaj Ehlers 8. Toronto Maple Leafs : Nick Ritchie 7. Carolina Hurricanes : Haydn Fleury 6. Vancouver Canucks : Leon Draisaitl 5. New York Islanders : Kevin Fiala 4. Calgary Flames : Michael Dal Colle 3. Edmonton Oilers : Sam Bennett
2. The Buffalo Sabres Select Centre Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice in the WHL
6'1, 183lbs, 1995-11-06 : 18 years old
60 - 36g - 69a - 105p
Sam vs Sam, oh what TSN would have given for something as clear cut as that. Seth vs Nate, Nailing the Grail, all of these forced controversies just haven't been as fun as good old "Taylor vs Tyler." Simpler times. Well as you may well have guessed, Aaron goes one, Samwise Scorer second and Sam the Slayer third.
The Captain of the Ice and former Captain of the U18 squad last year for the Ivan Hlinka is one of the most NHL ready players and a guy who just thinks the game very well, Reinhart has been on the radar for three seasons now of excellence in the WHL. This past season he led all draft eligible players in points in the WHL tying Draisaitl in fact but in 4 fewer games. Reinhart is a thinker, his on ice vision excellent to go along with a solid work ethic. I would classify him more as a playmaker than a scorer, though if he's given a chance he can bury them too. I think the playoffs will really help his draft selection, he simply took it to the next level despite Kootenay basically being a two man team, and his wingman is riding his coattails hard. He finished 9th overall in scoring for the playoffs despite only playing 13 games, it wasn't even to push his team farther, but it was enough to be the perfect end to a great season. One wonders how much more succesful he would be with more dangerous line mates as unlike Draisaitl who often loves (or is forced) to do it by himself, Reinhart is mostly looking to make the smart pass and play.
We saw that at the U20's where despite being 18 he looked good for Canada. He certainly didn't have the dominant performance of some other notable 18 year old Canadians like Hall or Tavares, but neither did MacKinnon. He looked good, sometimes very dangerous, but overall he was reliable, which is something rare for that age when you're expected to be an offensive threat.
Reinhart was the WHL Player of the Year, adding to his previous trophies "Most Sportsmanlike Player" for both the CHL and WHL and Rookie of the year back in 2011-2012.
If there is one aspect Reinhart needs to improve and something scouts mention as a slight caution (All the top prospects have an issue) it's that he lacks that explosive skating we've been seeing from all the top ranked forwards in recent drafts, only John Tavares lacked it, but his other skills are so unique and high it can over come it. Plus training. Given Sam's track record, I wouldn't think it's a problem.
He's great in his own zone and is highly underrated there. Hes positionally very strong and is great at forcing takeaways. If he does hit his stride at the NHL level I could see him giving guys a run for the Lady Byng at some point. He doesn't punish his team with selfish penalties.
In the end I don't really think they would go wrong with either of the Sam's if available, one thing we do know is that Buffalo will almost certainly want a forward, and a centre if they can. They're so heavy on defense prospects it's nuts and with this year being bone dry other than Ekblad in this area, they'd be better waiting for 2015 where they have a ton of picks to select a defenseman if they even wanted one. For me though, the Sabres have always been looking for a number one centre it seems, unless you count Briere of the old days, though he was still one dimensional. Is Sam that guy? It's hard to tell, he has a very similar scouting report to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins when he was up, though more mature, not as skinny yet not as good a skater. I personally think he has it in him to be a number one, it could be a very good fit for the rebuilding Sabres, especially if they win out for Connack McEichel next draft.
Comparison : Ryan O'Reilly (With more ability to make plays on his own)
Thanks for reading.