Vancouver (WBEN) - With the 7th overall pick the 2019 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres selected center Dylan Cozens from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL.
With the 7th overall pick, we select center Dylan Cozens.Welcome to Buffalo! pic.twitter.com/hjeZApXnVG
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) June 22, 2019
Cozens has played with the Hurricanes for parts of the last three seasons, highlighted by a 2018-19 campaign which saw him post 34 goals and 84 points in 68 games in the WHL regular season, as well as four goals and eight points in the WHL playoffs. Those 84 regular-season points were good for a tie of 10th in the league.
Cozens also made a little bit of history when he was chosen 7th overall in the first round.
This is also the first draft choice in the Jason Botterill era to be taken from the CHL. Many expect Cozens to be headed to juniors to continue his development, before potentially knocking on the door of a roster spot in 2020-21.
With the 31st overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres have selected defenseman Ryan Johnson from the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League.
The Sabres made Johnson the last pick of the first round of the NHL Draft, a pick that was originally owned by the St. Louis Blues before the Ryan O'Reilly trade last summer.
The 17-year-old defenseman played in 54 games with the Stampede last season, scoring six goals and 25 points in that span. In the postseason, Johnson scored two goals and registered eight points on the way to helping Sioux Falls to a Clark Cup title.
