Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres have three picks in the first round of Thursday’s 2022 NHL Draft. Buffalo has their own pick, which is ninth overall, and it’ll be interesting to see what could drop to the Sabres there.
You only have to go back to 2019 when Dylan Cozens was expected to go third or fourth overall in his draft class. He fell to Buffalo at No. 7 overall.
Let's take a look at this season:
The top-two defensemen in the draft are Simon Nemec and David Jiricek. The Hockey News has them ranked fourth and fifth overall, but could one fall to nine?
Many mock drafts have the Sabres getting Conor Geekie, who The Hockey News has ranked seventh.
For me, the most intriguing player could be forward Cutter Gauthier.
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I’ve seen him ranked anywhere from fourth overall to 15th. He’s a big, 6-foot-3 winger that can also play center like he did with the U.S. National Team Development Program this season.
Gauthier is playing at Boston College this fall, and he said they plan to use him at center. He says that when he’s put there, he feels pretty dominant.
To find somebody with his size that can skate well and has a good shot is a bonus.
When Gauthier was in Buffalo for the NHL Scouting Combine, he was asked to compare himself to a NHL player.
“I like to model my game after Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois: big, power forwards with lots of skill who can change a game at any time," Gauthier said during his session with the media. "And I like to emulate Mark’s leadership qualities.”
The biggest thing young players have to learn is the speed of the NHL. Gauthier knows he has to work on that.
“I think getting used to the pace of play, it’s the best league in the world,” he said.
Gauthier says some things that general manager Kevyn Adams and head coach Don Granato would like out of a plaer. You all know how important culture is to those men, and Gauthier says he made one thing known.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win," he said. "I think I emulated that message pretty well in each of the team interviews.”
Gauthier seems to know what to expect Thursday, because he talked with other former players who played in the U.S. Program, including Brady Tkachuk and Jack Hughes.
In 54 games with the USA U18 team, Gauthier netted 34 goals and 31 assists for 65 points in 54 games. Some other players on the team that could be taken in the first round on Thursday include Logan Cooley, Frank Nazar, Ryan Chesley, Jimmy Snuggerud, Rutger McGroarty and Issac Howard.
The draft starts Thursday night in Montreal at 7 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol anchoring our coverage. I will be in Montreal, as the Sabres make their three first-round picks.
