Los Angeles, Calif. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - For the first time in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres turned to the offensive side of the puck with the selection of center Matous Kucharcik with the 107th pick in the fourth round.
Size has been a theme for the Sabres with their first three picks of the draft, with Kucharcik standing at 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds.
Kucharcik spent this past season between Czechia’s junior and second-tier professional league. He was teammates with Sabres' first-round pick Radim Mrtka on Czechia’s national team at the U-18 World Championship, where Kucharcik registered an assist in five games.
He is set to play this upcoming season in North America with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League.
Kucharcik's father was a draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1991 NHL Draft, but spent most of his career playing in Europe.
Here is what Elite Prospects has to say about Kucharcik:
"Kucharčík profiles as a smart two-way center who excels at facilitating others through his strongly ingrained supporting habits. He backtracks to intercept passes in the neutral zone, pickpockets opposing defensemen on the forecheck and takes the right routes to provide his teammates with passing options. There’s also a clear defensive upside with Kucharčík. His motor is solid, but it’s how he angles and positions that really drives his defensive value."
Buffalo is next slated to select 116th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2025 NHL Draft.