Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The first round of the 2026 NHL Draft is Friday night in Downtown Buffalo, and Jarmo Kekalainen will be running his first draft as the Sabres general manager.
Two weeks ago, Kekalainen and the Sabres had the 27th overall pick and no selections in the second or third rounds. Thanks to the trades of Bo Byram, Alex Tuch and Michael Kesselring, the team now has two first-round picks (fourth and 20th overall), as well as a second-round pick (45th overall) and a third-round selection in the 2027 NHL Draft.
The Sabres' general manager has been listening to what's out there for No. 4 overall, and now he's evaluating if it's in the team's best interest to trade that pick, or even the 20th pick for a player that can help now.
Buffalo has actually never drafted third or fourth overall in franchise history.
If the Sabres do actually make the pick at four, Kekalainen says he's ready for anything.
"I think we're very well prepared, led by Jerry Forton and his staff there," said Kekalainen on Wednesday. "Whether we're picking two, three, four, five or 20, I think they do the list very diligently throughout the year, and they're prepared for any scenario."
Many couldn't understand why Buffalo didn't get more for Kesselring from the San Jose Sharks than moving up from 27 to 20.
"Part of the reason we made the trade from 27 to 20 is how our list shapes up, and where we think we can get a certain player from a certain group of impact that we believe those players will have in the future," Kekalainen explained. "We believe we have a much better chance at 20 to get a certain player from a certain group of players than we would've had had we stayed at 27."
Forton and his scouts spend all season out watching and talking to these players, and all their work could be for naught if Buffalo trades their two first-rounders. Kekalainen says they all know the game, though.
"There's a lot of excitement there, but they all have the same goal as we do. We want to make the team better. So they understand the dynamics that different things can happen, and they're aware of what the process is here when we're looking at all the options there in front of us," Kekalainen said. "But if we make the pick, they're very excited."
Most general managers have the same philosophy when it comes to drafting players, and Kekalainen is no different.
"Always best player available," he said. "The needs could change, and by the time they get ready to play, your needs could be completely different. I think you always go with the best player available."
More-and-more players around the league are starting to do what Bo Byram just did: Using unrestricted free agency to get them to the team they want to play on quicker. Kekalainen says that has changed the way he approaches the job.
"You have to adapt and create new strategies," he said. "We're fortunate that a lot of our core players are locked up for a good amount of term. but this happened in the NBA long before it happened in the NHL. Now we've just got to find other ways to get around it, and it's an interesting power move that is happening right now. And to make it more complicated with the no trade lists and no move, they can basically dictate that, 'I'm only going to that one team and that's it.' And then good luck in trying to make a good trade."
Because of the excessive losing that went on in Buffalo for 14 years, players included the Sabres on their no trade lists. After the success of last season, that is starting to change.
"We've had a couple of agents that players have changed their no trade lists, and Buffalo's off of it now. That's great news for us," Kekalainen said. "I think we can be a destination. Everybody saw the passion in this hockey market last spring in the playoffs, and it was incredible. So people have taken notice of that, and they also see we have a really good team. So winning helps. With those couple of things combined, the Buffalo Sabres are becoming a destination."
Our draft coverage on WGR gets started at 7 p.m. with Brian Koziol and Brayton Wilson at the arena. Joe Cali will be on the floor talking to the players, and I'll be in Orchard Park at the stadium with Kekalainen and his staff.
