Nashville, Tenn. (WGR 550) - With the team's final pick of the 2023 NHL Draft in the 7th round, 205th overall, the Buffalo Sabres select defenseman Norwin Panocha out of Germany.
Panocha spent most of his 2022-23 season playing with Eisbären Berlin's junior program, appearing in 34 games and tallying 22 points (6+16). The 6-foot-1, 178-pound defenseman also made his debut this season in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), playing in three games and going pointless.
There is a good chance Panocha will make the full-time jump to the parent Eisbären Berlin club in the DEL this upcoming season.
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At the 2023 IIHF U-18 World Championship for Team Germany, Panocha dressed for six games, scoring two goals and an assist. However, it was not enough for Germany to avoid relegation for the 2024 tournament.
Panocha was the fourth defenseman taken by the Sabres in the 2023 NHL Draft. He joins Maxim Štrbák, Gavin McCarthy and Sean Keohane as the newest defensive prospects in the organization.
