Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres are well stocked with young, big, right handed shooting defensemen. In the pipeline is the fourth overall pick in last month’s NHL Draft, Daxon Rudolph. He will spend his freshman season this fall at the University of Denver.
In 2025, Radim Mrtka was the ninth overall pick. the 6’6, 19-year-old will likely play with the Rochester Americans this season and 6’6 Adam Kleber is staying in school for one more season. The 20-year-old was in Buffalo for Development Camp and I was curious why he decided to stay in school for a third season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
“I just felt like I’ve got a lot yet to prove in college hockey and that would be best for my development. I’ve got to work on growing my offensive game even more and we’ve got a lot of guys coming back, so us as a team, we believe it’s going to be a really good year, so that’s really exciting.”
Kleber, Mrtka and Rudolph all project to be good, top four defensemen in the NHL. Jerry Forton drafted Kleber in the second-round of the 2024 draft and that could wind up being a steal for the Sabres. The Sabres assistant general manager likes the growth he’s seen in Kleber,
“He was the first sophomore ever in the NCHC to win the defensive defenseman in that league this past season and did it as a true sophomore, two World Junior Teams (Team USA) leaned on heavily this year in all top matchups defensively, so we’ve been thrilled with his development and if he wanted to come out this year, he would’ve had an NHL contract waiting for him.”
The Sabres player development staff works in conjunction with all the player’s coaches. Kleber enjoys the interaction,
“We’re always talking throughout the year. talking with player development guys and a couple of times with the guys more higher up, but they’re always giving feedback.”
Kleber feels another season of college will help him be more confident with the puck which includes getting more shots through to the net.
Kleber said he played two games this season against the Sabres 20th overall pick last month in Ilya Morozov. He was a freshman at Miami University (Ohio). He will also face Rudolph at Denver this season.
The Sabres have Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson signed long-term. They will be the team’s top three defensemen for many years to come. There will be one position open in the top four with three guys capable of grabbing it within the next two years. It seems like Jarmo Kekalainen did a good job of acquiring Louis Crevier and Olen Zellweger to help them bridge to when the kids are ready. Of course with than much talent and not enough room for them all, any one of them could become part of a trade.