BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Sabres hold the No. 9 selection in the 2025 NHL draft after dropping two spots in Monday night’s lottery.
If Buffalo does not trade its first-round pick, this will be the 10th time in 13 years that the Sabres make a selection in the top 10. The last time the Sabres held the ninth pick was 2022 when the drafted forward Matthew Savoie, who was traded to Edmonton last offseason for centerman Ryan McLeod. Buffalo also selected defenseman Paul Cyr at No. 9 in 1982.
Buffalo had a 6.5% chance of winning the drawing for the No. 1 pick, and 6.7% chance at No. 2. The New York Islanders won the lottery for the top pick with the 10th-best odds (3.5%). The San Jose Sharks had the best lottery chances (18.5%) and will pick second after the Utah Hockey Club won the drawing with the 14th-best odds (1.5%). Teams can’t move up more than 10 slots in the draft lottery, so Utah received the No. 4 pick.
The first round of this year’s NHL draft will be held on Friday, June 27 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It will be broadcast by ESPN. The remaining rounds will be the following day.
The NHL has decentralized its draft this season. Top prospects will be in Los Angeles, but NHL team executives, scouts and coaches will participate virtually from their home cities. This is to give front office personnel and easier transition to the start of free agency on July 1.
Prospects will be in Buffalo from June 1-7 for the NHL scouting combine at Harborcenter.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.