>The Sabres have a need for more defensive depth in their prospect pool. Will they be able to address that at No. 13 or would you endorse a best player available approach given the strength of the class at center and wing? If they don’t go defense in Round 1, who are some defensemen the Sabres could look at in Rounds 2 and 3? —Matt Fairburn
>**Pronman**: I personally think Tom Willander and Dmitri Simashev are reasonable talent choices at 13, Willander especially if you don’t want to go down the KHL contract path. I personally think whichever direction they go, be it forward or defense, their prospect pool is quite small and getting some more physicality into the pipeline would be ideal with the 13th pick.
>**Wheeler**: I certainly think there’s a case to be made for Axel Sandin Pellikka and Willander at No. 13 (I’d find Simashev’s to be less compelling). If they do take a defenseman at No. 13, I’ll be intrigued to see which way they go, too. Corey’s right that their pool does skew smaller, but their actual NHL defense, with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson all around long term, certainly doesn’t lack size. I wouldn’t rule out Sandin Pellikka as a potential complement to those guys as a result. It’s not hard for me to imagine a Samuelsson and Sandin Pellikka pairing. I don’t think they necessarily have to take a defenseman there, though, and depending on which forwards are available I’d certainly encourage keeping an open mind. As for the D options in the second round? While there are several names to keep an eye on (righties Beau Akey, Lukas Dragicevic, Hunter Brzustewicz, and maybe Oliver Bonk, and lefties Etienne Morin, Tanner Molendyk, and Caden Price), there is a consensus drop-off between Sandin Pellikka and Willander and those guys.
FesteringLion
If Reinbacher is there I’m ok taking D. Anyone else would be a reach.
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>Buffalo Sabres
>The Sabres have a need for more defensive depth in their prospect pool. Will they be able to address that at No. 13 or would you endorse a best player available approach given the strength of the class at center and wing? If they don’t go defense in Round 1, who are some defensemen the Sabres could look at in Rounds 2 and 3? —Matt Fairburn
>**Pronman**: I personally think Tom Willander and Dmitri Simashev are reasonable talent choices at 13, Willander especially if you don’t want to go down the KHL contract path. I personally think whichever direction they go, be it forward or defense, their prospect pool is quite small and getting some more physicality into the pipeline would be ideal with the 13th pick.
>**Wheeler**: I certainly think there’s a case to be made for Axel Sandin Pellikka and Willander at No. 13 (I’d find Simashev’s to be less compelling). If they do take a defenseman at No. 13, I’ll be intrigued to see which way they go, too. Corey’s right that their pool does skew smaller, but their actual NHL defense, with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson all around long term, certainly doesn’t lack size. I wouldn’t rule out Sandin Pellikka as a potential complement to those guys as a result. It’s not hard for me to imagine a Samuelsson and Sandin Pellikka pairing. I don’t think they necessarily have to take a defenseman there, though, and depending on which forwards are available I’d certainly encourage keeping an open mind. As for the D options in the second round? While there are several names to keep an eye on (righties Beau Akey, Lukas Dragicevic, Hunter Brzustewicz, and maybe Oliver Bonk, and lefties Etienne Morin, Tanner Molendyk, and Caden Price), there is a consensus drop-off between Sandin Pellikka and Willander and those guys.
If Reinbacher is there I’m ok taking D. Anyone else would be a reach.