The Buffalo Sabres went into day 1 of the draft with 6 picks, #'s 11, 19, 23, 80, 92 & 93 to kick start their rebuild after moving out most of the roster players on the team. Let's take a look at each new prospect joining the Sabres pool of prospects:

11th Overall:

D Evan Bouchard 6'3" 194lbs - London Knights (OHL)

An offensive defenceman who already had a cup of coffee in the NHL and looked great in the AHL playoffs after finishing his junior season in London and going a point per game with Bakersfield. Bouchard joins an already deep pool of defense prospects which should all be coming into their own when the Sabres are ready to compete again.

GM note: We had Farabee at the top of our list at 11th but are happy to have Bouchard fall in our laps.

19th Overall:

C Joe Veleno 6'1" 194lbs - Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)

Veleno was allowed into the Q as a 15 year old after getting exceptional status but has often been injured and hasn't been unanimously thought as a true expectional player. After getting moved from the Sea Dogs to the Voltigeurs his offense took off, going at better than a PPG pace after the trade and almost going at 2 PPG this year.

GM note: I thought I'd have a tough choice between Martin Kaut & Rasmus Kupari, but both where off the board. So we thought we'd take a swing for the fences with Veleno.

23rd Overall:

RW Jesse Ylonen 6'1" 172lbs - Lahden Pelicans (Liiga)

The speedy & crafty winger looked good playing against men in Finland and looked even better playing against his own age group internationally. It's rumoured he'll spend another year in Finland before coming to North America, so this pick is a bit of a project. We'd like to see him do more in the playoffs but he didn't have the best team or situation to shine last year.

GM note: I was going back and forth between Tyler Madden and Jesse Ylonen in this spot, we just picked a center at 19th so that nudged us toward picking the skilled winger here.

80th Overall:

C Alexander Khovanov 5'11" 198lbs - Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)

He was injured in his first season in North America with Moncton, but looked solid in the playoffs. The following season he exploded for 74 points in 64 games and went a PPG through the playoffs before getting eliminated. Khovanov likes playing the game with the puck on his stick and accels at it, but he needs to show a commitment to defence and his play away from the puck.

GM notes: With so many picks between this one and the last one, it was tough to predict who would be around. I had Jack McBain at the top of my list here as well as the goalie Lukas Dostal, but we're happy to get #3 on our list here.

92nd Overall:

C Allan McShane 5'11" 190lbs - Oshawa Generals (OHL)

You'd maybe want to see more improvement from year to year from offensive prospects, but McShane shined in Studnicka's absence this year and led a pretty good Generals team deep into the playoff as the leading scorer. He'll more than likely be returning to Oshawa for a 4th junior year before stepping into the AHL.

GM notes: A smart player who's a good project to have in the system. Matej Pekar was top of my list here.

93rd Overall:

LW Johnny Gruden 6'0" 170lbs - Miami University of Ohio Redhawks (NCAA)

The son of NHL assistant coach John Gruden, Johnny put together a solid freshman year with the Redhawks finishing 7th in team scoring. He's changing paths next year, leaving Miami and the NCAA to go to the London Knights of the OHL. He should be a top 6 player in London and I expect him to shine there.

GM notes: Of all the players we had at the top of our draft board at each pick, this is the only one where the #1 guy was still on the board. We're very pleased with this pick.

The Buffalo Sabres are far from done, the team will be picking 6 more times tonight when the draft resumes. It's hard to find impactful players in the later rounds but there are a few gems still out there.