Buffalo Sabres 2015 Draft Preview--Of Timo Meier and Denis Guryanov

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


"I think there's a consensus of what players will be available No. 3 through No. 10, but in what order is the big question. From that No. 11 pick on, that's where we'll do our homework and make our money."
--Greg Royce, Buffalo Sabres director of amateur scouting



Greg Royce has 18 seasons under his belt as a scout for NHL clubs having spent six seasons in Ottawa as an amateur scout under Tim Murray. After Murray got settled in as the new Sabres GM one of his first front office moves was to bring Royce in to head his amateur scouting department. "Greg has a good eye for young talent and I have full confidence in his ability to identify amateur talent," Murray told NHL.com's Mike Morreale last week. "He had tremendous success working in the trenches as a scout when we were together with the Ottawa Senators and I know that success will now translate to the Sabres."

The tandem will sit down in Sunrise, FL this Friday with four of the first 51 picks (Nos. 2, 21, 31, 51) in the draft barring any trades beforehand. Murray had sat down last week in a pre-draft press gathering saying pick-21 was in play. His desired return is high and probably unattainable but he's in a situation where all of his options are favorable. "[If] a team calls and they offer us a 23- or 24-year-old top-six forward or top-three defenseman or No. 1 goalie, and they'd be willing to take [the 21st pick] for that," he said at the pre-draft presser. "[it] would be optimal for us, [yet]the chance of either scenario happening, right now for me, is slim-to-none."

If there is a trade to be consummated involving the 21st-overall pick, chances are it will be something Murray does to move up in the draft.