As we roll along in the first round of the SenShot mock draft, we are at the point where almost anything goes, and there could be some off-the-board picks as teams look for the diamond in the rough that other teams and scouting staffs might have missed. Those are often gambles, and for teams that are coming off a season where they miss the playoffs, safe rather than sorry should still be the way to go.
#8 – BUFFALO SABRES
Apr 19, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres head coach Ron Rolston on the bench during the game against the New York Rangers at the First Niagara Center. Rangers beat the Sabres 8-4. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
TEAM STRENGTHS: Future depth up the middle
TEAM WEAKNESSES: questions in goal, need help on the wings
HOCKEY’S FUTURE ORGANIZATIONAL PROSPECT RANK: 9th of 30 teams
UNDER CONSIDERATION: Max Domi, Zachary Fucale, Elias Lindholm, Alexander Wennburg
FANSIDED MOCK DRAFT PICK: Sabre Noise picked Elias Lindholm
SENSHOT’S CHOICE: Max Domi from the London Knights of the OHL. The Sabres need help on the wing, and they would get that in Domi, who is the son of former division rival Tie. Max has much more skill than his pugilistic father, and has the ability to play any forward position. He is not tall, but is stocky (like his dad) but still skates well enough to keep up. His hands are NHL calibre and after a year or two of seasoning should be a quality NHL player.
MOCK DRAFT TO DATE (click on team to view the selection):
| PICK | TEAM | PICK |
| 1 | COLORADO | Seth Jones, Portland (WHL) |
| 2 | FLORIDA | Jonathan Drouin, Halifax (QMJHL) |
| 3 | TAMPA | Nathan MacKinnon, Halifax (QMJHL) |
| 4 | NASHVILLE | Valeri Nichushkin, Chelijabinsk 2 (KHL) |
| 5 | CAROLINA | Darnell Nurse, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) |
| 6 | CALGARY | Sean Monahan, Ottawa (OHL) |
| 7 | EDMONTON | Nikita Zadorov, London (OHL) |
| 8 | BUFFALO | Max Domi, London (OHL) |