Buffalo Sabres Draft Radim Mrtka | NHL Draft Instant Reactions

The Buffalo Sabres had the No. 9 Pick in the 2025 NHL draft. Here's who they took with instant reactions from FloHockey's Chris Peters.

Jun 28, 2025 by Lindsey Plotkin

Buffalo Sabres Draft Radim Mrtka | NHL Draft Instant Reactions

The 2025 NHL Draft began on June 27 at 7:00 PM ET with the New York Islanders having the first pick in the draft and selecting Matthew Schaefer.

With the ninth pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres selected Radim Mrkta from the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Here's FloHockey's Chris Peters' instant reaction:

No. 9 Buffalo Sabres Select: Radim Mrtka, D, Seattle Thunderbirds

Scouting Report

The ceiling on Mrtka seems limitless. A 6-foot-6, right-shot defenseman with superior mobility and good puck-moving capabilities, he’s the kind of player teams normally line up to take in the top 10. The only reason I don’t have him there is that I’m a bit concerned about Mrtka’s overall lack of physicality and whether that’s something he’ll ever effectively add to his game. He can be a bit too passive on shifts where a more aggressive, driven player is going to make a bigger impact. You can see all the tools he has and what can happen if he puts it all together. There’s a strong chance he ends up being one of the best defensemen in this draft and plays a top-four role down the road and he is firmly in the draft’s top 12, which is where we start to see the drop off.

Instant Analysis

The Sabres had desperate need for more right-shot defensemen in their system which is very lefty heavy. Mrtka has a huge ceiling and while he is a project pick, he's got such incredible potential. He needs to round out his physical game more and become harder to play against, but to move as he does at his size is incredibly exciting to add more balance to their blue line. Mrtka was No. 12 on my list, but I think the gap between him and who I had left was miniscule. I think a lot of the player and feel like this was a solid pick for the Sabres to make with most of the top end forwards gone.

The 2025 NHL Draft Order

Round 1

1. NY Islanders
2. San Jose
3. Chicago
4. Utah
5. Nashville
6. Philadelphia
7. Boston
8. Seattle
9. Buffalo
10. Anaheim
11. Pittsburgh
12. Pittsburgh (from VAN via NYR)
13. Detroit
14. Columbus
15. Vancouver
16. NY Islanders (From MON via CGY)
17. NY Islanders (From MON)
18. Calgary (from NJD)
19. St. Louis
20. Columbus (from MIN)
21. Ottawa
22. Philadelphia (from COL)
23. Nashville (from TBL)
24. Los Angeles
25. Chicago (from TOR)
26. Nashville (from VGK via SJS)
27. Washington
28. Winnipeg
29. Carolina
30. San Jose (from DAL)
31. Philadelphia (from EDM)
32. Calgary (from FLA)

Round 2

33. San Jose
34. Chicago
35. Nashville
36. Philadelphia
37. Washington (from BOS)
38. Seattle
39. Buffalo
40. Philadelphia (from ANA)
41. Montreal (from PIT)
42. NY Islanders
43. NY Rangers
44. Detroit
45. Anaheim (from CBJ via PHI)
46. Utah
47. Vancouver
48. Philadelphia (from CGY)
49. Montreal
50. New Jersey
51. Boston (from STL via PIT and EDM)
52. Minnesota
53. San Jose (from OTT)
54. Calgary (from COL via WSH)
55. Nashville (from TBL)
56. Tampa Bay (from LAK)
57. Seattle (from TOR via UTA and TBL)
58. Vegas
59. Pittsburgh (from WSH)
60. Anaheim (from WPG via NJD)
61. Boston (from CAR via COL)
62. Chicago (from DAL)
63. New Jersey (from EDM via UTA)
64. Toronto (from FLA)

Round 3

65. Vancouver (from SJS via VGK and NYR)
66. Chicago
67. Nashville
68. Philadelphia
69. Boston
70. NY Rangers (from SEA)
71. Buffalo
72. Anaheim
73. Pittsburgh
74. NY Islanders
75. Detroit (from NYR via UTA)
76. Detroit
77. Columbus
78. Utah
79. Montreal (from VAN)
80. Calgary
81. Montreal
82. Montreal (from NJD)
83. Edmonton (from STL)
84. Pittsburgh (from MIN via PHI and NSH)
85. Pittsburgh (from OTT via STL)
86. Toronto (from COL via NSH and SJS)
87. Carolina (from TBL)
88. Los Angeles
89. NY Rangers (from TOR via ANA)
90. New Jersey (from VGK)
91. Vegas (from WSH)
92. Winnipeg
93. Washington (from CAR)
94. Dallas
95. San Jose (from EDM)
96. Ottawa (from FLA)

Round 4

97. Ottawa (from SJS)
98. Chicago
99. New Jersey (from NSH)
100. Boston (from PHI via TOR)
101. Anaheim (from BOS via DET)
102. Seattle
103. Buffalo
104. Anaheim
105. Pittsburgh
106. NY Islanders
107. Chicago (from NYR)
108. Montreal (from DET)
109. Columbus
110. Utah
111. NY Rangers (from VAN via COL)
112. Florida (from CGY)
113. Montreal
114. New Jersey
115. San Jose (from STL via CBJ)
116. Buffalo (from MIN via ANA)
117. Vancouver (from OTT via EDM)
118. Colorado
119. Detroit (from TBL)
120. Los Angeles
121. Minnesota (from TOR)
122. Vegas
123. Washington
124. San Jose (from WPG via DAL)
125. Carolina
126. Dallas
127. Tampa Bay (from EDM)
128. Florida

Round 5

129. Florida (from SJS)
130. Pittsburgh (from CHI via TOR and WSH)
131. Nashville
132. Philadelphia
133. Boston
134. Seattle
135. Buffalo
136. Anaheim
137. Toronto (from PIT)
138. NY Islanders
139. NY Rangers
140. Detroit
141. Minnesota (from CBJ)
142. Utah
143. Vancouver
144. Calgary
145. Montreal
146. Dallas (from NJD)
147. St. Louis
148. Pittsburgh (from MIN via NYR)
149. Ottawa
150. San Jose (from COL)
151. Tampa Bay
152. Los Angeles
153. Toronto
154. Vegas
155. Washington
156. Winnipeg
157. Philadelphia (from CAR)
158. Dallas
159. Anaheim (from EDM)
160. Florida

Round 6

161. New Jersey (from SJS)
162. Chicago
163. Nashville
164. Philadelphia
165. Boston
166. NY Rangers (from SEA)
167. Buffalo
168. Anaheim
169. Pittsburgh
170. NY Islanders
171. NY Rangers
172. Detroit
173. Columbus
174. Utah
175. Vancouver
176. Calgary
177. Montreal
178. New Jersey
179. St. Louis
180. Minnesota
181. Ottawa
182. Nashville (from COL)
183. Carolina (from TBL)
184. Los Angeles
185. Toronto
186. Vegas
187. Vegas (from WSH)
188. Winnipeg
189. Carolina
190. Dallas
191. Edmonton
192. Florida

Round 7

193. Tampa Bay (from SJS)
194. Chicago
195. Buffalo (from NSH)
196. Los Angeles (from PHI)
197. Chicago (from BOS)
198. Seattle
199. Buffalo
200. Anaheim
201. Pittsburgh
202. NY Islanders
203. NY Rangers
204. Detroit
205. Columbus
206. Tampa Bay (from UTA)
207. Vancouver
208. Calgary
209. Montreal
210. San Jose (from NJD)
211. Detroit (from STL)
212. Tampa Bay (from MIN)
213. Ottawa
214. Colorado
215. Tampa Bay
216. Los Angeles
217. Toronto
218. Columbus (from VGK)
219. Buffalo (from WSH via SJS)
220. Winnipeg
221. Carolina
222. Dallas
223. Edmonton
224. Florida

How To Watch The 2025 NHL Draft

The first round of the 2025 NHL Draft will be televised exclusively on the NHL Network as well as ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, June 27. Rounds 2-7 will be on NHL Network and ESPN+.

FloHockey's Top 100 NHL Prospects

Matthew Schaefer Tops Chris Peters' Final Top 100 before the NHL Draft, see the full list here.

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