The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the best deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, but the organization’s developmental model has not yielded enough results. 

Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals and have played less than 40 NHL games. 

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#34 - Riley Fiddler-Schultz - Forward (Rochester - AHL) 

 With Buffalo stacked with their own drafted prospects, the chances of an undrafted free agent making it to the NHL are slim, but the Sabres gave forward Riley Fiddler-Schultz a chance and thus far, he is taking advantage of it.

The 23-year-old has NHL bloodlines (his uncle Vern Fiddler played 877 games with Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas, and New Jersey), and Riley grew into a leadership role in junior with the WHL’s Calgary Hitman, becoming team captain in 2022 and leading the club with 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists).

The Sabres signed Fiddler-Schultz to a two-year AHL deal in 2023, and in his first professional season, he finished second in goals (23) for the ECHL’s Jacksonville Iceman and played six games for the Rochester Americans. Last season, he played exclusively for the Amerks and posted 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in 51 games, which earned him a two-year, entry-level contract.

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Is it October yet? 

Unfortunately, no, but we're here to help pass the time. From Aug. 8 to Sept. 1, The Hockey News Nashville Predators will be counting down 24 players in 24 days, profiling every current or potentially rostered player. 

Today's player profile is defenseman Jordan Oesterle. 

As an NHL prospect 

Oesterle played his first year of juniors with the Sioux Falls Stampede during the 2010-11 season, scoring 15 points in 54 games. Going underrated, Oesterle committed to Western Michigan University and played there for three seasons. 

He attracted the attention of NHL teams following his junior season after 17 points in 34 games. Oesterle would then sign a two-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers, splitting time between Edmonton and Oklahoma City. 

Professional career 

Over three seasons in the Oilers organization, Oesterle played just 25 games with the Oilers before he signed as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks to start the 2017-18 season. He'd eventually find a rhythm on Chicago's third pairing, scoring 15 points in 55 games 

In the 2018 offseason, Oesterle was traded to the Arizona Coyotes, where he had the most successful stretch of his career. He played 172 games over a three-season stretch, scoring 44 points. 

He'd then sign with the Detroit Red Wings in the 2021 offseason, scoring 19 points in 97 games. 

Oesterle then made the move to Calgary, signing a one-year deal with the Flames and splitting time between the NHL and AHL for the first time since the 2016-17 season. He played 30 games with the Wranglers, scoring 19 points, and 22 games with the Flames, scoring two points.

Oesterle moved again, signing with the Boston Bruins on a two-year contract. He'd split time between Boston and Providence during the 2024-25 season, scoring six points in 22 games in Boston.

He was eventually waived by the Bruins and claimed by the Predators in March. Oesterle played 15 games in Nashville last season, scoring four points. 

Nashville took on a $775,000 hit in picking Oesterle up off of waivers. 

What role will he play this season? 

The Predators were in need of a defenseman last season due to injuries, so it makes sense that they scooped up Oesterle. 

Considering he is a veteran and was able to score in his short time with the Predators last season, he could be a good piece for the third pairing. Having Nick Perbix and Nic Hague now in the rotation makes it hard for Oesterle to move up, so he'll have to prove it in camp. 

They are going to need a lot more out of him in order for him to stay in Nashville the full season. He hasn't scored more than 10 points since the 2020-21 season and hasn't played more than half a season since the 2022-23 season. 

Oesterle needs to find a little bit more consistency and figure out if he wants to take an active role in scoring or supplement other players. 

How much Oesterle has moved over his career his also a bit alarming. Either the teams don't want to resign him, or he doesn't want to stay. He's been traded once and waived once, so only two moves were out of his control. 

If he gets bumped down to Milwaukee, who's to say the Predators won't waive him or if he'll try to leave. His contract does expire at the end of this season. 

If the Philadelphia Flyers are hoping to get the absolute most out of important trade acquisition Trevor Zegras, they need to avoid the mistake the Anaheim Ducks made in each of the last two years before dealing him away.

Publicly, the Flyers haven't committed to Zegras, 24, playing center for them full-time in the 2025-26 season.

But, the former top Ducks draft pick played left wing in each of the last two seasons, scoring just 18 goals, 29 assists, and 47 points in 88 regular season games.

Prior to that, Zegras had reached no fewer than 23 goals and 61 points in his only two full NHL seasons.

This offseason, much of the online discourse has centered around if Zegras plays center, and what happens if he doesn't play center.

Maybe I missed something somewhere along the line here, but there is simply no reason to take Zegras off the center position. How much of a coincidence can it be that a former No. 11 pick enjoyed the two most prolific seasons of his career playing his preferred position?

Faceoffs are a concern, yes; Zegras has cracked a 40% success rate on his draws just once in four seasons as a full-time NHL player.

But, that wasn't enough to hold back Jack Hughes, one of his buddies from the USNTDP, at this level.

In fact, the New Jersey Devils, particularly under the now-departed Lindy Ruff, solved this issue by pairing Hughes with Erik Haula, a defensively-inclined forward who excelled in the faceoff circle and otherwise played on the left wing.

The Flyers can do something similar with free agent signing Christian Dvorak, for example. But it shouldn't be the other way around, where Zegras plays the left wing for someone else.

Between Zegras, Jett Luchanko, and Jack Nesbitt, the Flyers should come away with at least two long-term, top-nine centers to build a contender with.

And, as long as the Flyers don't find themselves overachieving this season, they are still perfectly capable of landing that high-end piece to put the icing on the cake in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Plus, who knows how good Zegras can really be? He approached 70 points on a bad Ducks team in his age-21 season.

The Flyers, somewhat similarly to the Ducks, are finally aspiring to come up from the water and be a decent team.

That opportunity has to be exciting for a guy who got ran out of Anaheim, even after playing out of position for his teammates to try and win games.

Jakub Vrana's short stint with the Nashville Predators has officially come to an end. 

The forward signed with Linköping HC in the Swedish Hockey League on Friday. He played 13 games with the Predators last season, scoring three points and logging four penalty minutes.

Vrana returned to the Washington Capitals during the 2024-25 season, signing a one-year contract after a professional tryout agreement. 

After scoring 11 points in 26 games, Vrana was placed on waivers by the Capitals and was eventually claimed by the Predators. The Predators took on a $775,000 contract when claiming Vrana.

The Predators chose to not to sign Vrana at the end of the regular season. 

It's a true fall from grace for Vrana, as just five years ago, he had 52 points in 69 games and was two years off winning the 2018 Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals. He had a strong five-year stint in Washington before he traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 2021. 

Vrana has played with Linköping HC before. He played four seasons within the organization at various levels from 2011 to 2015 and at one point was the youngest foreign player in the history of the league. In 2014, Vrana was drafted by the Capitals 13th overall out of Linköping HC.