The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the 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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#27 - Tyler Kopff - F (Brown - NCAA, Rochester - AHL)

It is a fairly unusual experience for the Sabres to dip into the undrafted free agent market, since they have traditionally kept most of their draft picks and concentrated on signing and developing them, but with the club beginning to look for bigger players, the club signed undrafted college forward Tyler Kopff. 

The Ridgewood, NJ native took a circuitous route to the NCAA after playing his minor and high school hockey in New Jersey, opting to play two years in the BCHL for Coquitlam before heading to Brown. After scoring 18 points as a freshman in the Ivy League, the 22-year-old had 28 points (9 goals, 19 assists) in 32 games as a sophomore. After the Bears season was completed, the 6’4”, 205 lb. forward signed a two-year, entry-level contract with Buffalo and finished the season with AHL Rochester, posting an assist in six games. 

Considered a two-way forward with the size to be a power forward as a professional, Kopff will likely get a significant opportunity with the Amerks, since the club has undergone a purge of some long time veterans like Mason Jobst and Brett Murray from their roster.  

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