The Sabres actually used all eight of their draft picks this year instead of trading any like general manager Kevyn Adams had attempted to — but they’re extremely happy with how the board fell, especially for Zach Benson at 13th overall.

Surprisingly he wasn’t scooped up within the top 10, but there’s a lot to like about him as the draft’s best playmaker and 2022 Sabres first-round pick Matt Savoie’s bestie and linemate in Winnipeg.

In the second round, Sabres selected Swedish center Anton Wahlberg and Slovak defenseman Maxim Strbak. Wahlberg has another year in Sweden under contract, while Strbak heads to Michigan State this fall to play for Adam Nightingale, brother of the Sabres' assistant director of amateur scouting.

In the third round, the Sabres took Gavin McCarthy from Clarence. He's a physical defenseman heading to Boston University in the fall, where he’ll play against a lot of other top prospects in Hockey East.

Next, we get into certified big-boy territory. In the fourth round, Ethan Miedema is 6 feet, 4 inches, from Coburg, Ontario. The fifth-round pick was a goalie. Scott Ratzlaff led the WHL with five shutouts last year.

The sixth-round pick, Sean Keohane, is a left-handed defenseman that is also 6-4 and really aggressive on the rush. He captained his high school prep team at Dexter for his senior year.

With their final pick, the Sabres selected Norwin Panocha, their second German pick in the last 10 years — the other, of course, being JJ Peterka.

And Adams already knows McCarthy well, because they are neighbors. The junior Sabres alum grew up alongside Adams' daughter, and the two families have a great relationship.

"With this job, there is so many challenges and things that keep you up at night," said Adams. "I'll tell you, having him come down to the table and seeing the smile on his face and knowing the work that kid's put in over his time to get to this spot is special. I think we added a 6-2 right-shot defenseman that we think there's a lot of upside there, and that's why we made the pick."

McCarthy is the youngest of three kids. His older brother Case was drafted by the Devils in 2019. McCarthy said at the combine in Buffalo that he was trying not to think too much about the potential of being drafted by his favorite team, but it’s incredibly special to see it all work out this way.

"I was a Sabres fan growing up," said McCarthy. "Seeing them this year get some wins and kind of get close to the playoffs was super exciting. Definitely trending upwards for sure."

Now he gets to spend development camp at Harborcenter, his home rink, and begin a new chapter in familiar settings.