As of Wednesday night, the Sabres hold the fourth selection in the draft they are hosting Friday. However, it is not because the team performed poorly this season, but rather due to some crafty business by General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen moving Bowen Byram, who desired a larger role somewhere else, and dumping Jordan Greenway’s contract to the Chicago Blackhawks in desperate need of a top defenseman Tuesday for the fourth pick, right-handed defenseman Louis Crevier and the 45th pick in this year’s draft.

Kekalainen resolved an issue with Greenway’s albatross of a contract and shipping out a player who would have likely left next summer as a free agent. This move comes after moving up to pick No. 20 for a disgruntled Michael Kesselring and No. 27 to the San Jose Sharks.

Now the defending Atlantic Division champions hold the fourth, 20th and 45th pick in the first two rounds of the draft this weekend in Buffalo.

While Kevyn Adams made under-the-radar moves during down times, Kekalainen is living up to his reputation and has the Sabres amid every rumor during one of the busiest draft weeks in recent memory. It also appears the Sabres are not done making moves, whereas Adams would generally just make the one significant trade and be finished.

Penn State forward Gavin McKenna (72) leaps in the air over Minnesota Duluth forward Scout Truman during an NCAA regional March 27 in Albany. AP file photo

Kekalainen has his hands full attempting to keep the Sabres among the Atlantic’s elite and it will be without Byram and Alex Tuch, whose rights were traded Wednesday to the Washington Capitals where he proceeded to sign an eight-year, $84 million contract.

Armed with two first-rounders, including a top-five selection, and several great prospects, the Sabres could make a trade for a big piece whether it is an elite goaltender like Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, a superstar forward such as Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle or even another pillar on defense like Detroit’s Moritz Seider. It is difficult to speculate what a trade like any of those would cost, but with top draft capital, as well as prospects like Konsta Helenius, Noah Ostlund, Radim Mrtka and Jiri Kulich, nothing is off limits.

Although, if Buffalo continues the internal growth path I believe they still should reach the playoffs again next season and would have even more talent in the prospect pool from its top three picks.

Assessing the division, Buffalo should still enter next season as at least the third-best team only behind Florida and Montreal. Florida’s addition of Brady Tkachuk and the return of captain Alexander Barkov puts the Panthers back in Stanley Cup contention and it is only fair to say the Canadiens are better than the Sabres after this postseason’s results along with the losses of Byram and Tuch.

Tampa Bay loses just as much with the questions around Victor Hedman’s career and the loss of top defenseman Darren Raddysh; Boston made no moves to jump the Sabres; Ottawa enters with many questions after the Tkachuk trade; and Detroit’s captain Dylan Larkin’s trade request could plunge them back into mediocrity.

Toronto will pick ahead of the Sabres at No. 1 and even after taking Penn State’s Gavin McKenna, the Leafs are still a couple of years away from getting back to where they were before the departure of Mitch Marner.

Buffalo will graduate prospects Helenius and Ostlund next year with both being top-nine fits into the lineup, while 2025 No. 9 pick Radim Mrtka could be on the fringe of a roster spot and could possibly make his debut. The cupboard still holds power forward Anton Wahlberg, University of Minnesota high-scoring wing Brodie Ziemer and depth defense prospects Maxim Strbak, Vsevolod Komarov, Gavin McCarthy, David Bedkowski, Adam Kleber and Luke Osburn.

The Sabres could not be set up better for this year’s draft which has a strong top five prospects, but several questions for the next 15 picks. Right at their next pick, the value to risk becomes worthwhile.

In the top four to Toronto, San Jose, Vancouver and Buffalo, the picks should be any variation of Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Chase Reid and Caleb Malhotra.

Anything can happen on draft day, but McKenna will almost certainly be going first overall and no later than second. San Jose is likely to add elite Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg next and take the leftover defenseman with the ninth pick. Vancouver, which recently named Manny Malhotra as the head coach, probably selects his son and consensus top center, Caleb Malhotra, out of the Brantford Bulldogs.

The Sharks and their need for a top defenseman will determine the Sabres pick. If San Jose goes with Chase Reid, Buffalo finds its Tuch replacement with future top-line scorer Stenberg, who sticks around in the Queen City after draft day.

However, if the Sharks go with Stenberg, Buffalo can snag the top defenseman of the draft again, but in a much deeper class or stray away from the consensus with a different forward.

If not taking the Michigan State-commit in Reid and missing out on Stenberg, Buffalo could potentially add my No. 3-ranked skater in Swedish center Viggo Bjorck, who is very much in the conversation as the top pivot of this class despite his size.

Going with the undersized forward has served the Sabres right with Zach Benson, Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius. Bjorck has a lot of Benson qualities to his game and is a better all-around player, but I find it unlikely the Sabres go small again.

There are connections to Latvian defenseman Alberts Smits, but that the left-handed blueliner would be a terrible reach at No. 4, making the Byram trade no longer look like a steal. Boston University center Tynan Lawrence is my No. 6 skater in the class, but he will likely be selected closer to No. 20, and my No. 7 skater Wyatt Cullen is probably going to be picked right outside the top 10.

The no-brainer selection for the Sabres should be Reid, who is not far away from stepping into an NHL top four after making his pit stop with the Spartans. He is the complete package 6-foot-2.5-inch, 190-pound right-hand defenseman that has great four-way mobility, elite offensive skills, high hockey IQ and a great compete level that has drawn him comparisons to Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski.

Both Malhotra and Bjorck figure as second-line centers in the NHL that might not hit the offensive peaks to carry a team, but are well-rounded prospects that should make seamless transitions to whichever franchise lands them.

Not too outside the box, Buffalo could take left-handed defenseman Carson Carels or right-handed defenseman Keaton Verhoeff at No. 4 and it would come to no surprise. Although, those picks seem unlikely with Carels not fitting the positional vision as a lefty that projects as more of a two-way Jake Sanderson-style player and Verhoeff is a less-refined Reid whose NCAA struggles at North Dakota State dipped his draft stock.

Taking Smits that high could be a costly miss for a team unlikely to pick that high again unless another major shakeup occurs. Many scouts are riding the highs of the Latvian defender that was afforded the opportunity of playing in the Olympics on a weaker country, while the other blue chip prospects had no dream of playing for USA, Canada, Sweden or Finland. Not only that, but his processing of the game in the Finnish men’s league shows a prospect which appears NHL ready and is actually more of a project to develop into an impactful player.

The teams selecting from Nos. 5-20 are likely going after a guy they fell in love with over the season or won them over at the NHL combine. Buffalo is picking right at the end of that and it is where the fun begins for prospects to truly take a swing on or easy projections into the NHL.

Whatever Buffalo does at No. 4 should not dictate what happens at No. 20, but often it does and if a defenseman is picked early we should expect a forward later and vice versa if a forward is called early. I instead would just pick the best player available since they will likely need more time to develop and the team needs could change at that point.

Inside my top-20 rankings, I have a handful of players that will likely be overlooked for a variety of reasons and Buffalo could walk away as geniuses just like in 2023 and 2024.

The top target for me would be Russian-American forward Nikita Klepov, who I have ranked at No. 14; American scoring sensation J.P. Hurlbert, who is my No. 17 prospect; and dynamic Swedish winger Elton Hermansson, who I have ranked at No. 19.

Klepov led the Ontario Hockey League in scoring with 37 goals and 60 assists for 97 points in 67 games for the Saginaw Spirit. He projects to be a middle-six playmaker that reminds me a lot of Jack Quinn both in style and situation having played with another top prospect in 2027’s Dima Zhilkin who similar to Marco Rossi did a lot of the heavy lifting that helped Quinn shine in 2020.

Hurlbert also found great success as a rookie, but in the Western Hockey League, providing another 97 points with 42 goals and 55 assists on a mediocre Kamloops Blazers squad. He is the one of this trio I least expect to be there when Buffalo picks as he could draw comparisons to Pittsburgh’s Ben Kindel taken last season and immediately making an NHL impact.

Hermansson could be a quicker transition to the NHL as he already plays pro in the second tier of Sweden just like David Pastrnak did in his draft year in 2014. The Swedish winger is a dynamic scorer on the perimeter just like Pastrnak and could find himself falling to the 20s too.

All of the defensemen I value as top-25 prospects in the draft should be available outside the first round and I do not foresee the Vancouver Giants’ Ryan Lin and HV71’s Malte Gustafsson falling to No. 20.

If going for safety pick, I could very easily see Kekalainen fall back on taking a Russian with Miami of Ohio center Ilia Morozov, who projects to be a reliable third-line pivot. He could also stick with his Finnish roots and select 6-foot-3 center Oliver Suvanto, who many expect to have the Helenius fall, but I fear there will not be the Helenius pop on offense.

If going for steady, the best course of action would be taking Youngstown Phantoms center Jack Hextall who will reach that same third-line floor, but his compete level reminds me of Josh Doan and his brain like Benson gives him a chance of being a second-liner.

If a miracle happens and Tynan Lawrence falls all the way to No. 20, Buffalo will truly have matched the falls of Benson and Helenius landing another guy that should have gone top 10. The Boston University center has every quality sought after in a No. 1 guy, but since he did not reach the offensive expectations at the NCAA he has lost faith from the public just like James Hagens did a year ago.

My personal rankings of those prospects are Lawrence (No. 6), Lin (No. 12), Klepov (No. 14), Hurlbert (No. 17), Gustafsson (No. 18), Hermansson (No 19), Hextall (No. 21), Suvanto (No. 25) and Morozov (No. 27).

Part of what has made this year’s picks seem expendable is the wide range of rankings among the private and public scouting spheres. With that kind of discrepancy between team’s opinions, late first-round selections are valued similarly to a second-rounder.

It is very likely the Sabres could land someone at 45 who some teams had ranked as a third-rounder or somewhere in the 20s by another.

On my own list, the player I have ranked at No. 20 could very well be available at 45 and it is steals like that which separate the great teams.

Brek Liske is a 6-foot-2 right-handed defenseman that I have ranked No. 20 who reminds me a lot of Minnesota’s Brock Faber. Liske really made himself known on the Everett Silvertips run to the WHL championship as his icetime increased because of an injury and he delivered 17 points in 18 playoff games after having just 24 points in 52 regular-season games.

It’s not just the fact that he played in the shadow of next year’s top prospect Landon DuPont like Faber did with Sanderson at the US National Development Program in 2020, but his impressive four-way mobility and confidence with the puck that I draw these comparisons. Liske’s versatility makes him valuable as his own driver or the perfect compliment to a true No. 1 defenseman.

I have Michigan’s Adam Valentini ranked No. 22, but he will certainly be a second-rounder as this draft’s true victim to the NHL’s size standards. The 5-foot-9.75-inch forward plays a scrappy forechecking game similar to Benson and also boasts a great set of hands to make plays in tight which is perfect as he operates in the dirty areas of the game.

Des Moines forward Blake Zielinski is my No. 28-ranked player, who is like the lesser version of Michigan State’s Ryker Lee, who was picked by the Nashville Predators in last year’s first round. Zielinski did not eviscerate USHL scoring with a humble 25 goals and 30 assists for 55 points in 53 games, and is committed to Providence opposed to an NCAA contender, making him surely available at No. 45.

A pair of QMJHL defensemen in Tommy Bleyl and Xavier Villeneuve are quite polarizing as they will both probably be available at 20, but not when the Sabres pick again at 45. Bleyl and Villeneuve both are elite skating, undersized defenders in the weakest of the CHL leagues that have likely inflated offensive numbers. However, the straight-line speed of Bleyl is arguably the best among any blueliners in this draft and the edgework of Villeneuve is a carbon copy of Montreal’s Lane Hutson. Both are risky selections that need the right situations to hit their peaks which could be No. 1 defenders in the NHL.

It is unlikely the Sabres are done moving before Friday’s start of the draft, but even if nothing can be put together Kekalainen has the team on the rise in great position now with picks at No. 4, 20 and 45 this weekend.