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The Buffalo Sabres went off the board to select Daxon Rudolph with the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday.
Rudolph was the first defenseman taken in the draft, though NHL Central Scouting ranked him as the fourth North American blue-liner behind Chase Reid, Carson Carels, and Keaton Verhoeff.
A 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-shot defenseman, Rudolph tallied 28 goals and 50 assists in 68 games with the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders last season. He added 27 points in 19 playoff appearances.
Rudolph is committed to playing at the University of Denver next season.
He gives the Sabres another right-shooting defense prospect who could one day play alongside Buffalo's trio of stud lefty blue-liners in Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson. The Sabres used the 2025 No. 9 selection on Radim Mrtka, a 6-foot-6 right-shot defenseman.
Buffalo acquired the No. 4 pick from the Chicago Blackhawks as part of Wednesday's Bowen Byram blockbuster.
