The Buffalo Sabres have the unique chance to simply take the best player available with the 11th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft should they decide to keep it. Though most eyes fall on the top 10 of the draft, there are still plenty of great prospects to choose from.
Other names will come into the mix for the 11th overall pick, but Beckett Sennecke could be one of the most intriguing. In 63 games with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), he racked up 27 goals and 68 points but really picked up his game by adding 22 points in 16 playoff games. In the last year alone, he has played himself into the top-half of the first round of the draft.
Assessing Sennecke’s Strengths
On paper, Sennecke is drool-inducing. He’s already got good size at 6-foot-3, 180 pounds. He has room to add size, which will only serve to make him more difficult to play against on a nightly basis. Throw in his tenacious “puck hound” mentality and he could become a real problem for the opposition.
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While his size is an obvious selling point, his offensive ability and creativity are noteworthy. He has a fantastic skillset that allows him to control the puck in tight spaces, haul in bad passes, and find teammates open in tight spaces.
Even being a bigger winger, Sennecke is a very good skater. He has good straight-line speed and edgework, making it difficult to knock him off his feet. He has a complete skillset and the kind of upside that scouts love when assessing forward prospects.
What Can Sennecke Work On?
The primary knocks on Sennecke are roughly standard for players of his age and stage of development. He’s got a good 6-foot-3 frame but needs to add bulk. He showed signs of wearing down as the season progressed but that is commonplace for younger players.
Because of his size and skill, there are far too many times where Sennecke gets a bit selfish and tries to go one-on-one. Making better use of his teammates and recognizing when to move the puck will prove invaluable to his game as he develops.
Finally, Sennecke’s defensive game requires a bit of work. That is also commonplace for prospects at this stage. He works hard as a forechecker and could benefit from that kind of focus and energy in his own zone.
Where Does Sennecke Fit?
Sennecke would be ideal at 11th overall for a plethora of reasons. The first thing to note is his size. He stands 6-foot-3 and has plenty of room to add to his 180-pound frame. The Sabres have a litany of smaller forwards, so size is welcome.
As a younger player in need of development, he could eventually slot in as a top-six player. His size and skill give him versatility in a way that other prospects can’t match. He could start as an energy player that can provide tenacious forechecking to start, especially as he gets his feet wet at the NHL level.
At the very worst, he should be a middle-six winger that can slide up and down the lineup as needed. Ideally, he would hit his ceiling and use that offensive creativity to produce as a top-line player. A bright outlook for Sennecke is that he can wind up being valuable in a variety of ways, especially given the needs of the Sabres’ organization.
Projecting Sennecke’s Career in Buffalo
On paper, Sennecke is everything the Sabres would love to add. He has tremendous size with room to grow, is a very good skater for his size, and has the hands to be dangerous even in tight spaces. He also plays with a clear desire to disrupt opponents from the puck, something the Sabres have struggled with in recent years.
If the Sabres chose Sennecke, he would no doubt stay in junior for the time being and maybe even get a year in Rochester. He needs to add size so that he doesn’t wear down, but he could be a fantastic middle-six winger at the very least.
He has the kind of skill that could allow him to slot in as a top-line winger, capable of getting into the 70-80-point range. His tenacity, size, skating, and offensive creativity certainly make him one of the most intriguing prospects in the first round of the draft this year.
