List of Buffalo Sabres draft picks
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey franchise located in Buffalo, New York. Founded on May 22, 1970, ahead of the 1970–71 season as an expansion team, they play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Hockey League. The NHL entry draft is held each off-season in June, allowing teams to select players who will have turned 18 years old by September 15 in the year the draft is held. The draft order is determined by the previous season's order of finish, with non-playoff teams drafting first, followed by the teams that made the playoffs, with the specific order determined by the number of points earned by each team. From 1995 to 2012, the winner of the draft lottery was allowed to move up a maximum of four positions in the entry draft. Since 2016, the NHL has held a weighted lottery for the 16 non-playoff teams, allowing the winner to move up to the first overall pick. The team with the fewest points has the best chance of winning the lottery, with each successive team given a lower chance of moving up in the draft. As of 2025, the Sabres have made 521 selections in 55 entry drafts.
The Sabres first participated in the 1970 NHL amateur draft, where they selected Gilbert Perreault at first overall for their first-ever selection. The Sabres have selected first overall in three other drafts with Pierre Turgeon in 1987, Rasmus Dahlin in 2018, and Owen Power in 2021. Perreault played his whole career with the Sabres and had his number retired in the franchise, while Turgeon played five years with the Sabres before being traded to the New York Islanders in exchange for Pat LaFontaine. Dahlin and Power currently play in the NHL for the Sabres. Three Sabres draft picks have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame: Phil Housley, Perreault, and Turgeon. Thirteen players selected by the Sabres went on to play 1,000 games in the NHL: Dave Andreychuk who ranks 10th in all-time games played with 1,639, Brian Campbell, Keith Carney, Housley, Calle Johansson, Brad May, Sean O'Donnell, Perreault, Jason Pominville, Craig Ramsay, Mike Ramsey, Turgeon, and Thomas Vanek.
Key
Played at least one regular-season game with the Sabres.Spent entire NHL career with the Sabres.
NHL supplemental draft.
| Term or abbreviation | Definition |
| Draft | The year that the player was selected |
| Round | The round of the draft in which the player was selected |
| Pick | The overall position in the draft at which the player was selected |
| Abbreviation | Definition |
| Pos | Position |
| GP | Games played |
| G | Goals |
| A | Assists |
| Pts | Points |
| PIM | Penalties in minutes |
| W | Wins |
| L | Losses |
| T | Ties |
| OT | Overtime/shootout losses |
| GAA | Goals against average |
| — | Does not apply |
Draft picks
Statistics are complete as of the 2024–25 NHL season and show each player's career regular season totals in the NHL. Wins, losses, ties, overtime losses, and goals against average apply to goaltenders and are used only for players at that position.| Draft | Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | W | L | T | OT | GAA |
| 1970 | 1 | 1 | * |  Canadasort|-1|—sort|-1|—sort|-1|—sort|-1|—sort|-1|—sortname|Butch|Deadmarshdagger |