The Buffalo Sabres selected right-shot defenseman Daxon Rudolph with the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Rudolph is projected as a top-pair blueliner and plans to play for the University of Denver next season. The selection makes Rudolph the highest-drafted player ever associated with Denver, surpassing Craig Redmon’s sixth overall slot in 1984, and gives Denver two first-round picks this year alongside Ryan Lin. Buffalo used the pick they acquired in the Bowen Byram trade to take Rudolph, and Rudolph completed his first interview with the Sabres the morning of the draft. Rudolph going fourth reshapes the board below, leaving players such as Chase Reid and Viggo Björk as possibilities for teams selecting later in the top ten.
