The Buffalo Sabres have had some major successes in the NHL Draft, starting with their first franchise selection of Gilbert Perreault, to Hall-of-Famers Tom Barrasso and Pierre Turgeon, to their most recent top overall picks of Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, but where there is success, there is inevitably failure. For the next entry on the list of Sabres first-round failures, we look at a winger that never played a game in the Buffalo organization.
#5 Marek Zagrapan
In a draft where the Pittsburgh Penguins won a weighted lottery to select Sidney Crosby first overall, the Sabres selected 13th overall and chose Slovakian center Marek Zagrapan. After playing two seasons in the Czech Republic, Zagrapan came to North America and scored 82 points (32 goals, 50 assists) in 59 games for Chicoutimi of the QMJHL and 11 playoff goals. He repeated that output the following season before turning pro in 2006.
Zagrapan played three AHL seasons in Rochester and Portland, with his best season being 21 goals in 2009. After completing his entry-level contract, he bolted to the KHL for two seasons and then proceeded to take a tour of the European leagues in Czechia, Finland, Austria, Slovakia, Switzerland, and France, where he played 17 games last season.
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