2024 NHL Draft profile: Cole Eiserman

Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - With the 2023-24 NHL season officially now in the books, it's time to turn the page and start looking ahead to the 2024-25 season league-wide.

The NHL offseason, for many, unofficially starts in late June every year when the NHL Draft kicks off, with this year's draft taking place in Las Vegas starting this Friday at The Sphere.

As for the Buffalo Sabres, they, once again, sit closer to the top of the 2024 NHL Draft with the 11th overall selection in Round 1. The good news for the teams closer to the top of the class is this year's group of prospects is one that will help transcend a team in need of some young talent in the years to come.

In the days leading up to Friday's first round, we'll be highlighting a few notable prospects that could be available for the Sabres with the 11th pick, and how they may make an impact at the NHL level. And, of course, it's subject to change if the Sabres decide to trade the No. 11 selection before Friday night.

The first player in our prospect profile series will be American-born scoring winger Cole Eiserman from the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP):

Profile:

The 17-year-old native of Newbury Port, Massachusetts has moved up-and-down boards throughout his draft season, with many mocking him to go between the fourth overall pick and 15th overall. Eiserman is ranked 12th amongst North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

While playing for the USNTDP and their U-18 team, Eiserman surpassed former Montreal Canadiens first-round pick Cole Caufield for the most goals in program history.

Eiserman is a physical left-handed shot that has made a name for himself as, arguably, the best sniper of the entire draft class. He utilizes his quick hands and great vision in the offensive zone to make even the best goaltenders have a bad day.

The 6-foot, 196-pound left winger played a combined 81 games (57+24) last year as part of the USNTDP, putting up a whopping 83 goals and 40 assists. He also played seven games at the IIHF U-18 World Championship and recorded 10 points (9+1) to help the U.S. to a silver medal in Finland.

Positives:

Eiserman has made waves through NHL Draft rooms with his incredible shot. Many league scouts and experts agree he has an NHL level shot at just 17-years-old, and some even think he could plug into an NHL power play right now.

On top of being able to effectively shoot from anywhere on the ice, he can also find his way to the front of the net while off the puck, and create traffic that could result in a deflection or a goal off of a rebound.

Eiserman has great hockey sense in the offensive zone that either creates scoring chances for himself or his teammates.

He could be the crucial missing piece of a scoring line for an NHL team when given time to develop other traits.

Negatives:

Eiserman, like many snipers in the NHL Draft, has one main flaw: The potential to develop into a "one trick pony".

There have been many players before him who have rocketed up draft boards because of elite shooting ability that have never made impacts at the NHL level.

While snipers are usually not expected to do much, in terms of playmaking, it's still needed at the NHL level, and Eiserman is inconsistent, at best. He can become too predictable, at times, in the offensive zone, leading to bad turnovers and chances the other way.

Eiserman is one of the best cases of a player that brings along high risk, but high reward. If he develops other high-end skills, he could be the steal of the draft.

However, if he doesn't develop properly, he could quickly become a project player that takes years to show NHL return.

NHL comparison:

There have been many elite shooters to come out of the NHL Draft and succeed at the NHL level, while also needing time to develop the way Eiserman does. The difference between him and a majority of these snipers is the volume that Eiserman could score at.

When Phil Kessel was approaching his draft year, draft analysts and scouts were having very similar conversations about his ability to transition to the NHL game.

Kessel could seemingly score at will in his years before the draft, tallying 52 goals in as many games during his 2003-04 season at the USNTDP. He then scored 52 goals again during the 2004-05 campaign, this time in 54 games, prior to being drafted fifth overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2005 NHL Draft.

After being drafted, Kessel went on to play with five NHL teams, winning three Stanley Cups and scoring 413 goals in 1,286 games played. He also became the NHL's iron man, playing in a record 1,064-consecutive games.

Where may he fit the Sabres?

The Sabres have had a pure goal scorer, at times, over recent seasons with Jeff Skinner. However, recent rumblings have indicated Skinner's time with the Sabres could be coming to an end with a potential buyout on the horizon.

Aside from Skinner, the team does have some prospective scoring forwards in JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn and Jiri Kulich. The only player of this group that has proven he can score consistently at the NHL level so far, though, is Peterka.

Given a year or two to develop at the NCAA level with Boston University, Eiserman could join a Sabres squad in need of secondary scoring on the second or third line, as well as a power play specialist.

In time, Eiserman could also become a top line winger and league-leading goal scorer. That is if he learns to translate his game to the NHL level.