Ryan Johnson was originally drafted in 2019, 31st overall. While he was the last pick of the first round, he has proven himself as a first-round talent throughout his college career at the University of Minnesota.
Praised for his elite skating and defense while having some slight offensive flair, Johnson could be a great second-pairing defenseman behind Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power.
Johnson finished his four years at the University of Minnesota and there was lots of chatter about him potentially not signing with Buffalo because of how bad the Sabres had been.
| POLL | ||
MAI 27   |   147 ANSWERS BREAKING: Buffalo Sabres Finally Manage to Sign Top Prospect Who Initially Refused to Join Team Was this a good signing? | ||
| Yes | 90 | 61.2 % | 
| No | 57 | 38.8 % | 
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| 
							 LIVE 
							NOVEMBER 3, 2025 
						 | ||||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Brock Boeser | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| William Nylander | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Evander Kane | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Benjamin Kindel | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Matthew Beniers | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Eberle | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Filip Forsberg | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Auston Matthews | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Robert Thomas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Luke Evangelista | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Connor McDavid | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Elias Pettersson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Morgan Rielly | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Nick Blankenburg | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andre Burakovsky | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Debrusk | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dalibor Dvorsky | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Erik Haula | 1 | - | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS  | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Canadiens | 12 | 9 | 3 | - | 18 | |
| Red Wings | 13 | 9 | 4 | - | 18 | |
| Lightning | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | |
| Senators | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 14 | |
| Bruins | 14 | 7 | 7 | - | 14 | |
| Panthers | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 13 | |
| Sabres | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 13 | |
| Maple Leafs | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 13 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Devils | 13 | 9 | 4 | - | 18 | |
| Penguins | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 18 | |
| Hurricanes | 11 | 7 | 4 | - | 14 | |
| Blue Jackets | 12 | 7 | 5 | - | 14 | |
| Rangers | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 14 | |
| Islanders | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 13 | |
| Capitals | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 13 | |
| Flyers | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 13 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 19 | |
| Jets | 12 | 9 | 3 | - | 18 | |
| Mammoth | 12 | 8 | 4 | - | 16 | |
| Stars | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 15 | |
| Blackhawks | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 13 | |
| Predators | 13 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 12 | |
| Wild | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 11 | |
| Blues | 12 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 8 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 15 | |
| Ducks | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 15 | |
| Oilers | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 15 | |
| Kraken | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 14 | |
| Kings | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 14 | |
| Canucks | 13 | 6 | 7 | - | 12 | |
| Sharks | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 11 | |
| Flames | 14 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 8 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS  | ||||||