Development Camp notebook | Mrtka’s year of progress

The Buffalo Sabres’ 2026 Development Camp wrapped up Thursday morning with the annual 3-on-3 scrimmage at LECOM Harborcenter. Team Blue beat Team Gold, 18-15, with some standout performances on both sides:

• Four goals for defenseman Gavin McCarthy (Blue), all in an eight-minute span in the second half.
• Four goals for forward Jake Richard (Gold), plus another that he kicked in for fun.
• Three nearly identical goals for defenseman Adam Kleber (Blue), with slick moves on breakaways.
• Three goals for forward Dylan Dumont (Blue), this year’s sixth-round pick.

Now, some notes from throughout the week on Sabres prospects and the organization.

• Development Camp notebook | Kleber, Ziemer continue college careers

Mrtka on trade rumors, professional debut

Radim Mrtka saw his name swirling in rumors before the March trade deadline. Last year’s ninth-overall pick understood the Buffalo Sabres wanted to improve their playoff-bound roster, and he did his best to block out the noise.

“I would say that’s hockey business,” he said. “Either gonna be fine with it, or I don’t know what else. It’s just what it is in hockey, and I’m just fine with it.”

The 6-foot-6 defenseman again stood out at Development Camp with his combo of physicality, reach and offensive skills. Mrtka has been all over since he last played in Buffalo during the 2025 preseason. He played four games with the Amerks to open the regular season, returned to Seattle for another productive year in the WHL (34 points in 43 games), then rejoined Rochester for another seven games – including three in the playoffs.

“It’s a little different than juniors, a little heavier,” he said of that AHL experience, in which he was minus-four with two assists. “… Some guys were telling me it’s even harder than NHL, because everyone’s just fighting for a spot. So, I knew that. It’s a great league, but nothing I can’t handle.”

Amerks coach Michael Leone outlined, in his view, the 19-year-old Mrtka’s next steps to becoming an NHL defenseman.

“To move the puck quick, to be a really good defender, to be able to shut down plays,” Leone said. “His transitional gapping against speed is gonna be really important. His ability to kill plays in the corner and then be hard to play against in the net front. Because you see the size, he’s a good skater, he moves the puck well – I think those things are really important. But the No. 1 (thing) is probably away from the rink, to get stronger.”

Szongoth seeks Hungarian history

Asked what he’s learned about forward Doman Szongoth, the Sabres’ 2026 fifth-round pick, director of player development Tim Kennedy had a quick response:

“That there’s a direct flight from Hungary to Toronto.”

Yes, Szongoth was home with his family in Budapest when he received the call around 10 p.m. last Saturday. By 7 a.m. the next morning, he was on his way to Buffalo for Development Camp.

It’s a path rarely traveled in the hockey world, as Szongoth became just the fourth Hungarian-born player drafted to the NHL, joining Janos Vas (2002), Levente Szuper (2000) and Tamas Groschl (1999). None of the three ever played above the AHL in North America; each reached out to Szongoth after the pick.

“All of them said, ‘Congrats, and nice to have you in our group,’” Szongoth said. “And they hope I will be the first to play (in the NHL).”

Although Hungary is mostly a soccer country – they didn’t qualify for the 2026 World Cup – the Szongoth family is rich in hockey history. Doman’s dad, Kristof, played two decades professionally and currently coaches in Hungary’s National Team Development Program. His grandfather Gabor, uncle Gergely and multiple cousins have also played.

That said, the best Hungarian hockey talent typically develops elsewhere, and Szongoth has spent the last three seasons with KooKoo in Finland’s junior leagues, collecting 28 points at the U-20 level in 2025-26. He’s also represented Hungary at the last two IIHF World Championships – special experiences at his age.

“It’s an amazing feeling with the big stars there, playing against (Macklin) Celebrini, (Aleksander) Barkov and those big players,” he said. “And I was doing it two times before my draft, so it’s amazing. It teaches a lot, like how competitive, physical you have to be to get to this level. The biggest thing, they were motivating me.”

Szongoth is planning to move to North America and join the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds this coming season.

“Very competitive player,” said assistant general manager Jerry Forton, crediting Frank Musil and the Sabres’ European scouts for finding Szongoth. “Another guy that’s got a good two-way game. We think he needs to work on his skating a little bit. We’ll have a long path with him, but there’s some intangibles there that we really like. Gets to the inside of the game, gets around the net, and he still takes care of his own end. Natural center qualities.”

4 thoughts from Tim Kennedy

Kennedy had been a development coach for the Sabres and Amerks since the 2021-22 season. On Tuesday, the Buffalo native and former Sabres forward was promoted to director of player development, after which he shared his thoughts on these topics:

Why he’s good in a player development role: “I think as you get older in your career, you kind of become a pseudo player development coach. As an older player, you work with the young kids, you work with the young prospects, because that’s just how the game goes. At one point, you were that young player, older guys worked with you – I remember Mike Grier working with me. And great teammates, guys in other places – Shane Doan, Ed Jovanovski. If you’re a really good veteran, you’re really good to young players.”

Avoiding contradiction with prospects’ junior/college coaches: “Every player that’s drafted, from the time they’re drafted to when they play in the NHL, they’re probably going to have three or four coaches. USHL, college, CHL, AHL, NHL. So, there’s no one way to do it, and we want to put the kid in the best environment to succeed. Working with the coach, making sure we’re on the same page, is huge, and that’s what our philosophy is.”

His impressions of Buffalo’s tall defenseman prospects: “If you watch the league, every team has big D, and I think that’s the way we’re trending. You need D that can move the puck, but also big D help. The players we’ve drafted, they’re big, but they’re also great hockey players, they have good puck skills and they’re really good people.”

The 2026 Sabres’ playoff run: “The playoff experience for me was surreal, because you’re watching it as an employee of the team, but you’re also watching it as a fan of the team that you grew up rooting for and I played for. … Doing this for now six years, you don’t really cheer for goals anymore, but I hate to say it, I was cheering for goals in the playoffs.”