By Michael Mroziak
Buffalo – The Buffalo Sabres, with the 16th pick overall in the National Hockey League's 2011 Entry Draft, selected Joel Armia. The 6-foot-3, 191 pound right winger played last season with Assat of the SM-liiga, Finland's top professional league.
Armia is the first European selected by the Sabres at the draft in five years. The last European selected by Buffalo was current backup goaltender Jhonas Enroth in 2006.
The Sabres have enjoyed a record of success in recent drafts. 18 players who skated for the Sabres as full-timers or temporary callups from the minors joined the team as draft picks. Three of them (Luke Adam, Tyler Ennis, Nathan Gerbe) are former American Hockey League Rookie of the Year honorees.
Sabres owner Terry Pegula announced the team's first round pick, after briefly paying tribute to former star player Rick Martin, who died suddenly in March.
The NHL Draft was just part of a busy day for the Sabres, which also announced Friday that they have purchased the American Hockey League's Rochester Americans, which will again become the Sabres' top minor league affiliate for the first time since 2008.